HUMANITY IN LEADERSHIP

HUMANITY, according to Martin Seligman, is the basic virtue for the formation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships in all their forms. Living this virtue allows us to be supportive, to care for others, to be sensitive to the pain of others, that is, to show an important level of empathy. This virtue contains the strengths of love in any of its forms, social intelligence, generosity, compassion, and kindness.?

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO US AS HUMANITY AND HOW LONG WILL WE RESIST?

In recent days I have been busy in the preparation of the contents of the POSITIVE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM that, together with my partner in crime Javier Llerena, we will offer to our friends and clients from this month of March 2023.

While doing this and reviewing the progress report from the United Nations on SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS as of 2022, I came across the following statistics:

·???????After the pandemic, there has been a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide.

·???????The share of forest area fell from 31.9% to 31.2% in 2020 and global emissions will increase by almost 14% in the current decade, potentially leading to climate catastrophe.

·???????Widespread violence against children affects children regardless of socioeconomic status and child labor continues to affect one in ten children worldwide.

·???????A quarter of primary schools worldwide do not have access to basic services and more than one hundred million children fell below the minimum proficiency level in reading.

·???????The proportion of women in managerial positions has remained almost unchanged while globally women continue to earn 19% less than men.

·???????The average burden of unpaid work (domestic and care) in a day is 2.5 times higher for women.

·???????The global poverty rate rose sharply by 0.9 % and the number of people living in slums exceeds one billion.

·???????In 2020, about 811 million people suffered from hunger while we wasted about 931 million tons of food in households, food services and retail.

·???????The number of displaced people is growing every day due to wars, dictatorial governments and the scarcity of resources and minimum conditions for the subsistence and integral development of people.

And I could go on listing more, but these were enough to give me a truly clear idea of what is happening to us as humanity and to raise the question: How much more will we resist?

Thinking about the answer sends shivers down your spine. But if we do not delve rapidly into a new collective consciousness, this question will cause panic in a few years.

WHY DO WE NEED TO BE MORE HUMAN LEADERS IN THESE TIMES?

After this reality check – and I must confess that I do not do this exercise very often – I remembered the reflection that I invited a group of participants in one of my classes to make:

"Looking at the world we have built so far, what changes can we lead to be the world we want to leave to future generations? "

And the range of answers may go from the simplest actions such as disconnecting electrical equipment when we are not using it or making rational use of water. The most daring would propose to go and chain themselves in front of the offices of the different governments of the world to demand changes in economic, social, and environmental policies immediately. As I have heard before, each head is a world.

But where is the common ground or, better, the most common in our ground? What are the simplest things that we can activate in a straightforward way without thinking of it as if they were the twelve tasks of Hercules?

To build the list can take months, if not years, to identify every grain of sand with which we can contribute. Also, tons of actions are embodied in countless documents, organizational missions, visions of the future. And I dare say that there is little we do beyond good speeches and pretty posters designed to display our commitment.

To give life to these actions I believe that the first thing we require is a new consciousness that allows a desire to lead the transformation to emerge. And when I talk about leadership, I do not just mean presidents, CEOs, or managers. I mean anyone who, to paraphrase Meg Whitman, wishes to make a change and connect with their inner power and a purpose that guides them to build that new reality in a resilient way.

We need leaders who inspire and who have a deep sense of what it is to BE HUMAN. Leaders who care for others, with an ecosystem vision and awareness, with new skills and competences to guide in a positive and empathic way to make things happen. In short, leaders who wish to transcend beyond the figures that show a healthy or excellent financial performance.

And to define transcendence, (which is not necessarily to become illuminated beings) I always propose to ask ourselves the following questions: How do we want to be remembered when we are no longer in the organizations, communities or in the world? What stories do we want to be told about us?

Answering these questions can connect us to the deepest meaning and purpose of our actions.

WHAT WOULD THIS HUMAN LEADER BE LIKE?

A first approximation leads me to think that this HUMAN LEADER must possess at least the following skills, in no order:

The first thing is to possess an unconditional positive approach. And to explain it I will quote David Cooperrider verbatim:

"See organizations and people as centers of relationships with infinite capabilities and strengths rather than problems that need to be solved."

If the leader can look from this field of abundance and move away from scarcity and the dynamics of criticism and impossibility, he will have taken an excellent first step. This allows them to quickly identify the potential and levers to mobilize change.

Second, an end-to-end ecosystem and well-being vision to anticipate its extended impact. The ability to understand the impact of their actions and decisions beyond the immediacy of the search for results. This means asking themselves how will this decision affect the team, the organization, the community, the world? How do people feel after our meetings, at the end of the workday? Do they leave inspired or, on the contrary, do they take frustrations and resentments and transmit them to their closest circle?

As Seligman points out in the virtue of humanity, emotional intelligence would be a third element within this leadership profile. Leaders must be self-managed and resilient even in the most complex situations. With this, they will guarantee the assertiveness and empathy that promotes a healthy climate and positive relationships. The world is already complex enough to add fuel to the fire. When leaders can express their emotions assertively, especially love, it is because they have reached an important level of self-knowledge, maturity, and fulfillment. They can take care of others and of themselves. They can take responsibility for their own well-being and that of others. They are leaders who make themselves respected and valuing, appreciating, and respecting their team members, not only as workers but as human beings.

In complex times, of so much volatility and uncertainty, the leader who clings to guilt and resentment can only push the team away. Generosity, compassion, and forgiveness are key skills in this style of leadership. Practicing forgiveness is the first step in opening the learning space. When people feel psychologically safe and can recognize that they have failed without fear of punishment (which is different to take responsibility) they are able to hold themselves accountable, avoid victimization, recognize, and learn. Recalling Desmond Tutu "Forgiveness says you have another chance to start over." ?And the key is to be able to start again. In addition, generous leaders can share their own experiences, their failures, and mistakes if that helps the development of others.

Finally, the leader must possess or develop collaborative intelligence, to be able to think with people who think differently, from a generative and deep listening. Accept that they do not have all the answers and that there are people with valuable ideas and talents. Leaders must be able to listen to opportunities for learning and transformation in every conversation, leaving behind prejudices and criticisms. This requires a high dose of humility and particularly effective communication skills, in addition to the passion to learn and grow.

IS IT TOO OPTIMISTIC TO THINK THAT THERE ARE SUCH LEADERS?

For those who have not been lucky enough to collaborate with leaders like these, thinking about developing this style of leadership may sound utopian. But believe me, I have known leaders who are and continue to be tremendously successful. Not only in their financial results but in their construction of positive, long lasting, and high-value relationships.

To lead in a human way is to lead to generate a positive deviation in performance, considering the entire environment, seeking to do good and taking care of oneself and taking care of the well-being and future of all.

In this present that we are living, it is a decision to transform ourselves into agents of benefit for the world, to reverse the effects of our past actions and build a new reality with a multigenerational perspective and not a vision of the conjuncture.

We can take well-being beyond the walls of our institutions, doing good in our immediate environment.

To achieve this, what other skills do you propose?