Hello there, and welcome to this months newsletter on our journey to unlock what it means to be human-centric!
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In this months edition, we have:
The ‘Duck of the Day’.
A blog post that revisits a personal perspective on what it means to be human-centric and the complexities this may bring.
A sketch-note on flourishing.
Duck of the Day
With just 6 Lego pieces and a huge number of combinations, the duck can be a powerful way to represent all manner of things. I choose to build it at the start of each day in a way that reflects how I’m feeling or ‘arriving’. This then gives me insight into where and how to focus my efforts to get the most out of that day.
Today’s duck is passionate. He’s digging his flippers in, planting his flag and quacking about what he believes. Maybe people will listen, maybe they won’t. Either way, the duck is determined to play his part in making the world a better place, and if he can help even one fellow duck, he can go back to his nest with beak held high, knowing he’s made a positive impact for his flock.
Enabling Humans to Flourish Holistically
I realised the other day that since I switched to writing newsletters through Substack instead of on Medium, I haven’t actually given much context behind why I write about human-centricity and more importantly, what it’s even all about! Apologies if you’ve only recently joined us on the journey; hopefully this months blog will provide the missing pieces of the puzzle and spark your thinking :-)
It all started with this manifesto…
Or technically, it started with my own frustration and disappointment with personal experiences of ‘leadership’ over the years, the all too often common derogatory behaviours I was witnessing in organisations and the myriad of similar experiences others were sharing with me through their stories. Specifically, there was a clear lack of emotional intelligence amongst many so called leaders, or even just an ounce of genuine care for their fellow humans.
But it was more than just a failure of human decency amongst certain individuals. In every organisation, no matter the size or industry, there was something terrible and systemic woven into the very fabric of the cultures we have created for ourselves.
That is, people are not recognised as being human.
Instead, we are viewed simply as resources, employees or cogs in a machine. We are a means to an end, the end being profit at any cost. Our lives outside of what an organisation deems to be within its realm of statutory responsibility do not truly matter. And we are expendable.
Thankfully, more and more people are acknowledging and speaking up about this failure, with many organisations placing greater emphasis on areas like wellbeing and employee experience. But is that enough to create a seismic shift towards a more human-centric culture (and society), when old mindsets and ways of working are so deeply engrained, and profit remains king? Potentially not…
That said, we have to start somewhere and these are positive first steps. For me personally, I wholeheartedly believe in the potential of those who intrinsically care about their fellow humans and are demonstrating this daily, to lead the way in developing a new kind of organisation. One where the whole person matters and will be supported in all aspects of their life.
And so, over the course of the last 10 or so months, I’ve been iterating on a working definition of what it actually means to be human-centric. Taking inspiration from others writing on the topic, and drawing from research into fields such as positive phycology, human-centered design, systems thinking and servant leadership, my definition as it currently stands is:
“Being human centric is a purposeful way of being, that enables yourself and fellow humans to flourish holistically”
The key for me is to ‘flourish holistically’. This handy article provides a perspective on what it means for someone to flourish. Just like the complex beings that we are, the article describes flourishing as a fluid, multi-dimensional construct that encompasses well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction at a high level, and many facets under these such as autonomy, positive relationships, financial stability and spiritual health.
Seligman’s PERMA+ model attempts to categorise some of what are seen as the priority areas to focus on, whilst The Human Givens are also a useful set of emotional needs to support.
While the list is long, the point is that organisations and a new generation of human-centric leaders within them need to begin acknowledging, considering and helping one another with a whole lot more than what is traditionally viewed as relevant to an organisation if we are to really perform to the best of our abilities and realise our full potential. As much as we are expected to, it is simply not possible to leave certain needs, or aspects of our lives at the literal or metaphorical door of a workplace. Just like micro-organisms, these needs may not be obviously visible, but they still exist.
And just like micro-organisms, so too are we. Not machines. Not resources.
Humans.
Flourishing
Just a couple of questions for you to ponder over this month (and respond to if you wish!) :
What would flourishing look like for you?
How might you be enabled to flourish?
And what impact would flourishing have on you and those around you?
Thanks for Reading!
That’s it for this month! Any feedback on this newsletter and the usefulness of the content is very welcome - just hit reply and let me know, good or bad. Equally if you have your own thoughts on what it means to be human centric, I’d love to hear them!
You can also connect/message me on LinkedIn if preferred :-)
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About Brett - The Human Coach
I’ve been described by wonderful fellow humans as compassionate, human-centric and a wise old owl. Although I’m not sure about being ‘old’, I do have genuine care for others and a desire to be of use, whatever form that comes in.
As well as being an experienced Project Manager by trade, I've also had the privilege of being a Servant Leader for teams for many years, both directly and for cross-functional, cross-organizational individuals. Nothing brings me more fulfilment than seeing people I've recruited, helped develop or supported in some way, go on to achieve amazing things.
In order to help a broader range of people on their own journeys, I trained as a Coach with the prestigious Barefoot Coaching Ltd, became an ICF member and also joined the world-renowned leadership development organization Leadership Management International as an Associate Director.
I often partner with current or aspiring Servant Leaders to help enhance their leadership capability, and in doing so, become a more Human-Centric Leader in the process.
If you’re interested in taking advantage of the services I provide such as coaching or one of the leadership development programmes, and wish to know how these can benefit you as a leader of a team, organization or community, please check out my website, TheHumanCoach.co.uk.
P.S. there’s a special offer running on coaching!