What is human-centred leadership? 

Human-centred or human-centric leadership operates under the mindset that a company’s people are its number one priority. When allocating resources, formulating policies, and engaging in business decisions, this leader carefully considers the impact on employees and their ability to thrive. Typically, these organizations boast a company culture that promotes employee recognition, well-being initiatives, personal development, flexibility, and open communication. 

How does it differ from task-oriented leadership?

While human-centred leadership focuses on people, task-oriented leadership emphasizes adhering to schedules, developing processes, and achieving goals. In a nutshell, the number one priority is getting tasks done on time and within budget. Little attention is given to employees and how policies and processes impact them. 

Task-oriented leaders tend to be skilled at developing actionable plans to achieve goals, delegating duties, monitoring progress, and issuing rewards based on goals met. This approach is particularly useful when your company must meet tight deadlines. 

What qualities does a human-centred leader demonstrate?

When adopting a human-centred approach, it is important to choose leaders equipped for the role. This involves possessing and exhibiting specific skills, aptitudes, and characteristics. Here are some of the attributes that an effective human-centric leader displays:

• Genuine: To lead by example, it is imperative to genuinely believe in and live by the principles that they espouse. If a leader says they value honesty and respect, they must model these qualities. Furthermore, it is important to let your employees see the real you. This fosters a safe environment where employees feel free to be themselves and share openly. 
• Committed to a culture of learning: These leaders take on the role of a supportive coach by providing team members with opportunities for growth and a lifelong learning journey. They strive to help each employee reach their full potential. 
• Empathetic: To understand an employee‘s experience and perspective, a human-centric leader can place themselves in an employee’s shoes. Empathetic leadership involves listening attentively, understanding a person’s needs, showing them that you care, and taking steps to address their concerns. 
• Dedicated to employee recognition: Those who take a human-centred approach strive to make employees feel appreciated for their efforts through employee recognition. These leaders foster a culture that celebrates accomplishments, provides regular feedback, and finds innovative ways to reward successes. 
• Striving for a psychologically safe workplace: Truly happy employees feel safe communicating openly, trying new things, and learning through their mistakes. As such, a human-centred leader fosters an environment that values collaboration and sharing, nurtures the development of human connections, and establishes a judgement-free atmosphere.
• Encouraging open and honest dialogue: These leaders recognize that a culture of transparency fosters trust, making employees feel that their voices are heard and make a difference. This involves encouraging employees to engage in honest dialogue without fear of punishment, introducing an open-door policy, and regularly seeking feedback from team members.
• Promoting autonomy: The human-centred approach believes in empowering your employees to make decisions and solve problems relating to their work. This not only lets them know they are trusted, but it also promotes creativity, engagement, and self-efficacy. 
• Supportive of well-being initiatives: This leadership style involves supporting, creating, and integrating employee well-being initiatives, including flexible working hours, mental health programs, ergonomic workstations, team-building exercises, and financial wellness programs. It is also necessary to encourage a work-life balance , recognizing that team members juggle both personal and job responsibilities. 
• Emotionally intelligent: These leaders require an awareness of their own emotions and the ability to regulate them. Emotional intelligence also involves recognizing one’s emotional triggers, prejudices, and other factors that could lead to a knee-jerk response. An emotionally intelligent leader can read body language, consider varying points of view, display empathy, and formulate sensitive replies. 

What are the benefits of human-centred leadership? 

Before switching leadership styles, it is important to explore what a human-centred approach offers. Here are some of the benefits of this approach: 

• Improved employee retention: Does your company struggle with employee retention? Employees are less likely to leave a company that values their well-being, welcomes their input, and offers them opportunities for growth. By taking a human-centred approach, you can reduce burnout rates, better meet employee needs, and increase levels of engagement—all resulting in decreased turnover. 
• Heightened employee engagement: When an employer treats its employees well, those employees are more likely to put forth their best efforts. By introducing employee wellness programs, recognizing their successes, providing training opportunities, and seeking their input in the decision-making process, employees feel more valued and invested in the organization, leading to increased employee engagement. 
• A culture of community: Human-centric leaders strive to create an atmosphere of inclusion, open communication, psychological safety, and team-building. A natural result of these activities is an overall sense of cohesiveness in which everyone’s skills, perspectives, and uniqueness are valued. This culture can lead to more collaboration, higher engagement, and lower turnover . It can also create a positive employer brand. 
• Increased DEI: This approach fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion through DEI-specific initiatives and the creation of a corporate culture that naturally supports these efforts. This can not only increase engagement and employee retention but may also improve your employer brand and enhance your company’s ability to attract a larger pool of top talent.
• Enhanced agility: Your human-centric company will likely be better poised to adapt to change than its task-oriented counterparts. The people-first approach emphasizes transparency, making employees well-informed and more trusting of leadership. These team members are also more likely to speak up if changes to processes, policies, or products fail to yield the desired results, enabling the organization to address these problems. 
• Skilled workforce: Thanks to the human-centred approach, your company has integrated personal and professional development opportunities, a psychologically safe environment, and an atmosphere that encourages creativity. As a result, your team has likely garnered new skills and competencies, higher levels of self-efficacy, and an increased willingness to innovate and take risks, resulting in a more skilled and capable workforce.
• Improved employer image: A satisfied employee can be a huge boon to your employer brand, spreading positive feedback through word of mouth and social media. By adding humanity to your employer brand, you can significantly enhance your ability to attract new talent and retain current employees.

What potential drawbacks are associated with human-centred leadership?

While this leadership style boasts many benefits, there are potential problems that can arise. By identifying them, you can develop ways to overcome these hurdles. Here are some potential drawbacks associated with this type of leadership:

• Decreased performance: A “people-first” approach can lead to a diminished sense of personal responsibility. It is important to communicate clear expectations and deadlines within the human-centred framework. It is also necessary for each employee to fully grasp how their input contributes to the success of the whole team.
• Blurred boundaries: While it is beneficial to seek employee input when decision-making and problem-solving, this can lead to a blurring of boundaries. The leader still has the authority to make the final decision after weighing this input. Furthermore, too much input can slow down the decision-making process. It is also important that leaders realize that they can’t please everyone all the time. Some decisions will prove unpopular, but that does not mean they aren’t the right choice. 
• Singularly focused: A successful organization values its people while also considering business strategies, consumers, the environment, budget constraints, competition, and the economy. It is important that your employees do not become your singular consideration. Instead, maintain your “people-first” perspective while addressing these other areas of concern. 
• Failure to meet expectations: If not handled properly, the human-centred approach can read like a lofty employee wish list with a hefty price tag. It is important only to promise what you can afford to deliver. It is necessary to operate within the confines of your organization’s budget. This is where honest communication and transparency are important in order to avoid disappointing your team and creating distrust.

When it comes to selecting a leadership style, the human-centred approach can be a viable option. It’s important to weigh the pros and cons to determine if it meets your organization’s needs. If it does, select the leaders with the right aptitudes and develop a course of action that maximizes the benefits while navigating potential pitfalls.