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Finbar O’Hanlon and Marcus Bowles
Rebooting the
HUMAN
OPERATING SYSTEM
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
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THE NEXT NORMAL
White Paper No. 5
Author
Finbar O’Hanlon, Imagineer, Polymath, https://www.finbarohanlon.com/
and
Marcus Bowles, Chair, The Institute for Working Futures, https://www.workingfutures.com.au
Published
22 July 2023
Copyright
© 2023
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be
reproduced by any process without prior written permission from Capability.Co.
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
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Abstract
This white paper explores the necessity of a fresh upgrade for the human operating
system (OS), an upgrade that will help humans establish their irreplaceability in a world
augmented or driven by artificial intelligence (AI).
The analysis in this paper highlights the core capability standards and frameworks that
make up this Human OS upgrade, an upgrade that provides value that machines cannot
replicate.
The future is now; it is unfolding before our eyes.
The reality is all too stark. As AI technology continues to advance, its potential for the
replacement of human roles and contributions increases. Because of this, individuals need
to upgrade their OS.
We upgrade our phones, computers, and smart devices many times every year, but we
often leave ourselves behind. We need to unlearn the behaviour and knowledge that stops
us evolving, and instead learn how to differentiate ourselves from machines and become
indispensable by focusing on developing human capabilities that machines cannot
replicate. By embracing these capabilities, humans can secure our relevance and thrive in
an AI-augmented world.
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
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CONTENTS
Abstract ...............................................................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Irrelevance of the Current Educational System ...................................................................................................... 7
Skills-Based Organisation ..................................................................................................................................................... 8
Developing the Human OS ................................................................................................................................................... 12
Competency and capability defined ...................................................................................................................... 12
Pillars of the Human OS Upgrade .................................................................................................................................... 14
Human OS Upgrade: Capability and credential stacks .................................................................................. 16
Future Thinking (Robot-proof) Stack ....................................................................................................................... 17
Interpersonal (Socio-Cultural) Stack ...................................................................................................................... 17
Creativity Stack ....................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Digital and Data Human OS Upgrade ..................................................................................................................... 17
Leader Human OS Upgrade ............................................................................................................................................ 17
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
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O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
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1. Introduction
Artificial intelligence…has the potential of civilization destruction.
Elon Musk, April 2023
In an era in which artificial intelligence (AI)
is reshaping industries and societies,
humans must adapt to remain relevant.
The inadequacies of the current
educational system, designed for a bygone
era, grow more apparent as it fails to
deliver the skills required in an AI-
augmented world of work that will continue
to evolve at unprecedented speed. Rather,
the educational system seems designed to
foster a specific type of intellect that is
becoming increasingly irrelevant to the
work of the future, at a time when routine
tasks and biological forms of intelligence
are being augmented or replaced by AI
and other digital technologies.
This paper argues that individual humans
must upgrade their innate capabilities: this
includes cognitive skills such as critical,
design, lateral and innovative thinking,
along with abilities such as creativity,
cultural sensitivity, ethical conduct, and
empathy, and mindsets such as
adaptability, courage, curiosity and
resilience. All these capabilities can be
aggregated and combined to help
individuals adapt to an AI-disrupted
society. Furthermore, this white paper
emphasises the importance of standards
and frameworks based on empirical long-
term research projects, such as the Human
Capability Standards Reference
Framework1 and the 21 Century Skills
Model2. These standards and frameworks
not only help define the capabilities
required to thrive in a world augmented by
AI, but they have also been formed by
using AI to consolidate language, refine
existing research, and evaluate the future
value of specific human abilities.
The paper concludes by emphasising that
the future is now and urging humans to
embrace these new capabilities and
upgrade their operating systems in order
to thrive in an AI-centric world.
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2. Irrelevance of the Current Educational
System
The current educational system primarily
focuses on rote learning and
memorisation, catering to an intellectual
model that prioritises information retention.
However, as AI increasingly assumes
responsibility for tasks that require data
processing, humans must shift their focus
towards skills that complement and
augment AI capabilities – in other words,
skills which are highly focused on the ability
to do what machines cannot.
In the Australian curriculum, the knowledge
and skills students learn are crammed into
eight neat disciplines: English,
Mathematics, Science, Health and Physical
Education, Humanities and Social Sciences,
the Arts, Technologies, and Languages.
However, research has confirmed that a
focus on discipline-specific knowledge at
the expense of developing students’ innate
human capabilities can reduce their
chances of gaining employment.3 This
phenomenon is more prevalent in tightly-
defined subjects such as business,
accounting, information technology, and
law; subjects which are tied to existing
national job classifications and academic
disciplines. Due to the glacial speed of
curricular change, an ever-widening gap is
emerging between the skills and
knowledge that students have learnt and
those that will make them job-ready or
sufficiently flexible to take on the jobs that
are currently emerging outside obsolete
national occupational and educational
classification systems.4
By the end of 2023, efforts to develop future
workforce capabilities that are validated
using digital or micro-credentials
authorised by respected third parties (e.g.,
universities, admissions bodies, or global
professional alliances) will cover over one
million Australian employees and
professionals. These efforts include
programs being accelerated by
companies (e.g. Telstra, Westpac, Bupa,
IBM, and BHP Billiton), professional bodies
(Chartered Accountants Australia and New
Zealand, Engineers Australia, the
Governance Institute of Australia, and the
Australian Computer Society), and the
public sector (e.g., the Victorian public
sector and the Queensland Department of
Education). While most of these initiatives
involve enabling institutions (e.g.
Capability.Co) that can link capability
development to the micro-credentials that
open credit pathways into university
qualifications (e.g., Torrens University
Australia, the University of South Australia,
Deakin University, Griffith University, and
RMIT), the credentials sponsored by public,
private and professional organisations are
not reliant on content, delivery methods, or
subjects extracted from existing degree
offerings. All these credentials have
evolved to fill skill and capability gaps that
are not being satisfactorily addressed by
traditional educational offerings.
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3. Skills-Based Organisation
To provide a more scientific way to define and quantify skills in learning
and jobs...AI and machine learning is required.
Ryan Frischmann, Founder, Skills Based Approach 5
AI is heavily influencing how organisations
organise and source talent. This is directly
reshaping what makes a person employable,
and how their suitability for a job vacancy or
a promotion is assessed.
As the United States discovers – or, more
accurately, rediscovers – competency-
based approaches, reform of corporate
approaches to skilling has begun to gain
momentum. As is typical with any
bandwagon effect, the discussion taking
place in the US is tone-deaf to the research,
logics, and prior experience of other
countries. The competency-based approach
to skilling is nothing new in European and
Asian countries. Decades of learnt
experience have confirmed what will and will
not work when using a skill-based approach
to advance education and talent
management systems.
The result is the presentation of a skills-
based approach that was originally
developed for US employers as a global
method to better identify recruits, retain
workers, expand talent pools and undertake
strategic workforce planning.6 Under the
rubric of building a skills-based
organisation, employers can use AI to
prioritise skills and assemble skill sets into
competencies that define how work roles
can be accomplished. AI allows each
employer to dynamically assemble the skills
required to perform the tasks they need to
complete. Assembly does not rely on more
traditional hierarchical structures,
standardised job architectures, national
classification systems or formal
qualifications. Through the use of AI, the
assembly of myriad descriptions of skills into
‘jobs’ provides greater responsiveness to
emerging work roles and supports more
flexible and inclusive work environments.
In a skills-based organisation, individuals are
assessed according to what they can do,
rather than solely on their formal education,
tenure or experience. This approach
recognises that skills can be acquired
through various informal and non-formal
methods learning and development, such as
work experience, on-demand self-directed
online study, and authentic experiences in
particular social and cultural contexts.
In real terms, the disaggregated
components of each human’s skills and
abilities are valued as much as they used to
be when aggregated into qualifications or
work experience. This allows the skill-based
approach to break down barriers to entry
and advancement in the workplace by
focusing on what individuals can contribute,
rather on than their background or
qualifications.
By creating a taxonomy, a skills-based
organisation can generate a ‘dictionary’, or
skills and competency framework, which
details requirements that deliberately extend
horizontally and vertically to cover all job
requirements. The skills framework can then
be used to recognise and find talent in a
broader pool of individuals than that found in
a single function, discipline or a job family.
This talent can then be mobilised to achieve
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
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the organisation’s purpose and drive
important cross-functional outcomes such
as collaboration, innovation and creativity.
To promote organisations’ adoption of skills-
based methods, advocates emphasise the
need for a shift in hiring and talent
development practices. They encourage
organisations to prioritise skills-based
assessments and competency-based
interviews to ensure a fair and accurate
evaluation of each candidate for a vacancy.
Additionally, they advocate for the
recognition of alternative education and
assessment solutions, including non-award
programs, vendor or in-house training, and
developmental experiences that can be
verified and recognised by means of digital
badges or micro-credentials.
Skills-based organisations also champion
continuous learning and development. They
encourage their employees to acquire new
skills from those listed in their skills
framework to develop the vibrancy of their
internal talent marketplace. Ultimately, skills-
based activities aim to stimulate a more
equitable, inclusive, and adaptable
workforce, in which individuals are valued for
their skills and abilities and can succeed
based on their relative merit within the talent
system.
While the pillars it is built on have merit, the
overall skill-based approach has limitations
that correspond to what AI can achieve. This
means technology vendors still need to
reliably resolve some important challenges.
1. Focus on tangible, explicit technical
performance over intangible, tacit soft
skills: Without advanced filters, analysis
of previous competencies and skills data
will overwhelmingly focus on technical or
‘hard’ skills. As a result, skill frameworks
neglect the importance of ‘soft’ skills: the
enduring skills, mindsets, and other
personal attributes that more recent
research confirms as critical not only to
job performance but also to future
adaptive capacity. Skills-based
organisations therefore must take care
to place sufficient emphasis on critical
human abilities such as creativity,
collaboration, communication and the
cultivation of an adaptive mindset.
2. Lack of holistic assessment or linkage
with organisational capacity building:
The skills-based approach is driven by a
genuine desire to improve talent
management. Advocates of higher-level,
systems-wide approaches such as
people-centric or purpose-led
theoretical and applied models argue
that the aggregate of all the skill or
competency descriptors does not reflect
the reasons why staff engage in a
shared purpose. Nor will skills align
employees’ mindsets or behaviours to
the organisation’s DNA, which is the sum
of its strategic goals and cultural values.
Consequently, any investment in
upskilling may fail to deliver the change
in mindset and disposition required
across the workforce to support the
organisation’s transformation and
growth agenda.
3. Skill descriptions tied to job profiles do
not encompass each person’s full
potential: An emphasis on defining and
developing the skills needed to perform
in a job role will not unlock each person’s
full potential. A skills-based organisation
assumes that the sum of each person’s
potential and abilities can be interpreted
through skills-based listings, derived
from AI, which use machine learning (ML)
and large language model (LLM)
analysis to filter vast dictionaries of skills
and competencies. These are then
matched to job descriptions to establish
a skills framework that is relevant to the
organisation’s current and future
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
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success. Without deliberate efforts to
expand current practice, people’s latent
potential – the characteristics they
possess that are undeveloped or
transcend their current roles – will not be
accurately described.
4. Dilute focus: Just because technology
can handle vast dictionaries of skills or
competencies does not mean that this
action adds value. The most significant
problems with the manual handling of
skill frameworks in the past were not
restricted to a lack of flexibility or an
inability to accommodate jobs that fell
outside strict hierarchies. Other critical
problems were related to the cost of
maintaining and developing people in
order to provide a wide array of skills,
and the fact that prioritising
organisation-wide capability-building
activities was a difficult task. Not only did
the emphasis on jobs fail to aggregate
job roles into a few core capabilities
(cross-functional skills, knowledge or
personal abilities) that leaders could
target, any effort and investment in skills
uplift was diluted due to the number of
skills considered, and inconsistencies in
how they were allocated across job roles
and levels of work.
5. Reduce transferability and portability of
recognition: Skills-based organisations
may face challenges in effectively
assessing and transferring skills across
different contexts, employers or
locations. While certain technical skills
may be transferable, others may be
discrete to particular employer or job
activity. This can limit mobility and
career growth opportunities for
individuals who possess skills that lack
transferability beyond their current
contexts. Recognising skills that are
discrete to a certain context, activity or
organisation by means of digital badges
or micro-credentials will not improve
portability. This is due to the difficulty of
demonstrating educational outcomes
whereby a micro-credential can provide
a credit entry score into a formal
qualification, or an achievement can
generate a level of trust or perception of
credibility on the part of other employers.
6. Potential bias and discrimination: The
skills-based approach may inadvertently
perpetuate biases and discrimination.
Skills frameworks derived by aggregating
skills and competencies used in previous
job descriptions risk importing past
biases and obsolete approaches. They
can then be deployed across the talent
cycle to underpin recruitment, training
and development, performance and
career planning, and recognition and
reward interventions. If skills-based
approaches are to encompass human
capabilities, they need to place stronger
emphasis on employee engagement
and wellbeing, and on the need for more
authentic and adaptive leaders. To build
a workforce of the future, AI will need to
operate in ways that are predictive and
incorporate multi-dimensional
approaches to assessing each person’s
inner abilities, not just their skills or
behaviours.
7. Overemphasis on short-term skills: The
skills-based approach can prioritise
short-term, task-specific or discrete skills
over long-term strategic workforce
learning and development needs. By
focusing primarily on immediate job
requirements, organisations may miss
out on investing in the broader skill sets
and potential of their workforce, thus
hindering innovation and adaptability in
the long term. The enduring problem of
skill descriptions is that they date quickly
(on average, they have a shelf life of 2.5
years) and do not cover the capabilities
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
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that organisations operating in highly
dynamic, unstable markets may wish to
build to support transformation, or to
develop intangible capabilities that
support their values, brands, and cultural
or social outcomes.
8. Skewed emphasis on performance
as a measurement of skills
development: Accurately measuring
and assessing skills can be
challenging, particularly in relation to
complex or situated discrete tasks.
Objective and standardised methods
of evaluating skills may be limited,
leading to subjective judgments or
over-reliance on self-assessment;
this can introduce biases and
inaccuracies to the process. Even if
the metrics are identified and
reported accurately, critical insights
into performance need to be
broadened to include latent potential
and employee engagement
(including mindset and behaviours
which support the organisational
brand and values). This will provide
more accurate insights into the
overall value of human capital, and
the workforce’s capacity and
readiness to support future plans.
It is important to note that these criticisms
do not indicate inherent flaws in the skills-
based organisational approach. Rather, they
represent challenges that still need to be
addressed and that AI alone cannot mitigate
without a significant review of human
factors.
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4. Developing the Human OS
The Human OS is based on a fusion of
human capabilities and technical skills or
competencies. Each human’s OS provides
the strongest linkage between mind and
action. It encapsulates our self-efficacy,
mindset and disposition to act or adapt.
Moreover, self-awareness of the strengths
and weaknesses of our own OS reinforces
our confidence, our conscious control over
our own motivation, and our selection of
jobs and careers in which we can flourish.
Development of the Human OS impacts
one’s ability to discover new opportunities,
associate (or connect the unconnected),
better solve complex problems, enhance
collaboration, and develop resilience and
cognitive flexibility (which allows us to cope
better with stress, adapt to new situations,
and overcome negative life events). These
outcomes will drive an increase in the
happiness and productivity of the
workforce.7
Competency and capability defined
Competency is the knowledge, skills, and
attributes or behaviours that enable
individuals to perform specific tasks to fulfill
job requirements or achieve desired
outcomes effectively.
In simple terms, competency is a
predefined container housing the different
skill sets or behaviours a person requires to
perform in a certain job. However,
competency no longer covers all the
abilities a human requires to perform in a
job or remain employable in today’s rapidly
evolving world of work. As machines are
increasingly able to perform the
standardised, highly routine activities that
competent people have previously
undertaken, the elements of work that are
least likely to be automated or replaced by
AI and digital technologies become more
future proof. This is where human
capabilities come into play.
Capabilities are higher-order descriptors
that extend beyond the typical definitions
ascribed to skills or competencies. A
capability is:
A high-level definition of the abilities (skills,
knowledge, and innate personal abilities
such as mindset, cognition, or disposition)
that individuals and a workforce require to
adapt and succeed in the future. It is
concerned with the holistic view of an
individual’s ability to perform today and
their potential to improve tomorrow.8
In the past, the soft skills embedded in how
human interact and collaborate to achieve
an agreed purpose—skills like critical
thinking, creativity or empathy—were tacit
and less visible than the more explicit
technical ‘hard’ skills that could be
demonstrated and measured through the
production of physical output. As a result,
these soft skills are often overlooked or
undervalued in the business world.
Emphasis has primarily been placed on
technical expertise and hard skills, such as
analytical abilities or specialised
professional or technical knowledge. This
perspective stemmed from the assumption
that human workers would focus on more
technical or managerial aspects of work,
and technology could be deployed to
make their efforts more efficient or
effective.
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
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However, in a world underpinned by AI, an
increasing amount of research has been
devoted to soft skills: non-technical,
enduring, transverse or transferable skills
that are integrated into consolidated
frameworks such as human capabilities or
21st-century skills. This shift has been
driven by several factors:
1. Automation of routine tasks: AI
technology has enabled the
automation of repetitive or predictable
tasks, allowing machines to handle
routine operations efficiently. As a
result, the value of human workers lies
in their ability to contribute in areas
where creativity, innovation, critical
thinking, and complex problem-solving
are essential.
2. Unique human capabilities: Soft skills
such as creativity, emotional
intelligence, adaptability,
communication, and empathy are
innately human qualities that
machines cannot easily replicate.
These skills enable humans to bring
unique perspectives, intuition, and
context to decision-making, problem-
solving, and collaboration.
3. Complex and ambiguous challenges:
In an AI-driven world, many challenges
are complex, multifaceted, and involve
ambiguous information or information
that is derived from people who seek to
interact with the challenge. Soft skills
play a crucial role in navigating such
complexities. Creativity allows
individuals to think outside the box, find
unconventional solutions, and
generate new ideas. Emotional
intelligence helps in understanding and
managing diverse perspectives,
fostering effective collaboration, and
navigating complex social dynamics.
4. Human-centric aspects: AI systems,
while powerful and efficient, often lack
human-centric attributes such as
empathy, ethics, or cultural awareness.
Soft skills help bridge this gap by
ensuring that technology is designed
and used with a focus on human well-
being, inclusivity, and ethical
considerations.
5. Adaptability to changing roles: As AI
technology continues to advance, it is
likely to disrupt and reshape job roles
and responsibilities. Soft skills provide
individuals with the agility and
adaptability needed to embrace new
roles, learn new skills, and work
effectively in dynamic and evolving
environments.
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5. Pillars of the Human OS Upgrade
We can automate and use AI to transform our business model or
replace tasks humans perform. But we cannot make a machine
passionate about our purpose.
- Mark Britt, digital entrepreneur and CEO of eftpos Digital -
Human capabilities need to be fused with a
base level of technical competency so that
artificial intelligence can be interacted with
in a meaningful manner, whereby value to
humans is an outcome of the interaction
between human and machine.
1. Cognitive abilities: The application of
human cognitive abilities, such as
problem-solving, critical thinking, and
decision-making, is essential when
interacting with AI. These skills allow
humans to analyse the outputs provided
by AI systems, to make informed
decisions based on these outputs, and to
critique and correct AI decisions when
necessary.
2. Emotional intelligence: The ability of AI
to fully understand and respond to
human emotions remains emergent.
Human emotional intelligence plays a
critical role in interpreting and
responding to emotional contexts that AI
cannot grasp. It enables us to bridge the
gap between AI’s analytical capabilities
and the human need for empathy and
understanding.
3. Ethical judgement: Humans have the
capacity to make ethical judgements
based on cultural, societal, and personal
values. When interacting with AI, human
ethical judgement is critical for making
decisions that are fair, just, and aligned
with human values.
4. Creativity: Human creativity is essential
for designing AI systems and for
imagining novel ways in which AI could
be used to solve problems and provide
value, and for interpreting and
associating different AI-created outputs
to develop novel solutions to problems.
5. Learning and adaptability: Humans
have the ability to learn and adapt over
time. When interacting with an AI,
humans can use this ability to
understand how the AI functions, learn
how to interpret and use AI outputs
effectively, and adapt their interactions
to optimise the outcomes.
6. Interpersonal communication: Effective
communication is crucial when
interacting with AI, and especially with AI
systems like chatbots or virtual
assistants that use natural language
processing. The ability to clearly and
effectively communicate can improve
the efficiency and productivity of these
interactions.
7. Leadership and execution: AI plays an
important role at the leading edge of
innovation, research, and the association
and presentation of information. Where
digital output is concerned, AI can
execute the prototyping, testing and
development of solutions; however, in a
world in which physical products,
business models or services require a
human-centred design approach (an
approach in which humans are at the
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
15
centre of every phase gate process) AI
can only augment this process.
Capabilities like empathy and ethics,
coupled with observation and
association skills based on human
interaction, are critical for creating
products that people love and which
serve unmet needs.
8. Digital and data-centred roles:
Ironically, in a world dominated by AI and
digital disruption employers are
beginning to realise the critical
importance of upgrading the Human OS
to better compliment the technical skills
of those working in digital and data-
centred roles. Faced with critical talent
shortages in digital and data-centred
roles, many employers have sought to
attract whatever talent they can find
with the appropriate technical skills.
However, the flow-on effect has resulted
in enormous costs, as employers have
had to address low performance, slow
cycle speed before competence is
achieved, inadequate cultural fits, and
new recruits that have no problem
leaving to work for an employer that is
willing to pay a higher salary. As a result,
many larger employers have sought to
create ‘talent corridors’ that rapidly
mobilise talent with a strong human
capability profile that shows they have
the ability to learn, be customer-
focussed, and be sufficiently adaptive to
acquire the specific technical skills
required to fill digital and data-centred
roles.
9. Technical knowledge: While AI is
designed to be user-friendly, the
possession of some level of technical
knowledge can help humans understand
the capabilities and limitations of AI,
avoid misinterpretations, and use AI tools
more effectively.
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
16
6. Human OS Upgrade: Capability and
credential stacks
Through work with companies and
professional bodies, Capability.Co have
found the growth in deployment of AI is
causing a higher demand for certain human
capabilities. By identifying and supporting
development of employees with these
human capabilities, employers can
supercharge positive outcome for the
business, its customers, and the recruitment
and retention of employees.
As AI technology changes the nature of work
activities and the conduct of business, it
also alters how clients interact with the
providers of products and services. The
high-scalability, personalisation, and global
reach of AI and innovative platforms
emphasise where employment of humans is
vulnerable, but also where they add unique
value.
Research across industry, professional and
national boundaries confirm the mix of
human capabilities vary based on context,
not the person or the profession. This section
examines which human capabilities support
specific areas were the Human Operating
System (OS) can be upgraded.
Figure 1 Mix of capabilities for a range of human OS upgrades
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
17
Future Thinking (Robot-proof) Stack
When it comes to the ability to challenge
and stretch existing thinking and practices
the following four human capabilities have
been identified as the mix most in demand
for any Future Thinking Human OS upgrade.
These human capabilities are robot-proof
as they are the most difficult for technology
to replicate and required in high-demand
future work roles. The Future Thinking
Human OS include the following: Critical
Thinking, Creativity, Problem Solving and
Data and Empathy or, as an alternative,
Adaptive Mindset.
Interpersonal (Socio-Cultural) Stack
As technology disrupts many work roles it
also isolates certain tasks and activities
where technology lacks the capacity to
behave and engage with humans in a
genuine social exchange that is both
empathetic and emotionally authentic. For
some employers (e.g. primary care, social
services, retail, or hospitality sector), the
capital value of their workforce and brand
reputation resides their culture and in how
well they build authentic interpersonal
relationships. Upgrading the interpersonal
human OS will boosting social and cultural
exchanges, whether physical or mediated
by technology. Core to this cluster is
Empathy and a mix of any four other
capabilities including: Collaboration,
Communication, Customer Focus, and
Ethics.
Creativity Stack
Humans possess a rich repertoire of
experiences, emotions, and cultural
influences that contribute to the formation
of unique ideas. The process of being
creative is often messy. It involves intuition,
subjective judgment and the exploration of
unconventional possibilities. Humans can
take risks and challenge pre-existing ideas
or approaches. For machines to replicate
creativity requires the ability to think
abstractly, metaphorically, and beyond the
boundaries of existing knowledge. The
Creativity Human OS include the following:
Critical Thinking, Creativity, Agile and
Innovative, and Adaptive Mindset.
Digital and Data Human OS Upgrade
Ironically in a world dominated by AI and
digital disruption employers are beginning
to realise the critical importance of
upgrading the Human OS to better
compliment the technical skill for those
working in digital and data roles.
Faced with critical areas of talent shortage
in digital and data related work roles many
employers have sought to address three
problems. The first relates to finding and
attracting talent with the technical skills
required for new and expanding roles. The
subsequent effort relates to addressing the
poor performance, retention and cultural-fit
of many new recruits. The third and final
consequential issue relates to finding a
more reliable way to secure talent,
preferably internal, that can be reskilled
rapidly to fill digital and data work roles.
Research across multiple employers has
revealed that those recruited to digital and
data roles in cybersecurity, software
engineering, cloud and IT infrastructure
roles achieve competence more rapidly,
receive high performance scores, and gain
promotion earlier where they have high
potential in four capabilities: Agile and
Innovative, Customer Focus, Problem
Solving and Data, Collaboration or
Leadership.9
Leader Human OS Upgrade
Within the Human Capability standards
there are four LEAD Capability Standards:
Leadership, Engagement and Coaching,
Agile and Innovative, and Direction and
Purpose. The capabilities, individually and
together, distinguish the very human
requirements for those seeking to achieve a
high standard of leadership at work or
within their community.
Table 1 Essential human capabilities mapped to Human OS clusters
Clusters to Upgrade the Huma
n OS
Human Capabilities & Domains
Future Thinking
Interpersonal
Creativity
Digital & Data
Leader
HEAD
Critical Thinking
Research investigations on the capabilities for the future workforce consistently rate
Critical Thinking
in the top
three human capabilities.
10 It is valued highly because it allows an individual to continually informed
judgements, analyse alternatives,
optimise decisions, and critically review if their actions have achieved the
required outcomes.
Critical thinking is a unique human
ability. It encompasses concepts such as analysing information, applying
a logical inquiry process, and appraising evidence
to make sound judgments. But the Critical Thinking
capability
is more than just an adjunct to analytical thinking or problem solving. Viewing it through the lens of
other skills
serves to reinforce obsolete ideas about how it is developed and deployed in life
and work. Thinking
is not always linear
nor logical. A key aspect of critical thinking is the ability to be intuitive or engage in
abstract thinking. Humans can generate inno
vative ideas, approach problems from multiple perspectives,
and think outside the box. This flexibility in problem
-solving is challenging for robots, as they typically operate
within predefined algorithms and lack the empathy to realise the human aspects of some creative insights.
Creativity
Creativity
is an ability deeply embedded in each person’s unique inner abilities and character. Creativity
allows for the generation of innovative ideas
and artistic expression that evoke emotions and incite personal
and cultural meaning
. AI and digital technologies rely on humans to enhance how they are utilised and help
humans develop
novel solutions and opportunities. But AI cannot replace human creativity.
Upgrading our c
reativity, or the act of thinking creatively, requires persistent effort to examine any idea that
not only supports an endeavour but also may lead to alternative conclusions or ideas.
11
Roger von Oech (1983)
stressed the most important thing we need to do in creative endeavours is
to suspend the search for the ‘right
answer’, not that this is inherently bad; it is just debilitating to how we think and develop our neurocircuits.
12
Adaptive Mindset
The
Adaptive Mindset capability is a late comer to the top ranked human capabilities. It finds its roots in the
increased realisation that mindsets drive why and how people do things. Skills may focus on what people do,
but m
indsets are the deep assumptions and mental attitudes that drive behaviour. As a result emerging
global
research on how future workforces emphasise the importance of each person’s brain, not just their
hands
. Advances in neuroscience and neurodiversity reveal each employee will have a unique ability to deal
with anxiety, work under pressure, learn, en
gage with others, adapt, and perform depending on how well their
brain regulates emotion.
13
Adaptive Mindset
includes the cognitive and behavioural outcomes often expressed as a desire for
employees to express courage, curiosity, resilience or the ability to learn. This is essential for organisations on
a journey of
transformation. Continually managing change and engaging people in th
e process is exhausting.
If change remains as a set of
staged procedures and actions, it fails to allow the workforce to develop a brain
wired to adapt, learn, and grow from experiences (neuroplasticity). This means organisations need employees
and contrac
tors who are more self-aware, curious, persistent, and who have the ‘grit’ to keep going when
things get tough or uncertain. This is at the heart of developing an adaptive mindset.
HEART
Empathy
Empathy, the ability to understand and share the
feelings of others, plays a fundamental role in collaboration,
leadership, and ethical decision
-making. It helps create human-centric AI systems that prioritise well-being,
inclusivity, and social responsibility.
While the better
employers look beyond qualifications and intellectual quotient (IQ) when recrui
ting, many still
seek
staff with Emotional Intelligence (EQ), a term popularised by Goleman in the mid-1990s.14 Ongoing
research continue
s to evolve our understanding of EQ in a modern, future-ready workforce. Most authors
suggest it involves the capacity to understand one’s own emotions, the ability to regulate them, and its facility
to shape emotions and influence behaviour. Furthermore,
while deeply entwined with EQ and social
intelligence (SQ),
the presence of empathy in a person has been highly predictive of a person’s long-term
potential and employability in people
- or customer-centric work roles. The Empathy capability involves the
ability to understand and consider other people’s
emotions.15 Those who are aware of their own and others’
emotions are better able to guide their own actions and to make other people feel valued and appreciated
.
Being empathetic is also closely related to the character and awareness to
enhance personal behaviours,
including resilience, mindfulness, open-mindedness, and inclusiveness.
Ethics
The
Ethics human capability focusses on applied ethics and moral judgments in professional or work
situations.
16 Ethics shape an organisation’s sense of moral duty and its moral conduct. While individuals may
have their own set of ethical beliefs, as an employee they are typically asked to align their sense of morality
and values to the standards of behaviour their employer sets in terms of how they behave, act, interact with
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
19
Clusters to Upgrade the Huma
n OS
Human Capabilities & Domains
Future Thinking
Interpersonal
Creativity
Digital & Data
Leader
others, and perform
and conform to business and social expectations as to standards of behaviour or
conduct
.
The
Ethics is about who you are, how you behave, and an awareness of how your decisions affect others.
Ethics cannot be set by AI o
r machines. Ethics is a human attribute applied to AI and technology design and
use
because humans have to set the moral principles, values, and decision-making frameworks based on
professional, regulatory, and
societal norms and considerations of what is right or wrong. Making ethical
judgments require empathy, understanding of context,
the people involved and their competing interests. The
responsibility to navigate complex ethical dilemmas posed by AI systems resides with humans, not machines.
HANDS
Communication
No matter the research project or future skills survey
conducted with education or industry partners,
Communication
is consistently rated as one of the most vital capabilities.
But we need to be very careful as to
what we mean by
communication and what it encompasses.
AI
, chat bots and other technologies are replacing direct communication between people and customers by
automating various aspects of customer interactions. Chatbots and virtual assist
ants provide instant
responses to customer queries, eliminating the need for human intervention in many case
s. AI-powered
recommendation systems, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems, and Natural Language Processing (NLP)
to analyse and craft personalised communication
attuned to a customer’s preferences and behaviours.
Nonetheless, w
hile technology may streamline and enhance a customer experience, it cannot communicate
when physical or emotional responses require a
human interaction sensitive to complex personal issues. So
when it comes to upgrading the
Communication capability the focus must be on how humans foster trust
and empathy
. How humans, unlike technology, can respond with empathy, nuanced emotional or cultural
understanding, appreciate contextual needs, and form an interpersonal relationship.
Collaboration
Collaboration is consistently rate
d in the top three most important capabilities required in the modern
workplace
. But collaboration is one of the most misunderstood capabilities. Often mixed in with teamwork,
leadership, or communication
, it is often ignored as the distinctly human ability that needs continual
development and
consideration.
As humans are fundamentally social animals, we thrive in environments where we can contribute to a group
working towards achieving outcomes beyond what we can achieve by ourselves. Where collaboration i
s a
positive experience
—encouraging participation and reinforcing inclusive behaviours—the sense of
achievement, level of innovation, or improve
d results all serve to raise employee engagement. People want to
work for organisations where they can make an i
mpact.
At its heart,
collaboration encompasses the skills (what), mindset (how) and cognitive abilities (why). Unlike a
technical skill that can be learnt
and
repeated, collaboration is highly situated. How and why will be influenced
by the people involved, the context and the
purpose they share. While the Collaboration capability involves
skills may be learnt, at its heart
collaboration involves a social exchange that is only developed through
applied experience.
Customer Focus
To achieve a positive customer experience (CX), organisations need to recruit and develop people with the
Customer Focus human capability. Customer Focus is not limited to a service exchange. It encompasses the
entire service lifecycle or customer journey.
Excellence in service or product delivery requires everyone in the
organisation develop a mindset whereby they appreciate not the customers’ needs and expectations but how
they personal
act and behave to best support internal and external customers.
With
high turnover and large-scale reliance on digital transformation in most organisations many employers
sourced ICT skills from
contractors or recruits that are often poached by other employers within twelve
months of appointment. As a result business operations tended to engage specialist in one part of the project
work or in discrete deliverables as part of a larger project. This
response often restricts the digital and data
employee
’s view of the whole project, the customer or the intended outcome. In conjunction with an
absence
of long-term loyalty to the company, many employers now need digital and data staff who
proactively seek to
understand customers and their expectations. This focus on the customer must span from
initial design through to requirements specification, build, testing and iterative refinement.
Problem Solving and Data
Problem Solving and Data
or its variations (e.g. Informed Decision Making or Data Driven Decision Making) is
consistently
in the top five ranked Human Capabilities required for employment in the future workforce. It
integrates with understanding and use of data to remove individual subjectivity and opinion to
weigh options
and
determine the most appropriate course of action.
Effective problem solving is about applying a methodical process for correctly defining the problem,
examining alternatives, and making informed
decisions in the given situation. As complexity and unknowns
affect life and work the greater the emphasis is p
laced on human intervention to investigate different ways of
assessing
a problem or idea and the optimal solutions, or to find alternative ways to examine and solve new
problems
. For those in the digital and data field, applying problem solving and using quality data to inform
solutions search and selection of alternative is very much a high
-order capability that distinguishes the
technically competent from those able to apply independent thinking and correctly determine the
consequences of their choices (e.g. ethical concerns).
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
20
Clusters to Upgrade the Huma
n OS
Human Capabilities & Domains
Future Thinking
Interpersonal
Creativity
Digital & Data
Leader
LEAD
Leadership
The
Leadership capability has a bearing on effective individual and collective engagement and performance
at every level of work. Research confirms the fourth industrial revolution has accelerated
technological
advancements and
resulting disruptions. Effective leaders are required to navigate complex digital
landscapes
and inspire individuals and teams to adapt to change. They need to inspire people at an
emotional level and build a
culture of ethical behaviours, continuous learning, collaboration, innovation and
experimentation
.
Leadership
is one the human capabilities that is best assessed and judged by those being led. As employers
and education institutions deliberately move away from the ‘Great Man” model and the technical, managerial
or functional competency
-based approaches we have come to emphasise how leaders engage in authentic
relationships, build trust, and inspire others to adapt, learn,
grow performance, and emotionally engage in
supporting the organisation’s purpose and cultural values.
Engagement and Coaching
Engagement and Coaching
centres on engaging, empowering, developing and motivating humans to
achieve high performance in a given cultural context. This requires self
-awareness, not only for our own
biases but how we act to encourage
interactions between people that may have diverse cultural
backgrounds
, perspectives, intelligences and values.17 It raises the importance of leaders acting inclusively
and
with sensitivity. Non-recognition of difference is not necessarily negative, but it certainly means we need
to better understand people by displaying empathy and awareness rather than judging their actions from our
own perspective.
Activating transformation or capability building in organisations
relies heavily on leaders coaching and
developing their staff
. When leaders invest in development, they positively influence not on employee
capability
growth, research indicates they also raise employee satisfaction, which in turn leads to higher
retention rates and increased levels of engagement.
The link between leader behaviours that foster
personalised
development also reinforce aa organisational culture that values generative learning,
adaptability and innovation.
Agile and Innovative
Agile and I
nnovative is classically defined as the "process that begins with an inventor's insight and ends with
a new product or technique” being created.
18 Agile and Innovative is the capacity to not only apply tools and
techniques that stimulate innovation; it is also a m
ental model whereby the person provides the energy and
entrepreneurial behaviours
to accommodate and seek opportunities in a constant state of change. This may
lead to unorthodox solutions or new insights that can be exploited to improve current thinking o
r practice.
While
the presence of adaptive mindset is a strong indicator of an attitude and disposition towards
innovation, learning and rapid improvement, t
he person obtaining the Agile and Innovative capability may be
more process oriented than, for instance, a
creative thinker. But they can challenge current thinking and
practice. They can work with others to champion
change that promote transformation of business models or
practices
. They embrace new ways of thinking, listen well, analyse options, envisage opportunities, and
engage
others in rapid experiments where they collectively take calculated risks, learn from mistakes and
iteratively advance new products or solutions.
Direction and Purpose
Leaders are increasingly required to inspire commitment and engagement from staff
and stakeholders to
organisations purpose and long
-term direction. An organisation that is purpose-led will be guided by a
meaningful
vision that provides a direction beyond traditional financial success. Typically, the purpose will be
supported by
strategic goals and cultural values that have a positive impact on society or the environment
while delivering value to its stakeholders
.
Employers
looking to use their purpose to shape future actions need to attract and retain individuals that are
not only committed to the shared
purpose and core values, but also emotionally engage in attaining the
positive impact
the organisation seeks to achieve. The Direction and Purpose capability therefore reflects the
need for leaders who have the ability to both make a
personal commitment and are willing to overcome
problems that affect employee
performance or commitment to agreed outcomes. Leaders who can empo
wer
employees and
build a sense of collective responsibility. Leaders who also construct a workplace culture that
provides the
psychological safety required for employees to share knowledge, admit to mistakes, provide
honest feedback, and to challenge what isn’t working.
O’Hanlon & Bowles | Upgrading the Human OS
21
ENDNOTES
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4 Bowles, M., Ghosh, S., & Thomas, L. (January 2020). Future-proofing accounting professionals: Ensuring graduate employability
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5 Frischmann, R. (January 6, 2023). Skills and AI preparing the future workforce, LinkedIn Pulse,
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6 Hancock, B, et al (November 2022) Taking a skills-based approach to building the future workforce, McKinsey, New York.
Retrieved 2 June 20223 at https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-
insights/taking-a-skills-based-approach-to-building-the-future-workforce
7 Kaufman, J.C. (Ed.) (2014). The relationship between creativity and mental illness. Cambridge University Press; Ward, T.B. (2004).
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8 After Bowles, M. & Lanyon, S. (November 2016). Demystifying Credentials: Growing capabilities for the future, Deakin.Co,
Melbourne.
9 Reynolds, J., Bowles, M.S. & Ghosh, S. (March 2023) Validating Future-Ready Capability Requirements for Networks and Information
Technology: A Case Study. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 14(1), doi:10.30845/ijbss.v14n1p3
10 Bowles, M., Bowes, N., & Wilson, P. (2019). Future-proof human capabilities: Raising the future employability of graduates.
International Journal of Business and Social Science, 10(11), 18–29.
11 Glaser, E.M. (1941). An experiment in the development of critical thinking, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York.
12 von Oech, R. (1983). A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative, Warner Books, San Francisco.
13 Rock, D. (April 28, 2010). Leadership on the brain. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 27 March 2018 at
https://hbr.org/2010/04/leadership-on-the-brain
14 Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, Bantam, New York.
15 Seema, G. (October 2012). Emotional intelligence in classroom. Advances in Management, 5(10), 16–23.
16 Bowie, N.E. & Werhane, P.H. (2005). Management Ethics, Foundations of Business Ethics, Vol. 5. Blackwell, Oxford.
17 Staats, C., Capatosto, K., Wright, R.A, & Contractor, D. (2015). Implicit Biases, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity,
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18 Lundstedt S.B. & Colglasier E.W. (eds) (1982) Managing Innovation: The Social Dimension of Creativity, Invention & Technology,
Pergamon Press, New York.
