C-Suite and HR Leaders Say Both Life Skills and AI Skills Matter

When faced with a choice between life skills or AI skills, they preferred candidates with life skills.

HIGH POINT, N.C., June 17, 2026 – A new national study from High Point University reveals a striking consensus between C-Suite executives and Human Resources professionals: while skills in artificial intelligence are increasingly valuable in today’s workplace, life skills remain the decisive factor in hiring decisions and achieving career success.

These leaders consistently agree that both life skills and AI skills matter. Yet when forced to choose between the two, both groups overwhelmingly preferred job candidates with life skills such as emotional intelligence and a strong work ethic.

A Powerful Combination

The two surveys were fielded separately with two distinct samples from April 28-30, 2026. Despite different vantage points — one group setting strategic direction, the other managing talent pipelines — they arrived at similar conclusions with their answers aligning within 1-4 percentage points on nearly every survey item.

A few examples of these aligned findings include:

• 90% of C-Suite executives and 93% of HR pros agree that life skills such as emotional intelligence, work ethic, motivation and collaboration still matter when hiring in the AI era.
• 87% of C-Suite executives and 92% of HR pros say the ideal leader in the workplace possesses a balance of technical and life skills.
• Only 17% of C-Suite executives and 14% of HR pros have ever hired someone based solely on AI experience.
• When asked to devise their “perfect employee,” 64% of C-Suite executives and 66% of HR pros chose a roughly 50/50 blend of AI skills and life skills.

“We are intensely focused on the success of our students and work tirelessly to ensure the education we provide fits the needs of the competitive marketplace,” says HPU President Nido Qubein. “This is why HPU has surveyed business leaders over the years for their feedback, and these results reaffirm our mission as The Premier Life Skills University. Even in the midst of artificial intelligence changing the workplace, employers continue to tell us they need graduates equipped with life skills that outlast inevitable technological disruption.”

“These findings highlight why life skills remain at the center of career success,” says Heidi Echols, director of HPU’s Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. “AI can enhance how work is done, but it is human capabilities like communication, collaboration and problem solving that determine how effectively AI is used. At High Point University, we are focused on a human-centered approach to AI that prepares students to excel in both areas.”

Life Skills Remain Crucial for Career Success

When forced to choose between a candidate with solely AI technical capabilities or one with solely life skills, the winner was clear: 75% of C-Suite executives and 78% of HR professionals chose the life skills candidate.

This preference also held firm across every specific life skill tested:

• Emotional intelligence or AI: 70% of C-Suite executives and 72% of HR pros preferred emotional intelligence
• Motivation or AI: 75% of C-Suite executives and 79% of HR pros preferred motivation
• Coachability or AI: 75% of C-Suite executives and 79% of HR pros preferred coachability
• Positive temperament or AI: 76% of C-Suite executives and 79% of HR pros preferred positive temperament

Life Skills Are Harder to Teach New Employees

Both groups overwhelmingly agree that life skills are substantially more difficult to train than AI skills.

C-Suite executives rated which was harder to train — various life skills or AI:

• 81% said leadership is harder to train than AI skills
• 80% said emotional intelligence is harder to train than AI skills
• 79% said problem solving is harder to train than AI skills
• 78% said overall life skills are harder to train than AI skills
• 77% said professionalism is harder to train than AI skills
• 76% said adaptability and motivation are harder to train than AI skills

Meanwhile, HR professionals rated which was easier to train — life skills or AI skills:

• 77% said AI skills are easier to train than motivation
• 74% said AI skills are easier to train than leadership
• 74% said AI skills are easier to train than emotional intelligence
• 70% said AI skills are easier to train than problem solving
• 70% said AI skills are easier to train than a positive temperament

A Consistent Consensus Over the Years

In two previous national surveys (2018 and 2022), HPU asked C-Suite leaders similar questions about which is more important — technical skills or life skills. Both groups have reported consistent findings over the years despite the disruptions of COVID-19, remote work and now artificial intelligence.

In 2018, 65% of executives said they would rather colleges equip students with life skills such as motivation, emotional intelligence and the ability to solve problems, as opposed to 35% who said they would rather colleges instill technical skills such as training on a specific software or subject. However, 67% of executives believed that colleges were better at teaching technical skills than life skills.

In 2022, similarly, when asked a series of questions about which is easier to develop — life skills or technical skills — a majority of 75% said it is much easier to develop an employee’s technical skills than personal initiative. Additionally, 70% said it is much easier to develop an employee’s technical skills than it is to develop their coachability.

The 2022 survey also asked which of these attributes would most likely cause an employee to be overlooked for a promotion at your organization:

46% – Doesn’t accept feedback and constructive criticism

36% – Doesn’t know how to solve complex problems

18% – Doesn’t have the technical skills needed

How Both Groups Use AI

In addition to sharing the best mix for employees to thrive in their workplaces, C-Suite executives and HR pros also shared how AI is part of their work each day.

Both groups are deeply familiar with AI itself: 84% of executives and 86% of HR pros have tried AI chatbots, and majorities use AI in their work. The study results do not reflect the opinions of individuals who are unfamiliar with this new technology. They instead are the  judgment of leaders who know the technology well.

Executives say they most commonly use AI for research or to find more information about a specific topic (72%), to edit written content (54%) or to summarize information from documents or meetings (51%). HR pros had similar but slightly different responses, reporting that they most commonly use AI for research or to find more information about a specific topic (75%), to edit written content (67%) or to draft reports, documents or other written content (63%).

More than half of both groups say they use AI either every day or a few times a week for tasks at work. Meanwhile, 34% of executives and 31% of HR pros say AI has drastically changed the way they work.

A Gap Between Graduate Preparation and Employer Preference

The survey reveals a concerning disconnect: 44% of C-Suite executives and 46% of HR professionals believe recent college graduates are more strongly prepared with AI and technical skills, while only 17-18% see them as prepared with life skills. Yet when asked what they prefer graduates to be prepared with, 39% of C-Suite executives and 44% of HR pros chose life skills and professionalism — more than double those choosing AI skills alone (15%/14%).

Life Skills Enable AI Success

Coming full circle, C-Suite executives also identified life skills as the foundation for effective AI implementation. When asked which skills are important for effectively learning and implementing AI, the top responses were:

• Problem solving (68%)
• Adaptability (63%)
• Motivation (47%)
• Positive temperament (42%)
• Coachability (41%)

All of these life skills rank alongside or above “high-level math, analytical or computer skills” (41%).

What Global Leaders Are Saying About the Data

Steve Wozniak, Apple Co-Founder and HPU’s Innovator in Residence:

“This newest data from CEOs and HR professionals make it clear: individuals with AI skills are valuable, but those also equipped with life skills are the most in-demand professionals in the workforce. This latest poll underscores HPU’s continued focus on life skills education.”

Johnny Taylor, President and CEO of SHRM and HPU’s Human Capital Expert in Residence:

“Employers want graduates who can use AI, but they hire for life skills. The latest poll from HPU makes it clear that from the HR office to the C-Suite, organizations understand that the employee that possesses life skills holds a currency that grows in value. Partner those leadership traits with AI awareness and understanding and you have an unbeatable combination.”

Marc Randolph, Netflix Co-Founder and HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence:

“I’m not surprised to see C-Suite and HR leaders validating HPU’s focus on life skills education. As this poll points out, while AI skills are important, it is life skills in the workplace that are the true building blocks for success.”

HPU Study (April 2026)

Methodology

High Point University’s Survey Research Center fielded the C-Suite Executive Survey (n = 500, April 28 to April 29, 2026) and Human Resources Professionals Survey (n = 302, April 28 to April 30, 2026) as online surveys using panels of respondents recruited and maintained by Dynata. HPU’s Qualtrics platform hosted the surveys and collected the data. Full methodological details for the study are available here.