Stop Calling Them ‘Soft Skills’: Why Human-Facing Skills Are Harder (and More Valuable) Than Ever

Some phrases deserve retirement. “Soft skills” is at the top of that list.

The term suggests something fluffy, secondary, or worse – easy. Yet ask anyone who’s led a team through a crisis, negotiated a partnership across cultures, or handled a room full of stakeholders with conflicting agendas: there is nothing “soft” about the skills required to do it well.

Human-facing skills – communication, empathy, collaboration, leadership, storytelling, negotiation, conflict resolution – are among the hardest to learn, the hardest to master, and the hardest to fake. And in a job market increasingly reshaped by AI, they are also the most irreplaceable.

Why ‘Soft’ Was Never Right

“Soft skills” was never an accurate label. It’s lazy, legacy thinking that contrasted people skills with so-called “hard” technical skills, as if one was rigorous and the other was lightweight. In reality, the skills that involve people have always been the toughest to build – and the most essential to get right.

These aren’t soft. They’re power skills.

The AI Paradox: More Tech, More Human

Ironically, the more technology advances, the more valuable human-centric skills become. A manager relying on AI for reporting still needs to deliver those results in a way that motivates their team. A lawyer leveraging automation still needs to persuade a jury or negotiate a settlement. An entrepreneur using AI to draft a pitch deck still needs to tell a story compelling enough to attract investors.

AI can’t hold eye contact. It can’t read the room. It can’t rebuild a broken working relationship. Only humans can do that – and those who do it well will be the ones who thrive.

And as organisations grapple with the intersection of IT, OT, and emerging AI tools, these skills become even more critical. It’s not enough to understand the systems – you need to tie them directly to business outcomes. If you can’t explain the risks, benefits, and opportunities in language that decision-makers understand, you’re already behind the 8-ball. The ability to bridge that gap is what separates those who simply manage technology from those who lead with it.

The Liberal Arts Problem

And here’s the absurdity: while demand for human-facing skills is climbing, universities are defunding the very courses designed to develop them. Liberal arts programs – history, philosophy, literature, sociology – are facing cuts, higher student fees, or outright cancellation.

Yet these are the disciplines that foster critical thinking, empathy, cultural awareness, and the ability to question assumptions. They teach you to interpret nuance, to communicate with clarity, and to understand the complexities of human behaviour – all of which are now the skills that AI cannot replicate.

Slashing liberal arts funding isn’t just shortsighted; it’s self-defeating. We’re pulling resources away from the very training grounds of the workforce of the future.

Reframing the Conversation

It’s time to retire the patronising “soft skills” label and treat these abilities with the respect they deserve. They are not optional add-ons. They are core competencies.

This point came up powerfully during the recent Cybersecurity Advisors Network (CyAN) / Leaders IT gathering in Sydney, which asked: “Is it Possible to Future-Proof the Cyber Workforce?” Many attendees noted that while we obsess over technical certifications, the true differentiator for future cyber leaders will be their ability to connect, collaborate, and communicate effectively. Without power skills, even the most technically adept professionals risk being sidelined.

If organisations are serious about resilience, they need to build cultures where these skills are not just encouraged, but measured, rewarded, and promoted. That means rethinking hiring, reshaping training, and revaluing the people who excel at bringing others with them.

Businesses should be asking:

• How are we developing power skills in our teams?
• How do we reward and recognise them alongside technical outputs?
• How can we rethink hiring to value these skills properly?

Because if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that resilience, adaptability, and empathy aren’t “nice-to-haves.” They’re survival tools. And like any skill worth having, they don’t appear overnight – they’re learned, practised, and refined. That’s where mentorship comes in.

Mentorship and the Future Workforce

Technical certifications may get you in the door, but power skills will set you apart. And one of the best ways to develop them is through mentorship.

A mentor can:

• Model what great communication looks like.
• Give honest feedback when a message misses.
• Share strategies for handling conflict or building trust.
• Open doors to networks and opportunities.

These aren’t extras. They’re the foundations of leadership. And with the next CyAN mentorship programme tranche starting this week, it’s exactly the kind of development I’ll be doubling down on.

It’s a theme I’ve long written about – in Flat World Navigation: Collaboration and Networking in the Global Digital Economy and more recently in An Interviewer’s Guidebook: Turning Conversations Into Captivating Stories. Both underline the central role of human-facing skills in forging trust, building networks, and creating opportunity in an interconnected world.

The Bottom Line

In the age of AI, the most valuable skills are not the ones machines can replicate, but the ones they can’t. Communication, empathy, creativity, collaboration, cultural fluency, leadership – these aren’t soft. They’re hard-earned, high-value, and essential.

If we want resilient organisations and future-ready workforces, we need to stop trivialising them. Power skills aren’t optional add-ons; they’re survival skills, leadership skills, and competitive advantages.

Machines may run the numbers – but humans run the world. Let’s retire the outdated labels and start investing in the power skills that keep us connected, capable, and distinctly human.

About the Author:

Kim Chandler McDonald is the Co-Founder and CEO of 3 Steps Data, driving data/digital governance solutions.
She is the Global VP of CyAN, an award-winning author, storyteller, and advocate for cybersecurity, digital sovereignty, compliance, governance, and end-user empowerment.