For the last hundred years, working life has seen employees as kind extensions of a machine, robots, or faceless resources. Seeing and leading people this way leaves out a large part of human potential. In order to bring out the best in people and to utilize the whole human potential, it is important to lead people as the unique and valuable beings that they are.
Many organizations say that their employees are the most important resource. In order to bring out the best in people and to utilize the whole human potential, it is important to lead people as the unique and valuable beings that they are
Milestone's Healthy Human Concept of leadership describes nine dimensions of humanity that are central to working life and what a positive view of these dimensions could mean in working life at best.
Our own human concept i.e. what kind of beings we consider ourselves and other people to be defines the way we behave with other people. Our interaction with other people is therefore based on our own view of human nature. The way we see people affect our behavior. For example, do we see trustworthy people or people that avoid working if given the opportunity, or do we see people that are creative and able to learn or people that just can't solve problems without guidance?
Every organization has, either consciously or unconsciously, adopted some kind of collective human concept. It influences everything we do and shapes the organization culture.
The way we see people at work has had an impact on the structures, operating methods, leadership, ways of working, and how people interact with one another. In other words processes, operating methods, rules, meeting practices and other ways of working reflect the organization's collective view of human nature. The understanding of humanity also manifests itself in internal communication and in how people interact at offices, meetings, and chats.
Organization culture is built by the collective view of human nature.
The way we see people at work affects how we function as an organization, and therefore it has a huge impact on the organisation's culture. It has been said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. At Milestone, we believe that the human concept that is put into practice can build either constructive or destructive culture. Leadership without a healthy view of human nature rarely leads to the desired result. A strategy that is not supported by the culture is usually doomed to failure.
It is time to put people first in leadership
The world we are living in needs more humane leadership, collaboration, and psychological safety. When more humane leadership is applied – people tend to do their best giving people-first organizations a competitive advantage.
With a better understanding of human behavior, leaders have a much better chance of leading people to success. When the organization's collective view of human nature changes, the leadership culture also changes.
Certified Human Leader™️ (CHL) is a modern digital leadership culture development program that brings leaders together to learn more about the human concept in leadership.
A change in leadership requires both recognizing our own humanity and seeing it in others. As our human concept changes, so do the way we lead.
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