Gone are the days when employees stayed in organizations where they were treated like cogs in a machine. Today, they’re ready to trade them for workplaces with a human approach to culture, where they can be creative forces with the freedom to innovate. Creating such workplaces starts with leadership!
In this article, we’ll explore how human-centric leadership can create cultures that value people with Jehanzeb Noor, President & Managing Director at Trivium Packaging.
“Through investing in our people, really authentically, you can deliver great results and you can be successful.”
– Ashish Kothari
Building a human-centric culture
Jehanzeb says a human-centric culture is one which is transparent, authentic, and provides psychological safety, and it’s extremely hard to build. Building this culture means prioritizing people. It’s not just about making employees happy, but recognizing them as the foundation of your organization’s success. Here are the critical elements of human-centric cultures:
- Meaningful Work – Employees are excited to show up when they find their work meaningful, rather than just working to earn a paycheck.
- Supportive Environment – Employees are being treated in a way that lifts them up, makes them feel valued, and recognized. This supportive environment helps employees face obstacles, engage in hard conversations, and manage conflicts openly. There is psychological safety and trust, allowing for open discussions about mistakes, learning from them, and receiving input from others without fear.
- Flexibility and Autonomy – Being valued and receiving support to operate with flexibility and autonomy, enabling employees to perform at their best.
Research done by Dr. Alex Edmans points out that when employees are happier, more satisfied with their work environment, there’s 2% to 3.5% higher stock market returns year over year. This only goes to show that a human-centric culture is a win-win situation.
Human-centric leadership
Building a human-centric culture is only possible with human-centric leadership. Some companies have strong cultures only because of the leader who guides them. A powerful example Jehanzeb highlights is Steve Jobs. No matter the level of pressure, who is in the room, or what’s in it for him personally, you’ll see that he is consistent and really puts the company first, thinks about the team, and has a high level of integrity.
“People not only want a leader who’s hard working, committed, and invested in the outcome, but they also want to work with a human being.”
– Jehanzeb Noor
I remember how hard it was the first time I was leading people. I had high standards and given the amount of pressure, I was always extra nice to people who were high performing and quite brutal for those who were not performing well.
Jehanzeb came up to me asking, “If you have someone on your team who is performing well and the other isn’t, who do you think is working harder? Is it the one who wasn’t performing well or the one who had it easy?” And that completely changed my perspective.
As a leader, the pressure on our role is so tough that we sometimes forget that the people working with us were wearing themselves out day in and day out, trying to rise to the challenge. But being a human-centric leader reminds us that all it takes to lead better is to care for your people, and what better way to do that than mentorship.
6 Tips to Enhance Mentorship
Investing in your people through mentorship is the best investment you can make to reactivate your organization’s sense of purpose. Mentorship is a powerful tool that unlocks hidden potential, boosts skills, and keeps your team engaged. Here are a few tips from Jehanzeb on how to build a winning mentorship program that benefits everyone.
- Emphasize Diversity and Inclusivity: Prioritize diversity and inclusivity in the selection of mentees, ensuring a wide range of perspectives and experiences within the mentorship program.
- Assess Potential and Experience: Select mentees based on their potential for leadership and mentors based on their proven track record in coaching, aiming to elevate their capabilities and performance.
- Cultivate Self-Awareness and Authenticity: Encourage mentees to reflect on their personal and professional alignment with the company’s culture and values. Understanding one’s origin, capabilities, and fit within the organization enhances personal authenticity and openness.
- Encourage Independent Thinking: Avoid dictating actions; instead, encourage mentees to think for themselves. It is more beneficial to listen, understand, and help mentees reflect on their experiences, which fosters deeper learning and development than simply prescribing solutions.
- Foster Accountability: Treat people in a way that encourages them to openly discuss issues without fear. Emphasize transparency, recognizing that “bad news is good news” because it signals that challenges are being addressed openly before they escalate.
- Promote Openness and Support: Normalize the expression of struggles and the request for help. Creating an environment where it’s acceptable to discuss challenges reduces the likelihood of issues being concealed and exacerbating.
Mentorship programs can be a goldmine for employee development, but only if done right. By implementing these strategies, you can create a mentorship program driven by your purpose.
5 Ways to Enhance Leadership
Human-centric leadership involves prioritizing the well-being and development of individuals within an organization. If you want to embrace human-centric leadership, these leadership tips from Jehanzeb outlined below can profoundly boost your leadership:
- Embrace Emotional Intelligence: Understand that emotional intelligence goes beyond merely being nice; it’s about genuinely connecting with and understanding others.
- Build a Supportive Team: Surround yourself with the right people who can support and enhance your leadership, ensuring you are never alone in decision-making.
- Practice Brutal Prioritization: Focus on what truly matters by selecting high-priority tasks and projects. This approach helps manage workload effectively and drives meaningful results.
- Cultivate Self-Awareness: Be aware of your emotions without judgment. Accepting feelings as they come—rather than suppressing or acting on them impulsively—offers a balanced path to handling personal and professional challenges.
- Maintain Meaningful Connections: Value the relationships that give life meaning, whether with people or pets. Make time to connect, communicate, and share experiences, regardless of how busy life may seem.
- Stand by Your Decisions: Act according to what you believe is right, even if it occasionally leads to undesirable outcomes. Owning your decisions helps develop integrity and trustworthiness as a leader.
Conclusion
Great leaders are not just about barking orders and delegating tasks. They are masters of understanding and motivating their teams. Human-centric leadership places empathy at the core of leadership. By actively listening to your people, understanding their needs and perspectives, you foster a greater sense of belonging and guide your team to achieve remarkable things.
Today’s employees crave a workplace culture that truly values them, and it all starts with leadership! In this article, Ashish Kothari and Jehanzeb Noor, President & Managing Director at Trivium Packaging, explore how human-centric leadership can create cultures that value people.
Learn more about Jehanzeb at his LinkedIn.
Listen to the podcast with Ashish and Jehanzeb below.
Access and subscribe to all of the episodes of the Happiness Squad Podcast here.
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