Putting People First: Exploring the Foundational Principles of Humane Leadership
With this post, we start diving into the 14 principles behind the “Manifesto for Humane Leadership.” People, not profit, are central to successful organizations—and that starts with self-care.
The six theses of the Manifesto for Humane Leadership are deliberately kept open. They are a frame that is very broad but gives a rough direction. They are an invitation to reflect on leadership in general and your leadership style in particular. However, as with the “Manifesto for Agile Software Development”, more concrete and actionable principles underlie these theses.
People are at the Center
Companies are more than just places of value creation and profit maximization. Profit is not an end in itself; it is to companies what air is to humans: we breathe to survive, but a fulfilled life is not just about breathing.1 Profit is only a necessary condition for the continued existence of the organization and the proof that the organization satisfies an important need for customers, as Peter Drucker notes: “Profit is not the explanation, cause, or rationale of business behavior and business decisions, but rather the test of their validity.”2
Economic success is the result of the development of human potential. “Business means working for each other. People are the purpose,” Götz W. Werner unequivocally comments in his autobiography.3 People are not just a means and resources but are at the heart of economic activity. Fully developing people's abilities within the organization is the decisive competitive factor. The company is, therefore, what Bodo Janssen aptly describes as a “workshop for a flourishing life”4 and appropriately quotes the Regula Benedicti (4.78):5
However, the workshop in which we are to carefully realize all this is the monastery and the permanence within our community.
This sentence ends the fourth chapter of the Regula Benedicti, written by St. Benedict of Nursia around 540 to regulate monastic life in the community monastery he founded at Monte Cassino. Since then, this set of rules has formed the basis of the Benedictine order. And since Bodo Janssen stayed in various Benedictine monasteries, the Regula Benedicti has also inspired and guided him in transforming his Upstalsboom hotel chain into a workshop for a flourishing life.
The term workshop raises the question of which instruments are used there. Benedict of Nursia also provides the answer in this fourth chapter in the form of 73 “instruments of good works.” These instruments are more like good habits and provide the “answer to the question: What can I do every day to ensure that my life is successful, that I enjoy my time with my work and the people around me?”6
Even 1500 years ago, the principle of eye level was of central importance to Benedict of Nursia—which was at least as radically different in the feudal order of the early Middle Ages as we perceive it today in the hierarchical culture of our organizations. While our actions are often guided by the ego-oriented question, “What do I gain from the existence of others and the community?” Benedict of Nursia was concerned with the opposite question: “What does the community gain from my existence?” Such a community, therefore, has much more the character of a network than that of a hierarchy, and this network lives from individual contributions. In the words of Regula Benedicti (72.7), “Let no one look to their own interests, but rather to the interests of others.”7
Start With Self-Care
Anyone responsible for others must first manage their physical and mental resources responsibly. If you sacrifice yourself and constantly overtax yourself, you will also overtax the organization and the people entrusted to you. The result is a culture of hysterical busyness in which work becomes a vain end in itself.
We all know such a (predominantly male) colleague or boss: he is always the first to arrive and the last to leave. He doesn't get tired, and he ignores illness. Four hours of sleep must be enough; there is so much to do, and his skills are needed everywhere. He would also like to go on vacation, but it just doesn't work without him. That's why he is always available. His commitment to the company knows no bounds. His hard work is legendary and the driving force behind his rapid rise in the company.
The history of humankind is full of heroes. We love heroic stories. That's why we admire firefighters who risk their lives to put out fires and rescue people. We pay far less attention to the countless fire safety officers who calmly and patiently prevent fires daily and thus save more people. Without smoke and danger to life, there is no heroism. Prevention is not very heroic.
There are undoubtedly situations that require total and sometimes heroic commitment. However, firefighters only work like this when deployed, which is the exception. Firefighters spend most of their time waiting, preparing themselves and their equipment, learning, and practicing. And that's a good thing because being constantly on duty would lead to life-threatening mistakes.
Let's come back to our “hero.” He sacrifices himself for his organization, work, career, and status, not just in an emergency but in principle and always. Undoubtedly, this is not healthy, but in the end, adults are still free to decide what risks they take in life. Beyond the personal sacrifice and the associated risk to health, the question remains whether this heroic commitment is worthwhile for the organization and deserves admiration and promotion.
Hopefully, he will achieve and move a lot with his efforts. Let's assume in his favor that our hero has superhuman abilities and can still do an excellent job on long working days with little sleep. But even under this very benevolent assumption, another severe problem remains. The behavior of such a boss shapes the culture. In this case, it leads to an unhealthy cult of presence and performance. Ambitious employees will do the same and try to outdo him because diligence and unconditional commitment are, in such a culture, essential for recognition and promotion.
However, no one will be satisfied and thrive in the long run in such an excessive performance culture, not even our hero. Instead, the atmosphere will be characterized by pressure, fear, guilt, and bitterness, as Anselm Grün very aptly points out:8
Anyone who takes responsibility for others must also be responsible with their own resources. If they constantly overtax themselves, they will not help the community. Because they will then demand more from the community than it can provide. If I spend myself on others, I unconsciously will make demands on them, for example, that they should thank me for it or show the same level of commitment. If the community does not fulfill these expectations, I become bitter. My work will then become a constant reproach to the community and cause feelings of guilt in my coworkers.
Leadership begins with self-care. Anselm Grün rightly demands that those who take responsibility for others must also deal responsibly with their own capacity. A leader who is at peace with himself and goes about his work with serenity and composure will also be imitated and will thus create a serene and safe atmosphere.
Table of Contents
The links lead to the parts that are already published here on Substack.
The 14 Principles Behind the Manifesto
People are at the Center
Start With Self-Care
Strengthen Strengths
Leadership Means Relationship
Context Not Control
Gardener Not Chess Master
Principles Not Rules
Less is More
Questions Not Answers
Trust Is the Foundation
Safety Not Fear
He Who Says A Does Not Have to Say B
Integrity Over Charisma
Disturbing the Comfort Zone
Get to Work!
Leading by Example
Incitement to Rebellion
Set Priorities
Enduring Dissonance
Doing Your Best
The next chapter will follow next Friday. In case you want to read on as soon as possible, the book is available on Amazon in many countries as hardcover, paperback, and for your Kindle. (also on Leanpub). And all my German readers can get the German edition in every book store.
This comparison is often attributed to Peter Drucker: “Profit for a company is like oxygen for a person. If you don't have enough of it, you're out of the game. But if you think your life is about breathing, you're really missing something.”
Peter F. Drucker, The Practice of Management, reprint (New York: HarperCollins, 1954), 32.
Götz W. Werner, Womit ich nie gerechnet habe: die Autobiographie, 5. Auflage, List-Taschenbuch 61254 (Berlin: List Taschenbuch, 2019), 108
Bodo Janssen, Kraftquelle Tradition: benediktinische Lebenskunst für heute, 1. Auflage (Münsterschwarzach: Vier-Türme-Verlag, 2019), 147
Janssen, 59.
Janssen, 59.
Janssen, 107
Anselm Grün, Menschen führen – Leben wecken: Anregungen aus der Regel Benedikts von Nursia, 4. Auflage, dtv 34277 (München: Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, 2007), 107