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Human Centred Leadership

The Benefits of Human Centred Leadership

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The Benefits of Human Centred Leadership

Human centred leadership is a style of leadership that focuses on the needs of people, rather than profits or other measures of success. For an organisation to experience long-term growth, everyone must work together effectively. Prioritising the well-being of team members is essential to being an effective leader.

When it comes to developing leaders, organisations often focus on task-oriented training. However, this type of training neglects the people skills that are essential for being an effective leader. People skills are just as important as task-oriented skills, and should be given equal attention in leadership development coaching.

4 Ways Human Centred Leadership Benefits Organisations

Job Satisfaction

In recent years there has been a steady increase in the desire for fulfilling and personally gratifying work. People want to feel as though the work they do has a meaningful impact both for themselves and in the world. When it comes to creating a human centred workplace, developing leaders is key to success. Leaders who focus on the satisfaction and enrichment of their team members are more likely to create a workplace where people feel motivated and engaged. Not only does this lead to increased productivity, but it also reduces staff turnover rates.

Curates Inclusivity

In order for an organisation to grow and be successful, it is essential that everyone within it feels valued and included. Human centred leadership and a growth mindset is one that embraces diversity and recognises the value of each individual. This is especially important in today’s workplace where there is a greater need for inclusivity. Senior leaders with a growth mindset who value the diverse perspectives and voices of each team member, leaders can create an environment where everyone feels supported and respected. This sense of belonging leads to increased motivation and productivity.

“Leaders who take a human centred approach to leadership development are more likely to create organisations that are democratic and inclusive, and that respect the rights of all people.”

Builds Psychological Safety

Fostering psychological safety is one of the most important leadership skills needed in human centred cultures. By establishing trust and mutual respect, coaches can help create an environment where team members feel comfortable taking risks and sharing new ideas. Leadership development coaching can help build psychological safety by providing a space for employees to share their thoughts and feelings openly. This open communication can help break down silos within the organisation and encourage creativity and innovation.

Improves Decision Making

Organisations are only as good as the decisions that their leaders make. Good decision making requires effective problem solving and critical thinking skills. Leaders who focus on the needs of their team members are more likely to make decisions that are in the best interest of the organisation as a whole. This is because they are able to see the potential impact of each decision on the people within the organisation.

Developing leaders requires a human centred approach. This means that the focus is on understanding and meeting the needs of individuals, rather than applying the same methods to everyone. A senior leader needs to be able to relate to people at all levels, and this can only be done by taking a human centred approach.

To ensure that their organisation meets the needs of the community they serve, Down Syndrome Victoria established an Advisory Network that includes several members with Down syndrome. Their mission is to be advocates for others with Down syndrome. Having courageous and authentic conversations is an important part of the way Down Syndrome Victoria operate at every level of their organisation and together with TLS, we have an opportunity to continue this journey by working together and further enhancing the quality of the internal and external voice of the organisation.

When leaders take a human centred approach to leadership development, they are more likely to engage in practices that are ethical and sustainable. Leaders who take a human centred approach to leadership development are more likely to create organisations that are democratic and inclusive, and that respect the rights of all people.

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About the Author: The Leadership Sphere

The Leadership Sphere helps small to large organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and executive coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and  high trust organisation.

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The Benefits of Human Centred Leadership

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How Coaching Leads to Excellence

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Executives have understood the benefits of coaching in achieving personal goals for decades, and we are now seeing these benefits extend towards teams as well. Coaching as a leadership style can be much more effective with today’s workforce than traditionally authoritarian leadership. The value of coaching has become increasingly important to individuals and organisations as a whole for enhancing team performance and achieving success. 

Develop a Strategic Plan

To successfully reach the goals you set out to achieve, you need to develop a strategic plan. This is true both of personal, team, and organisational goals. The strategic plan is your road-map that guides you towards specific targets and milestones. Senior leadership training and coaching can be useful tools for identifying those targets, as well as the skills you and your team will need to achieve them.

The path to achieving success may rely on the integration of a leadership development program to mitigate challenges caused by potential skills gaps. Team coaching for leadership excellence can help to embed new skills to drive change as well as provide a safe space to discuss real-time results and conflict. This ensures that difficult conversations are constructive, allowing for problems to be resolved sooner, and performance to increase.

Coaching Leadership

In high performance teams, the role of the leader is more often one that supports rather than manages. The leader as coach is responsible for maintaining team focus on goals and outcomes, while individuals ensure day-to-day tasks are completed. A leadership excellence program enables executives to better coach, grow and develop people within their team while simultaneously improving performance. This allows for more manageable accountability for both leaders and direct reports.

Executive leadership training improves organisational performance when delivered across all levels of a company. The skills you embed in current teams and existing leaders does not only result in increased short-term performance. High potential talent and individuals who will become future leaders gain integral skills needed for elevated positions, contributing to their personal, as well as company growth.

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About the Author: The Leadership Sphere

The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.

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How Coaching Leads to Excellence

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The Importance of Culture for Performance

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The Importance of Culture for Performance

Developing and sustaining high performance culture within organisations over the long term can be a challenging task. Successfully done, it establishes a standard of practices and communication that lead to strong performance and reaching goals. Encouraging high achievement creates a culture that celebrates innovation, overcoming challenges, and exceeding targets. For an organisation to consider themselves exceptionally successful, its leaders must be willing to invest the time and resources into cultivating a culture of high performance. They become organisations of action rather than words on a page, and everyone can feel it, and live it on a daily basis.

Encouraging Innovation

Companies with healthy and positive workplace cultures are predisposed to attract creative thinkers and produce innovative ideas. Empowering individuals to become creative problem solvers allows organisations to establish themselves as forerunners in their industries. Developing high performers builds a culture of excellence that thrives on innovation. 

The culture of a business is dependent on the attitudes and behaviours of those that work there. When innovation is incorporated into everyday practises, productivity and engagement will increase. High performance training programs provide participants with the skills needed to make creative thinking practices part of their daily process. Innovation in problem solving leads to more effective and successful performance.

Employee Retention

Boasting a positive workplace culture is becoming a significant marketing strategy for attracting new talent. The culture is defined by those who build it – your current employees. While organisations will frequently be looking to onboard new high potential employees, developing the skills of those who contribute most to the culture creates incentive for them to continue performing at an exceptional standard. 

Providing opportunities for high potential talent to grow their skills, demonstrates a commitment to their development and career aspirations. As these employees continue to progress through the organisation, they will become responsible for leading high performance teams themselves. In doing so they ensure that the culture of the company is consistently able to produce outstanding results.

Offering high performance training to your team is an investment long-term excellence. It provides the opportunity for them to expand their skillset and capabilities for innovative problem solving and decision making. Leaders who invest in developing a culture of high performance will find that theirs is the organisation capable of growth, innovation, and sustained success.

How are you cultivating high performance culture in your organisation?

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About the Author: The Leadership Sphere

The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.

Let us help you find what you’re looking for!

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The Importance of Culture for Performance

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Design Thinking – Trick or Treat?

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Design Thinking – Trick or Treat?

What is it?

According to Tim Brown, president and CEO of IDEO:

“Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”

Lets Take a Step Back First…

Design as a “way of thinking” in the sciences can be traced to Herbert A. Simon’s 1969 book The Sciences of the Artificial, and in design engineering to Robert McKim’s 1973 book Experiences in Visual Thinking. Peter Rowe’s 1987 book Design Thinking, which described methods and approaches used by architects and urban planners, was a significant early usage of the term in the design research literature.

Rolf Faste expanded on McKim’s work at Stanford University in the 1980s and 1990s, teaching “design thinking as a method of creative action.” Design thinking was adapted for business purposes by Faste’s Stanford colleague David M. Kelley, who founded IDEO in 1991. Over the past 25 years, this practice has become most closely associated with the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University (commonly known as the ‘d.school’).

A Deeper Examination

According to Brown (HBR, 2008), traditionally designers were asked to make an already developed idea more attractive to consumers, however now companies are asking them to create ideas that better meet consumers’ needs and desires. The former role is tactical, and results in limited value creation; the latter is strategic, and leads to dramatic new forms of value.

Intersection

The approach brings together what is desirable from a human point of view with what is technologically feasible and economically viable (see figure below).

But I’m Not Creative!

Design thinking is a deeply human process that taps into abilities we all have but get overlooked by more conventional problem-solving practices. Design thinking relies on our ability to be intuitive, to recognize patterns, to construct ideas that are emotionally meaningful as well as functional, and to express ourselves through means beyond words or symbols. Nobody wants to run an organization on feeling, intuition, and inspiration, but an over-reliance on the rational and the analytical can be just as risky. Design thinking provides an integrated third way. It also allows people who aren’t trained as designers to use creative tools to address a vast range of challenges.

“Thinking like a designer can transform the way organisations develop products, services, processes, and strategy.” – IDEO

Bringing Together the three ‘I’s’

Design thinking consists of three overlapping spaces: inspiration, ideation, and implementation. Inspiration is the problem or opportunity that motivates the search for solutions. Ideation is the process of generating, developing, and testing ideas. Implementation is the path that leads from the project stage into people’s lives.

What About Results?

In assessing design thinking, it is clear that it is in fact a proven and repeatable problem solving protocol that any business or profession can employ to achieve big results. By using both analytical tools and generative techniques, organisations can see how their new or existing operations could look in the future — and build road maps for getting there.

There are many examples of big companies that use design thinking in their day-to-day operations, like Apple and Google. However design thinking can and does work for all types of organizations, big and small. The result can be new,  innovative avenues for growth that are grounded in business viability and market desirability.

Where is it Today?

In the September 2015 edition of the Harvard Business Review (Design Thinking Comes of Age), design thinking was described as a set of principles – empathy with users, a discipline of prototyping, and tolerance for failure chief among them. The article went on to say:

“…is the best tool we have for creating those kinds of interactions and developing a responsive, flexible organizational culture.” – HBR, Sept. 2015

The ‘Idea in Brief’ described in the same edition of HBR (below) highlights the critical role design thinking is now playing in many organisations.

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So…Trick or Treat?

So based on my research, which included desk research (reading everything I could on the subject) and talking with many people in many industries, I formed the view (in my humble opinion) that design thinking is indeed a treat. It has proven itself to more than just a tool or even a process, but rather a way to manage and lead organisations.

Further Posts

I’ll be writing a series of posts centred around how design thinking can help organisations become more innovative, change ready, and agile.

Simulations

Based on my conversations and research, I discovered a firm called ExperiencePoint – who in partnership with IDEO – offer innovative, challenging and fun workshops that teach design thinking in a very applied way by way of computer-based simulations that pack several months of ‘running a project or initiative’ in to a day.

The Leadership Sphere is now accredited to conduct these programs – ExperienceChange and ExperienceInnovation – with teams, managers or anyone interested in creating a high performing organisation through innovation, change and growth.

If would like to learn more about:

Work With Us

If you’re interested in learning more about these programs and how we may be able to work with you to achieve outstanding results, then you can call us on 1300 100 857 or email: support@theleadershipsphere.com.au.

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Design Thinking – Trick or Treat?