Existing AI and related technologies could automate tasks that account for more than half of all U.S. work hours, McKinsey reports.

That doesn’t mean half of all jobs will disappear, however. As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into our daily workflows, it will primarily change what people do during the workday, not replace them wholesale.

Human skills are still needed even as AI capabilities expand, especially communication, judgment, adaptability, collaboration, and leadership. Learn more about these vital skills and how to develop them.

1. Communication: Creating Understanding and Connection

There’s no doubt that AI can process and generate information at lightning speed. But it still struggles with some of the nuances of human communication, including:

  • Reading the room (paying attention to body language and facial expressions)
  • Recognizing tone, subtext, and unspoken concerns
  • Interpreting social cues and adjusting accordingly

Yes, AI is a phenomenal tool for processing information, but human beings remain the experts at building connections.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) defines communication as clearly and effectively exchanging information, ideas, facts, and perspectives using verbal, written, and nonverbal abilities.

As problems become more complex, AI can’t always recognize the underlying dynamics at play. For example, bots can handle routine customer service inquiries, but we’ve all had a more complex issue that required a real person hearing us out.

How to develop your communication skills:

>>Read More: Communication Skills for IT Professionals

2. Judgment: Navigating Complex Choices

AI is not a replacement for human judgment.

AI requires clear parameters and definitive data. When people receive incomplete information or competing priorities, we can use our experience and judgment to fill in gaps (or decide we can’t do so without more data). AI, by contrast, may hallucinate its own outputs when there’s ambiguity or competing priorities, producing incorrect responses.

Simply put: AI outputs need verification, and that’s not going away. As AI takes over more routine work, the work left for people will increasingly require human judgment, PwC reports. Similarly, a McKinsey study says employees will be needed for their judgment skills as AI sifts information and organizes data.

How to develop your judgment skills:

  • Practice identifying assumptions and potential biases in AI outputs.
  • Compare multiple sources before reaching a conclusion.
  • Participate in debates and scenario-planning exercises.

3. Adaptability: Responding to Constant Change

AI, workplace dynamics, and job responsibilities will continue to evolve, and people must evolve right along with them.

In a World Economic Forum (WEF) survey, 67% of employers identified resilience, flexibility, and agility as core skills needed among workers. Also known as adaptability, this is the ability to respond to constant change without major disruption to your daily responsibilities.

Deloitte refers to this as “staying relevant in a world that won’t sit still.” According to the professional services firm, being adaptable at work means:

  • Treating change as a normal part of your job, not something that happens only occasionally
  • Continuing to learn and develop new skills as your role and workplace evolve
  • Trying new approaches and using feedback to change course
  • Responding to change as it happens (as opposed to always waiting for someone to guide you)

How to become more adaptable:

  • Develop a growth mindset.
  • Ask for feedback frequently, evaluate it honestly, and make changes as needed.
  • Watch for developments in technology so you can research and respond early.

4. Collaboration: Building Productive Relationships (Even With AI)

Everyone knows it’s good to be collaborative with your coworkers. But do we now also need to be collaborative with our tech tools?

According to many experts, yes.

Collaboration is the ability to work with people across roles, departments, and areas of expertise — and increasingly with AI tools — to combine strengths, share information, and achieve a common goal.

As AI becomes integrated into more workplace processes, people need to know how to work alongside it. In a McKinsey study, 55% of surveyed leaders said successfully developing employees’ AI capabilities would produce “exponential” productivity gains. Organizations should make deliberate decisions about what people do, what AI does, and how the two should work together.

How to develop your AI collaboration skills:

  • Improve your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
  • Learn how to craft strong AI prompts and interpret its outputs.
  • Understand which tasks are good to delegate to AI and which ones require human oversight.

5. Leadership: Guiding People and Technology Effectively

Leadership is already a highly valued skill, and its importance is growing.

According to the WEF, leadership and social influence rank third among employers’ most-desired core skills. Of all the important skills highlighted in the survey, leadership and social influence saw the biggest jump in importance from the 2023 survey, with a 22-percentage-point increase.

AI may be accelerating that demand. PwC reports that junior roles with the greatest exposure to AI are seven times more likely to require traditionally senior skills, including leadership and strategic thinking, than junior roles with the least AI exposure.

How to develop your leadership skills:

  • Get a mentor, and mentor others. Find an experienced leader who can coach you through your career while developing your own mentoring skills.
  • Volunteer to lead a project.
  • Become comfortable leading through change.

>>Related Reading: 6 Key Leadership Traits to Cultivate for Success

Prepare for an Evolving Workplace With Purdue Global

While some people may possess these types of skills naturally, they aren’t fixed personality traits. These are human skills you can develop.

Earning a degree with Purdue Global can help you prepare for what’s next. Our programs are designed specifically to build a data-driven workforce for a changing business landscape, and the class format is geared toward adult online learners who are working.

We offer more than 175 online programs, including associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees and certificates. Request more information today.

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