Why Radically Human Leadership is More Important Than Ever
When we think about upskilling in our careers we often focus on so-called hard skills: technical knowledge, expertise that we can assess and measure, skills that come with a certificate or diploma.
Soft skills, however, are an afterthought. Labeled “soft” they’re quite often dismissed by leaders in favor of “hard” technical skills that are associated with productivity and therefore viewed as more valuable.
Yet these skills — like our ability to communicate, to act with compassion and empathy, to think critically, to be comfortable with our vulnerability and let go of perfectionism — are relational skills that make us emotionally intelligent and allow us to connect with the people around us — which is more important than ever as we collectively navigate the impact of the pandemic and work to build healthy, trauma-informed spaces of equity and inclusion, and belonging in our workplaces.
They’re the skills that not only make us great leaders — they are the skills that make us radically human.
And we need leaders who are radically human.
Any leadership role comes with a certain amount of pressure; we may feel the need to maintain an air of control, to quash any feelings of vulnerability, to present a perfectionist façade to those with whom we work.
However, when we expend the bulk of our energy on maintaining that façade, it doesn’t just prevent us from working to our full capacity, it puts pressure on our peers and members of our teams to create a façade of their own, to deny their own vulnerability, and to muddle through their days without asking for the help or support they truly need.
In contrast, when leaders show up as radically human, when they cultivate a sense of self-awareness and compassion, they’re better able to self-regulate — and they’re better able to help their teams do the same. And while I maintain that every person on a team must take radical responsibility for their own actions and reactions, I also know that in any organization, the leader sets the tone.
And a leader who has taken the initiative to develop their own relational skills and emotional intelligence will have the tools they need to support their teams to do likewise.
They’ll have the skills they need to lead in a way that lets the people around them know that they matter and ultimately sets them up for success.
So, if your upskilling efforts have so far been focused on developing hard skills, how do you start cultivating the skills you need to enhance your leadership approach and set your team up for success?
It starts with radically human leadership.
Three steps for cultivating radically human leadership.
The three steps listed below are simply a starting point. Inherent in each step is an invitation to leaders to consider existing relational skills, and those that could be further developed using the steps noted below.
1. Be curious.
Most people are genuinely doing the best that they can in a given moment — and their best may be different from ours and it may change from moment to moment. Curiosity helps us to move away from judgment so we can better connect with people — and we need that connection to build trust, which is fundamental to our sense of safety, autonomy and dignity as human beings. It is also an integral part of every relationship we have. When we trust someone we feel safe to share what is important to us including our thoughts, ideas, efforts, hopes and concerns. When others trust us they reciprocate in kind.
Curiosity is the most underrated tool in our leadership toolbox, and almost always the best place to start when interacting with others.
2. Develop self-awareness
Before you can become a radically human leader, you have to be a radically human person. This requires self-awareness. A willingness to take a long look in the proverbial mirror to really see ourselves in our humanness — flaws and all. To acknowledge and move past our own internal stories and assumptions. To assess our strengths with humility and look for opportunities to grow. To let go of perfectionism and know that as human beings we will make mistakes — they key is doing the work to acknowledge them, own them, and learn from them.
Self-awareness is what allows us to become the best versions of ourselves.
3. Practice, practice, practice.
Just as you can’t think your way to 6-pack abs, you can’t do any of this stuff in theory. If you’re serious about cultivating radically human skills, you have to try them out, in small ways, every day. You have to experiment and find out how they fit with your character, with your existing skills, and with your everyday life.
If you’d like to learn more about what it takes to become a radically human leader, I’d love to have that conversation with you. Let’s make it happen.
