Not All Skills Are Equal: The Data on What Wins in Each Industry

🚀 Here’s a data-driven breakdown of industry-specific benchmarks and skill combinations—and how they impact real-world success:

1. Tech (Software & IT)

• Adaptability + Problem-Solving: McKinsey found that tech employees who score high in adaptability and efficient problem-solving are significantly more likely to be promoted and retained than peers lacking these skills. While exact promotion figures vary, firms that invest in training average 7 ppt higher promotion rates and 5 ppt better retention compared to those that don’t  .
• Learning Agility: In rapidly evolving environments, adaptive (vs. routine) expertise outperforms pure technical proficiency—especially when flexibility is critical ().

2. Healthcare (Hospital & Clinical Leadership)

• Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Meta-analyses show that healthcare leaders with strong EQ achieve about 20% higher team performance (patient satisfaction, reduced errors) compared to those with average EQ  .
• Communication + Empathy: LinkedIn/axios confirm communication is the #1 job skill globally, with 9 out of 10 executives rating it more crucial than AI skills  .

3. Sales & B2B

• Communication & Resilience: While hard sales data is scarce, AI-driven studies show that applying communication patterns and adaptability improved outcomes. For example, an AI engine on LinkedIn sales accounts led to +8.1% renewal bookings .
• Digital Network Skills: Top sales performers tend to:

1. Respond faster to emails
2. Use positive, influential language
3. Serve as communication “hubs” in networks

These traits correlate with an 83.6% accuracy in identifying high performers .

📊 At-a-Glance Table

💡 What This Means for You

• Custom-fit your approach: Benchmarks show success isn’t “one-size-fits-all.” Leaders in tech gain most from adaptability and problem-solving, while healthcare demands emotionally intelligent communicators.
• Don’t ignore core strengths: Grit, cognitive endurance, and EQ still produce broad wins—but their unique combinations amplify impact in context.
• Measure against benchmarks: Use these numbers as reference points when evaluating your diagnostics results—are you hitting the expected +7 ppt in retention, or +20 % in team metrics?

✅ Next Steps?

Let me know if you want:

📌 More industries (e.g., Finance, Creative, HR)

🔎 A deeper dive into raw data sources or full study links

📈 A custom comparison for your leadership team or company

Just say the word—happy to go deeper.

[jennifer.frotscher@peats.de]