Preserving Dignity: A Connected Leadership Essential

People need dignity and love

Love and understanding

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From the song 'Mink Coat at the Bus Stop'

By Rickie Lee Jones

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Dignity is an indispensable element of constructive relationships and connected- leadership. ?

A mindset and culture of worthiness can release untapped potential, intensify commitment, and harness collective effort. Conversely, approaches and conditions that undercut dignity can be devastating.

Leaders' disregard for people's inherent dignity carries a high cost.

This article includes three compelling stories about dignity denied, dignity bestowed, and the effects of the choices we make.

What happens when leaders disconnect from people? What becomes possible when leaders choose connected leadership? What impact do a leader’s choices have?

Please allow me to share my perspectives through the stories of a Midwest manufacturing company, Chobani’s CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, and a Ukrainian refugee.

What Happens When Leaders Disconnect from People?

Ten years ago, I spent a week visiting manufacturing customers in the mid-west to strengthen client relationships, understand their challenges, and uncover new business opportunities.

What I encountered surprised me. It was my initial first-hand experience with the adverse impacts of globalization and disconnected leadership.

In Indiana, the purchasing manager mistakenly thought I was there to announce a price increase (I was not). He immediately told me why he was unwilling to tolerate one.

This surprised me because, while our component was vital, its cost was negligible.

Like many manufacturers, his company was being ruthlessly priced out of existence by its multi-national clients.

The pressures to comply were tremendous, and the threats severe. Not only were these firms prevented from increasing their prices. Their customers ruthlessly demanded consistent year-over-year price decreases.

These firms found themselves in a perpetual double bind: They could either bleed themselves to death by continually lowering prices despite higher labor and material costs or lose their business to Mexico.

The pain of the humiliation and shame the people in these companies were being subjected to was evident. They were willing to do almost anything to alleviate it.

Such is the impact of denying people their dignity. They become demoralized.

This is one cause of the devastation of previously vibrant communities and why many of their residents are so enraged with our political leaders.

What Becomes Possible When Leaders Choose Connected Leadership?

Viewing Hamdi Ulukaya's TEDTalk, 'The Anti-CEO Playbook’ (https://www.ted.com/talks/hamdi_ulukaya_the_anti_ceo_playbook ), reminded me of an antidote to what I witnessed in the Midwest.

Hamdi is the CEO of Chobani, the number-one Greek yogurt brand in the U.S. He articulates the danger and damage of disconnected leadership and makes a strong case for dignified, connected leadership.

Hamdi tells the story of resurrecting an old yogurt factory abandoned by the largest food company in the world and turning it into a highly successful one with the very same workforce.

He declares that business and the C.E.O. playbooks are broken because they do not show how to be a noble leader.

Hamdi proclaims, 'When you are right with your people, when you are right with your community, when you are right with your product, you will be more profitable, more innovative, and have more passionate workers.'

He believes leadership is founded on 'the dignity of work, the strength of character, and the human spirit.'

Connected leadership means you make decisions with your people in mind, not in spite of them.

He describes his leadership ethos as the difference between R.O.I. (return on investment) and return on kindness. Being kind to someone acknowledges their dignity. It conveys connectedness and shuns the false notion of separateness.

What Implications Do Leader’s Choices Have?

I was profoundly moved by a photograph of an 86-year-old Ukrainian woman taken by Daniel Farber Huang and Theresa Menders, a husband-and-wife team committed to showing the plight and humanity of refugees around the world. The woman was sitting in a train station with her remaining possessions. Having traveled six days alone from her home to Poland, she was uncertain about her future.

Regardless of your beliefs about immigration and how the way it should be handled, it is vital for us to remember refugees are human! To deny them their dignity because of their situation is damaging. Dehumanizing people does irreparable damage to everyone, including those inflicting their condemnation.

This woman is the face of courage, faith, and resolve in the face of devastation and unrelenting uncertainty.

The vilification of immigrants and refugees inspired Daniel and Theresa to establish The Power of Faces, a non-profit organization (https://www.thepoweroffaces.com/ ).

Its purpose is to tell refugee stories to the world through pictures and videos to restore their desperately needed dignity.

Their presentation to https://beacon4life.org sharpened the need to honor other people's worth, understand and support them, and appreciate their lived experiences.

Immigrants and refugees comprise 30% of Chobani's upper-state New York and Idaho workforces.

During this period of unprecedented change, uncertainty, and trauma, it is more vital than ever to see and appreciate our shared humanity.

We each choose whether to treat others with dignity every time we encounter them.Our interactions with them make an impact. The only difference is what kind. We always have a choice.

Preserving others' dignity and our own is a crucial leadership fundamental with far-reaching implications for you, your team, your company, your community, and the broader world.

I hope you choose connected leadership and the many benefits it offers.

Worthy Considerations:

1.??? As a leader, do you sometimes unwittingly view people as objects or worse rather than persons? If so, how can you increase your awareness and shift your regard??

2.??? Who was responsible for the humiliation inflicted on manufacturers in the Midwest? What are the alternatives??

3.??? What does denying people's dignity cost you, your team, your company, your community, and the world?

4.??? Is the 86-year-old Ukrainian woman in the photograph worthy of your respect and support or your disdain and disparagement??

5.??? What responsibilities do you have as a connected leader? How can you extend the influence of dignity to others and instill it as a norm to strengthen your culture and improve your outcomes?

If you want to discuss ways to develop and grow your leadership to benefit yourself, your team, your family, or your organization, please reach out to me. I welcome the connection.

Robert Hackman, Principal, 4C Consulting and Coaching, helps people live and lead with fewer regrets. He grows and develops leaders through executive coaching consulting, facilitation, and training of individuals, teams, and organizations. He is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He facilitates trusting environments that promote uncommonly candid conversations. Rob is also passionate about the power of developing Legacy Mindsets and has conducted over 50 Legacy interviews with people to date.

A serious man with a dry sense of humor who loves absurdity can often be found hiking rocky elevations or making music playlists. His mixes, including Pandemic Playlists and Music About Men, among others, can be found on Spotify.

Bravely bring your curiosity to a conversation with Rob, schedule via voice or text @ 484.800.2203 or [email protected] .