#32 Humane|Humanise|Humanizing

What do the words in the title mean?

More humane??Such as better food security for all?

Making something human that isn't??As in teaching a dog to do something a human would do, but a dog would not? For example, Fido refrains from devouring what is in the dog dish?

More human-friendly??Paving a pathway on the Arctic tundra, for example? Even at the expense of wilderness preservation?

Becoming more human??Assuming that we are not fully human already and benefit from becoming so?

All of these??Meaning most anything or nothing at all?

Going Deeper

Ashley Goodall on employees needing stability, not constant change. An article in written and audio formats, Goodall writes:

"We need change that lifts people up rather than change that pushes people down."

I think of humanizing as growing most anything—already human, humane, or not currently so. Scandinavian thinkers among us identify this work as Bildung.

In broad terms, to humanize means welcoming the fullest potential of a thing that aids the world's flourishing, which, in turn, helps humans flourish. Believing that human flourishing is important grows from the belief that humans are important and that?the Anthropocene?is intended to be beneficial. As one who believes in intended design, I have a kinship with Aristotle and his?concept of an Unmoved Mover.?Without it, I cannot see a point in engaging in a dynamic enterprise. Why work so hard if it makes no difference to our grandchildren's grandchildren?

The seed within the child becomes a flower of fully developed adult wisdom and dignity. I can be part of this development!

The enterprise aspiring to be accountable for its downstream effects and holding a vision for the world's welfare now and in the future. This is stewardship of the gifts we are given.

So much destroys, sets limits, and holds such a vision back. Much of it comes from violent, external circumstances. Sometimes, those awful harms are reinforced within the person as trauma takes hold. The person begins to believe in their limitations rather than in their possibility.

Whether external, internal or a combination, There is much we do not yet perceive or know. We might not yet have an awakened vision of what you and I can become. But we can claim and cling to the possibility of perceiving and knowing. Doing so leads to the bloom of the human flower.

In full, designed, and intended glory.

In my backpack:

The book makes a compelling case for developing skills across domains rather than specializing, especially early in life. One of my favorite leadership stories, Frances Hesselbein, is among many profiles in the argument for more generalists.

This book supports much of what I've been experiencing as an Executive Advisor: wonderfully talented specialists who cannot identify or resolve complexities because their brains are hard-wired for just one pathway. They are specialists within a domain, struggling to become generalists across the range and components of a living organization.

An Executive Advisor walking alongside accomplished executives in the third turn of their careers, Mark L. Vincent, Ph.D., EPC, loves leaders who love leaders.

In his own third turn, Mark continues to grow his capacity for wise advising, artful facilitation, and public presentation.

Mark has founded?Maestro-level leaders,?Design Group International,?and the?Society for Process Consulting and authored a number of books, including Listening Helping Learning. He now partners with Mygrow to build an emotionally intelligent world.

Executive Thinking is a?source for being and thinking as an executive who links the world's future to their enterprise mission and its profitable operations. Here you will find some of the soul-searching, middle-of-the-night, honest reflections at the core of who we are becoming as leaders.