Putting people first – the benefits of Human Leadership

A survey by Gartner of 230 HR leaders showed that 90% of them believed that it was essential for leaders to focus on the human aspects of leadership if they were to succeed. It also showed there was a 37% increase in high engagement for those employees who worked for a human leader and that these employees improved their team’s performance by up to 27%. However, another Gartner survey of 3,400 employees conducted at the same time showed that only 29% of them thought that they were led by a ‘human leader’. The business case for human leadership is there so why aren’t leaders more committed to the approach?

Human leadership refers to the practice of guiding and influencing a group of individuals or an organisation towards a common goal through effective communication, collaboration, empathy, and understanding of human behaviour. It emphasises the importance of connecting with and inspiring people on a personal level, considering their needs, motivations, and strengths.

Contrasting with more traditional, authoritative, or transactional leadership styles that focus primarily on power dynamics, hierarchy, and task-oriented goals, human leadership places people at the centre, recognising that a motivated, engaged, and well-supported team is essential for achieving sustainable success. Some of the benefits of human leadership include:

• Enhanced Employee Engagement: Human leaders build relationships with their team members that lead to higher levels of engagement and job satisfaction. Employees feel valued, supported and understood so are more likely to be motivated and committed to their work.

• Improved Communication: Human leaders prioritise open and transparent communication, creating a culture of trust and encouraging team members to express their ideas, concerns and feedback, leading to better collaboration and decision-making.

• Higher Productivity: Employees who feel connected to their leader and colleagues, are more likely to work collaboratively, share knowledge and contribute, leading to increased productivity and better results.

• Reduced Turnover: Human leaders create a work environment that fosters loyalty and a sense of belonging. Employees are less likely to leave so staff turnover and recruitment and training costs are reduced.

• Enhanced Creativity and Innovation: Human leaders encourage employees to share ideas and perspectives, promoting a culture of innovation, creative problem-solving and new solutions.

• Higher Employee Well-being: Human leaders show genuine care for the well-being of their team, provide support during challenging times and promote a positive and healthy workplace culture.

• Effective Conflict Resolution: Human leaders address conflicts and disagreements constructively, using open communication and empathy to facilitate resolution and maintain positive relationships within the team.

• Development of Leadership Skills: Human leaders focus on mentoring and developing the leadership skills of their team so individual growth improves and a pipeline of future leaders built.

• Positive Organisational Culture: Human leaders contribute to the development of a positive organisational culture based on respect, trust and collaboration. This attracts top talent and contributes to the organisation's reputation and success

• Adaptability to Change: Human leaders are more attuned to the emotional and psychological impact of change on their team which helps employees navigate transitions and adapt to new circumstances.

• Higher Employee Satisfaction: Employees with human leaders are more likely to feel satisfied with their work, interactions with colleagues and overall work environment.

• Improved Performance Reviews: Human leaders provide regular feedback and coaching so employees improve their skills and performance and contribute to meaningful and productive performance reviews.

Whist other leadership styles may have their own strengths and applications, human leadership stands out for its emphasis on building strong relationships, understanding, and addressing the emotional needs of team members, and promoting collaboration and empathy as fundamental aspects of effective leadership.

Human leaders choose transparency over control, relationships over hierarchies and wellbeing over productivity. They engage with employees, lead by example and are authentic and empathetic. They possess high emotional intelligence, are calm and confident, and communicate clearly.  They see change as a way of building a new and better future where the values and purpose of the organisation are genuinely believed in and lived out every day.

In today’s constantly changing world of work, can you afford not to be a more human leader?

Look for the opportunity

Carrington Smith trained as a lawyer and practiced law for seven years before becoming an executive search consultant. She now owns her own executive search business so has to interview different executives to see if they fit the criteria for opportunities she is recruiting for. Part of this is finding out if they would be a good fit culturally and the way she does this is through character and values. Her favourite question is that ‘we all have moments that define us, can you tell me about an event that has shaped you and how it did’. During the pandemic she decided to write a book to provide the answer to her question.

One of the things Carrington really looks for is resilience. She finds that people who haven’t had a defining moment haven’t had any hardships in life so are not able to deal with a ‘hurricane’ whereas to someone who had life experiences and developed emotional resilience it might just be a ‘rainy day’. Executives need to react and change quickly and be able to flex their resilience muscle.

In the US there a are number of laws and regulations regarding what you can ask people in an interview situation. Carrington uses that particular question because it’s very open ended. People respond with many different answers but being willing to be open and vulnerable can tell a lot about them. Some say getting married or the birth of child but this doesn't give much about character, values or resilience. You need to dig deeper – some moments can be almost everyday but also very transformative.

Carrington came from a very religious family where there was emotional, spiritual and physical abuse. When she got to college she was raped and the family response was to tell her not to talk about it. Now people ask how do she find anything good in being raped. How did she bounce back from it and not be defined by it. She knew she didn't want to be defined by it. When we tell ourselves about not being defined by something it’s generally not talking about it. The traumas that happen and that we don't want to be defined by we don't talk about and we don't deal with them. They then become what Carrington refers to as ‘the monster under the bed’. They end up controlling us because we haven’t dealt with them. We have to face these things head on. Feel the emotion then go back to what happened to us and incorporate it as part of our life experience. That is how we grow.

The motivation for Carrington’s book came from the pandemic. When it hit she realised her very ordinariness made her story compelling. We all experienced universal trauma but the way she responded to it was different.  She saw it as the opportunity of a lifetime – a historic moment that we might never have again to stop, evaluate and change course. She felt she was equipped to handle it so wrote her book by knitting her stories together as a road map and as a gift to share how she had experienced different traumas and got though them.

An example is her second divorce. The death of her marriage meant she got a whole new life. She went from she had lost to what she had gained – the opportunity to reshape her life. Carrington takes focus from what’s lost to what’s gained. Mindset is a muscle so the more you use it the stronger it gets. Now whenever something bad happens she looks for the opportunity. She now recovers faster having been through several traumatic experiences. That's not to minimise the feelings but to focus on there being something good on the other side. Having a sense of purpose gives meaning to the challenge you are experiencing.

Many senior executives have feet of clay. They don't have character but have been over promoted, have a good network set and strong political acumen.  Carrington feels there used to be two separate personas  - the personal and professional. The pandemic changed this with zoom calls providing a window into people’s lives so the two personas came together.  She also thinks the pandemic showed peoples authenticity and vulnerability so a lack of vulnerability and authenticity in executives are red flags. Some people are never going to share their emotions but are able to show empathy and meet people where they are and this willingness to acknowledge things will impact workplaces positively.

You can find out more about Carrington at www.carrington-smith.com where you can download the first chapter of her latest book Blooming free.

You can purchase the book at Blooming: Finding Gifts in the Shit of Life

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.

Why leaders need to limit their empathy

Empathy, the ability to understand and be sensitive to another person’s feelings and thoughts, is a valuable skill. In the workplace, the challenging times we’ve all been through and, in many cases are still facing, has meant that empathy has become an increasingly important part of managers and leaders toolkit.

However, it is possible to take empathy too far. Leaders are often faced with situations involving dissatisfaction, disappointment, domestic problems or conflict and, whilst it's good for them to understand how their team feels about things, directly experiencing everyone’s problems and emotions without being able to control them can be exhausting.

Emotions, even happy ones, can be draining so finding a way to limit the amount of empathy they feel for their employees can help ensure they don't become overburdened or burnt out. Regulating feelings and controlling emotions allows them to keep a clear mind and helps maintain a balance so they don't get overwhelmed with emotion.

Empathetic leaders can consistently and powerfully engage their teams but excessive empathy can deplete their mental resources and lead to “compassion fatigue, and burnout. Every leader needs to understand when it’s essential to move beyond empathy and define a way forward.

A list of upcoming podcast guests is available here or read our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Leadership, Resilience and Burnout solutions.