Why the great leader is the humanistic leader

It is widely considered that a ‘leader’ is an individual who directs or commands a group or organisation, whereas a manager is responsible for controlling / administering an organisation or group of staff.

I’m often asked about the difference between a manager and a leader, and while we can simply outline the roles of each, I believe the real transformation comes from the approach the individual takes towards motivating their team in order to achieve their objectives.

There are several approaches that managers and leaders can take when looking after a team; some choose to focus on the task at hand, prioritising the way a job is completed over and above the importance of how the individual carrying out the task feels.

Others take an authoritative and sometimes political style to leadership whereby their actions often reflect their need to be in charge. Both approaches put the needs of the business over the welfare of the workforce, and while they are successful in terms of business achievements, they often overlook the importance of motivating their team and the benefits that this can demonstrate.

One of the ways I think leaders can become great leaders is by embodying the humanistic leadership style, which places people first and is of paramount importance to becoming a great leader and motivating an individual and / or team. By treating employees as partners rather than workers, humanistic leaders create strong internal cultures and collaborative environments, whereby communicating with the team and sharing their vision while at the same time inviting feedback and thoughts for consideration.

These leaders remove internal competitions in order to allow people to develop professionally, without pressure or comparison, and increase the sense of job satisfaction.

In order to become a humanistic leader, it’s important that one has established a strong sense of self, having spent time understanding and reflecting on personal values, beliefs and behaviour in order to develop an authentic and natural approach to leading others.

The third element of the humanistic leadership approach, which sits alongside leading and managing, is coaching. Often overlooked, coaching is one of the most important elements for managers to embrace and adopt when taking the transformational steps towards becoming a leader, and one that can be practiced at any level.

By coaching your staff, you position yourself as a real-life example for others to aspire to, stepping away from a process-led management approach and instead taking personal responsibility for the development of your staff and the overall success of your team. You provide staff with the skills needed to meet their objectives, offering guidance and support to help them reach their end goal. As a result, you will likely harness a greater respect from your team, who are more open to discussing issues before they become problems. This in turn creates a happier and more motivated workforce which results in a more productive team.

Humanistic leaders should be prepared to support their workforce, and in particular their new professionals who are looking for ways to enhance their skills and knowledge. Not only will higher education become increasingly important for new professionals, but it will also play an important role in enabling emerging leaders and their teams to learn and apply new skills, languages and approaches while working to meet the needs of the global workplace. Leaders at all levels in an organisation can benefit by modelling this humanistic behaviour so the company culture behaves in consistent ways. This is especially significant today, as the younger generation seeks more meaningful development opportunities out of work.

The humanistic approach to leadership and, in particular, the coaching element is part of the courses that I teach at the University of Roehampton Online. I am able to provide my students with the theories needed to understand the pros and cons to each leadership approach whilst at the same time positioning myself as a real-life example of the actions and attributes a coach would demonstrate. I work with the students to help them understand and realise exactly what they want to take from the course and, from that, connect them with a relevant mentor who has taken a similar path. This way, they are able to share their experience and talk to a mentor who has achieved goals that the student is aspiring to.

Through doing this, I am ensuring that my students are graduating with the best possible results, in-line with their personal goals. They are equipped with a firm understanding of the importance of a people-first approach to leadership, having experienced a real-life example of coaching in action to take forward to their organisations and future organisations. They will then be able to begin cultivating this approach within the organisation they have joined.

To be a great leader, you need to ensure that your leadership style and strategy is aligned with the culture of the company you are leading. Embrace coaching and encourage existing leaders to develop a humanistic leadership approach. It is also critical to provide employees at all levels a platform to develop and practice their leadership skills and also to provide a mentor that can offer support and guidance to transform them into the leader they want to be and the one their organisation needs.

Craig Nathanson is a world-renowned leadership expert and a faculty member at the University of Roehampton, London Online. He is a sought-after lecturer, motivational speaker, coach and organisational consultant, and is the author of five books on various aspects of management and leadership.