5 Myths About Human Skills That Are Holding Your Organisation Back
"In a high-IQ job pool, soft skills like discipline, drive, and empathy mark those who emerge as outstanding."
Daniel Goleman, psychologist and author of Emotional Intelligence
Human skills. Soft skills. Durable skills. Whatever you call them, one thing is certain: the conversation around them is still riddled with myths that cost organisations performance, talent, and money.
It’s time to set the record straight.
Myth 1: You're either born with human skills or you're not.
Truth: Human skills are learnable. Full stop.
This is probably the most persistent myth out there. And it is completely wrong.
The science of neuroplasticity tells us the brain remains highly adaptable throughout our lives. Structured human skills training, including programs targeting emotional intelligence and resilience, produces measurable gains in both performance and wellbeing. Just like learning an instrument or a language, interpersonal skills improve dramatically with deliberate practice, quality feedback, and the right environment to develop them in.
Some people have had more opportunities to develop these skills earlier. That is a head start, not a fixed ceiling. The door is open for everyone.
Myth 2: Human (soft) skills don't contribute much value at work.
Truth: They are among the strongest predictors of long-term career and business success.
PwC's 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer analysed over one billion job advertisements across 27 countries and found that new tasks in AI-exposed roles are 2.5x more likely to require human-intensive skills such as empathy, creativity, and leadership than technical ones. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 projects that nearly 40% of key skills in the job market will need to change by 2030, with creative thinking, resilience, leadership, and curiosity among the fastest-growing in demand.
The evidence is no longer directional. It is definitive.
Myth 3: AI will replace humans.
Truth: AI is making human skills more valuable, not less.
This one, understandably, causes a lot of anxiety. But the data tells a more nuanced story.
According to the WEF's Future of Jobs Report 2025, skills rooted in human interaction, including empathy, active listening, and values-based judgment, currently show no substitution potential by generative AI. Zero.
Meanwhile, PwC's 2026 AI Jobs Barometer found that junior workers in the US are now 7x more likely to need skills typically expected of senior staff, including leadership, stakeholder management, and emotional intelligence, as AI absorbs routine tasks.
AI is not replacing humans, it’s raising the bar on our skills including critical thinking, ethics and judgement.
Myth 4: Human skills only matter for managers and leaders.
Truth: They are the foundation of performance at every level.
The ability to communicate clearly, collaborate effectively, manage your own reactions under pressure, and build trust with the people around you is not a leadership privilege. It is a baseline requirement for anyone who works with other humans. Which is, last time we checked, everyone.
The roles and skills rising fastest in the WEF's Future of Jobs data span the entire workforce, not just the higher-ups. Organisations that only develop the people with "leader" in their title are leaving enormous potential on the table.The business case for developing these skills broadly, not just at the senior level, is increasingly hard to argue with. Accenture's study "Running Training Like a Business" found that for every dollar invested in employee training and development, companies received $4.53 in return, a 353% ROI. Separately, research by MIT Sloan found that investing in soft skills such as communication and time management across the workforce can yield returns of over 250%.
Myth 5: It's too expensive to invest in human skills training, and it takes too long.
Truth: Maxme has programs starting from as little as $330 per person.
Budgets are tight and competing priorities are real. But the cost of not investing is far higher: disengaged teams, high turnover, leaders who were never equipped to lead, and talent that walks out the door to somewhere that’s willing to invest in them. The number one reason people leave a job isn’t to do with money, it’s to do with poor management.
Maxme's Human Skills Academy offers Australia's leading human skills development programs - starting from $330 per person. Accessible, scalable, and built to create lasting behaviour change.Our EQ Foundations and Strengths Discovery workshop builds self-awareness on how people show up in teams from a single 90-minute session. Our Emerging Leadership program runs over seven to nine weeks and produces documented changes in confidence, communication, and performance, with client results from Ashurst, Tyro, NAB and CHT Architects to back it up.
The question is not whether you can afford it. It is whether you can afford not to.
Ready to move past the myths?
Explore Maxme's programs for organisations and find the right starting point for your team.
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