Enabling great leadership
The world of leadership development can be a confusing and overwhelming place to navigate.
But forget complicated theories, trends, or whatever the latest adjective to be placed in front of the word 'leadership' is; it's the core human capabilities that matter.
Self-awareness, listening, empathy, curiosity, and trust building... these things aren’t a blueprint for the ‘perfect leader’ (there’s no such thing!) They’re leadership enablers; they enable great leadership action to happen.
For example, solving problems begins with listening to others and being curious. Supporting and growing people requires you to understand and empathise with them as individuals. Building high-performing teams calls on you to deepen your awareness of self and others. And when a crisis hits and you need to pivot to a directive approach, the degree to which people follow you usually depends on how much you’ve invested in building their trust.
Leadership action comes in all different shapes and sizes, but its success is catalysed by these deeply human building blocks. Therefore, it’s vital that a leader develop them in their own practice, and create the conditions for others to do the same.
The work of working with other humans
None of this is new. Organisations are, and have always been, groups of humans working in service to others. Leadership is, and has always been, the work of working with other human beings.
However, for a long time, too much focus on business drivers and an overreliance on outdated ideas about leadership have compromised the people that make up these organisations. Humanity has been squeezed out of work.
Leadership needs to return to its human roots. And this starts with a ‘human-centred approach’, which means putting human dignity, needs, and experience at the core of the organisation and the ways in which it operates.
Key business results
People sometimes worry that there is a tension between a human-centred approach and the bottom line they need to achieve. But does achieving business results really mean that we can’t also respect and care for the people involved in creating that success?
We don’t think so. And research supports this, proving that a human-centred approach not only creates positive workplace cultures and experiences, but also drives business results:
- People in human-centred organisations are:
- 3.8 x more likely to be high performing
- 3.2 x more likely to have high intent to stay
- 3.1 x more likely to have low fatigue
- There is a 37% increase in the number of people with high engagement when they report to a human-centred leader, compared to those who don’t.
- Organisations led by human-centred leaders are 32% more likely to outperform competitors in revenue growth and innovation
- Organisations prioritising a human-centred approach are 12x more likely to experience transformation success
Adopt a human-centred approach today
A human-centred leader doesn’t compromise on their success; these leaders accelerate their results and performance precisely because they prioritise their people.
Human-centred organisations are built by their people from the inside out – one question, one conversation, and one connection at a time. And by role modelling this approach in every interaction, human-centred leaders create a positive impact that reverberates throughout the organisation, fostering teams and cultures in which people can truly thrive.