The Humanistic Shift: The Future of Leadership Starts with How We Value People”

As an executive team, what do your decisions reveal about your core values?

Are you aligned on what matters most? Are you rebuilding trust through employees' daily experience? Are you willing to invest in their growth, well-being, and safety, even when it requires a difficult choice?

The Humanistic Shift™ Begins at the Executive Table

Before you ask why employees have lost trust, ask what your leadership team has done to earn it. It's a powerful question that requires an honest, in-depth look at each member of your team. Be prepared... You may not like what you see or what you hear. But listen, this is where the truth begins, and rebuilding trust takes time to earn back what we've lost.

Before you announce another core value, ask whether your executives agree on what that value requires when production is behind, costs are rising, or someone raises a safety concern. A core value is a pillar, and you should have only a few you'll stand firm on and never reduce to a priority.

Employees learn what matters to a company when things get rough, finances are tight, production schedules are even tighter, and your messages seem to be inconsistent, and your treatment of employees falls short of how they should be valued. They watch which concerns get heard, which promises get kept, whether the person who speaks up is thanked or treated as a problem, and who speaks the truth on issues that really matter.

That is where The Humanistic Shift™ begins: with leaders willing to examine the gaps between what they assume is happening with their core values, trust, expectations, accountability, communications, and the distance between what they intend and what their people experience. Again, when you peek your heads up from assumption to reality, you may be shocked at the results. This is where your executive team must remain focused, strong, and open to change.

Align your leadership. Sit at the same table and define what you stand for. Decide what protecting your employees means in practice, who is accountable, and what you will do when your priorities collide with your core values. Your employees should not have to guess which executive’s values will guide today’s decisions and progress. Your message must be clear, concise, and consistent.

Rebuild trust through action. Go where your employees are working. Take time to talk with your employees and their supervisors about what makes the job difficult and the hazards they face daily. Ask what more we can do to invest in your safety and your families' futures. Listen, confirm what you heard, evaluate the process together, identify what it would take to make that change, and when they can expect to see it. Then follow through. Tell them your decisions, where the changes are currently placed, and keep them informed until the changes are complete.

Invest in your people. Give supervisors the time, training, and support to lead responsibly. Fix hazards employees have learned to work around. Make room for development and honest communication. Your investment in people shows in the resources you provide and the choices you make under pressure. By investing in your employees' safety, you're investing in your organization's future and their families.

Every employee who walks through your doors has a life beyond your organization. Someone is counting on them to provide, comfort, direct, and love. That truth should have a place at the executive table, especially when a decision is difficult.

The Humanistic Shift™ is a commitment leaders make together; it's not easy, but it is effective, successful, and will create an atmosphere for others to emulate. Remember, this is your "Family"; how you protect and value them will speak volumes about your future and theirs.

If your executive team is ready to examine where alignment breaks down, where trust has been damaged, and whether your investments reflect your stated values, let’s start that conversation.

David A. Ward, Sr., Founder, The Humanistic Shift™.

Originally shared on LinkedIn