One aim of humanistic leadership is to enable people and the organizations they support to grow, develop, and be sustainable over the long run.

This growth can occur when there is honest communication at work. Honest communication means people are not afraid to state their feelings, opinions, concerns, and ideas at work. Of course, they should be taught that honest communication also includes respectful communication so that others don’t lose their voice or respect in the transaction. Honest communication raises trust, reduces conflict, and increases leadership leverage at work.

When people come to work, they bring many thoughts that will not be shared. Feelings of insecurity, worry, stress, personal issues from home, expectations, hopes, and dreams converge at work but are often unspoken. When humanistic leaders enable the organization and encourage open and honest communication, people feel more comfortable sharing what is on their minds without fear of humiliation, punishment, or criticism.

As a result, the workplace will thrive, and productivity will soar. Most communication is non-verbal, so paying attention to what is not spoken but observed through behavior is essential. Observing behavior can be done when we are self-aware and invest the time to listen deeply and observe others without judgment, which can open communication.

When there is honest communication at work, teamwork soars, conflict is reduced, and individuals experience more joy in what they do.

How to make better decisions

As leaders of ourselves and often others, we need to be good at making decisions. Making decisions is an essential skill of being a humanistic leader.

Often, our decisions are made incorrectly due to a number of factors: incorrect biases, emotional fear, peer pressure, past habits, short-term thinking, unclear goals or outcomes, and, just often, fear of making the wrong decision.

So when making an important decision, take time.

Gather facts, be clear on the desired outcome, and evaluate whether or not this decision will get you closer to or farther away from your desired outcome.

Think through the effect of your decision on yourself and others after the decision is made. If the decision feels too big to make, take smaller steps first and start with a few small decisions, as this will get the decision-making momentum going in the right direction.

Use your inner voice and intuition to guide your decision. If we take the time to block out external noise and listen carefully to our inner selves, we usually know what is best.

Think back to similar decisions you made and examine how they turned out to further guide and inform this current decision.

Finally, set a time limit for deciding so you don’t procrastinate.

You can start to make better decisions by having a set process to guide you.

But remember, a humanistic leader makes many decisions, and as a result, we gather new learning and experience for the next time.

The best training for a leader

I have observed that the best training for a leader is to lead oneself. Self-leadership includes a close alignment of one’s values and daily behaviors closely linked to measurable goals. Self-leadership takes being kind to oneself, our best friend, patience, and self-care.

Self-leadership requires positive self-talk and good daily care of mind and body.

Finally, self-leadership requires discipline, focus, creativity, and forgiveness of past mistakes.
When you have completed this training, you can better lead others.

Ten themes to start the new year as a humanistic leader

Be kind
Stay calm
Be sincere
Be transparent
Stay organized
Be positive
Be decisive
Don’t hold grudges
Be joyful in work and life
Live in the moment

And your new year as a leader will be a good one!

People are good

We can have empathy and compassion toward each other.

Recently, I noticed, for example, on the app Next Door, how often people help strangers by sacrificing their time or resources to help others in need.

Our core capacity is to collaborate. Collaboration with others builds community and can prevent loneliness.

We grow stronger after helping others; we feel good about ourselves and less selfish.

When we help others in need, our perception and sense of the world change positively.

We are not perfect, and we make mistakes, but again, at our core, we strive to be good and take care of others.

We all have the essence of humanistic leadership within us; we just have to acknowledge it more often.

People are good.

Humanistic leaders are systems thinkers.

As leaders of ourselves and others, we must be systems thinkers. This is the second tier of the humanistic leadership model (HLM).

A systems thinker understands that everything in a system is interconnected and that a slight change to the system can have a significant effect.

For example, a company may have supplier delays, which impacts customer demand.

Poor leadership in one department leads to employee retention rates dropping.

Any bias in AI design will have an impact on human behavior.

In any system, there is a concept called unintended consequences.
This means that things that were not anticipated will usually occur in any system.
For example, a new bonus system for the sales staff may cause some sales staff to offer customers the wrong products to increase sales.
Too much emphasis on testing and grades can reduce students’ critical thinking and creativity in education.
The more we automate, the fewer opportunities exist for people to impact society.
If a company cuts employees, the remaining employees suddenly become less productive and worry that they will be next.
We feel bad, so to reward ourselves, we turn to an addiction that only makes the problem worse the next day.

Humanistic leaders understand that any changes in the system will affect the entire system, including some minor changes. So, to be humanistic leaders of ourselves and others, we must understand every system we are a part of, monitor and measure it, and anticipate what new change might do to it.