It’s all about the people, how soft skills drive business performance with human centred leadership

In today’s dynamic business world, the power of soft skills cannot be overstated. As we move toward a human-based model of leadership, so too does the need for leaders to capture these core people skills. Key to this success, according to this article, is the importance of soft skills such as trust and alignment with colleagues, effective communication and conflict resolution. With this emphasis on emotional intelligence and relational leadership, HR (or L&D) can unleash the power of teams and improve business performance in the process.

Understanding the Core Leadership Challenge

Discussion of human-centred leadership is not a sop to sentiment: it’s a mechanistic discussion about results. 

Traditional styles of leadership – which can tend to be toll-taker or “directive” in nature – have a growing gap with the needs of leaders to scale their own vulnerability and powerlessness, developing ‘softer’ skills that go beyond what comes more easily and for them, are a harder reach. Korn Ferry reported that 67% of leaders agree that soft skills are just as important as technical skills, but only 20% feel ‘hard-wired’ to use them. This tension is a great opportunity for companies that are prepared to make the investment in developing leaders around relational and emotional competencies.

The Price of Ignoring Soft Skills

Underestimating the worth of soft skills can have a hefty price tag for business - not only in monetary terms but culturally too. Remember the costs of not getting trust and communication—key components of people-centred leadership—right:

• Decreasing Engagement: Trust-less teams fail to engage in work, leading to a decrease in productivity.
• Increased Turnover: Without a well-aligned team and proper communication, employees tend to be unhappy and quit in higher numbers which results in the increase of recruiting costs.
• Innovation stifled: With no culture of open discussion, it’s difficult for teams to collaborate and innovate which then creates a stagnant environment.

The fact is: ignoring the cultivation of soft skills can cause a disengaging workplace as well as painful business impact.

Five critical moves to advance human-centred leadership

Now that we know what’s at stake, let’s find out some key actions HR and people leaders can take to nurture a culture focused on human interactions and relationships.

1: Make Emotional Intelligence Your Priority

EI is the foundation of human centred leadership. Leaders who know how to recognize and manage their emotions, as well as empathize with others, establish a psychologically safe workplace. Studies have found organizations with employees scoring high in EI have 20% more sales than those scoring low in the EI domain【4:0†source】.

Practical Application: Complete the “Emotional Intelligence Assessment” handout to measure EI levels for your team and unmet needs. Promote leaders to incorporate EI into daily interaction, by active listening and reflective feedback.

2 Open the Communication Flows

Good clear honest communication between the members of a team builds trust and alignment. Leaders need to create an environment where the doors are always open for feedback and ideas without feeling threatened. Organisations that focus on open communication are 50% more likely to have high performance teams [4:0†source] Pregnancy a library of books and articles.

Actionable Tip: Introduce team check-ins and feedback sessions where the floor is open to everyone. Use Nonviolent Communication or other communication models to teach effective communication.

3. Action Conflict Resolution Techniques Employed actions to resolve a conflict consist of:

It is only natural, and these things cannot be totally avoided at any work place, but how the boss solves this matter can really affect team dynamics. Productive conflict management transforms discord into an opportunity for growth & understanding.

Physical Activity: Conduct a conflict resolution class with role-play used in training. Focus on win-win solutions and the power of getting some space.

4: Develop a Culture of Trust and Empowerment

Any people centered leadership is about building trust. Trust is fostered where leaders display their vulnerability, acknowledge the contributions of all staff members and are open to making decisions together (relational leadership [ 4:†0 source]).

Practical Application: Develop a “Trust Building Inventory”, a forum where team members can articulate what creates trust for them. Leverage this information to develop some actionable steps around building trust in your team.

5. Commit to Being a Lifelong Learner

The demands of business continue to evolve, and so the ability to adapt and a willingness to learn are at an absolute premium. Leaders can demonstrate setting this example by ask for feedback, participating in workshops and have a coach【4:0†source】.

Concrete Recommendations Create a training library on soft skill–focused managerial trainings. Invite leaders to take turns serving as mentor or coach to democratise learning throughout the organization.

Real Story / Social Proof

As an example on the positive side, we can look at a global tech firm who introduced a human-centred leadership programme. Employee engagement scores rose by 30% and productivity was up by 20%, after just six months of training in emotional intelligence and conflict resolution. One manager said: “The change in our team is incredible; we are inclusive and work together great.”

Conclusion & Next Steps

The bottom line Adding soft skills into leadership development is no longer a trend, but rather a necessity to exist in today’s team-centered culture. By adopting human-centered leadership, organizations can build those trusts, alignments and resiliencies in their teams.

To continue learning how we can help you develop these core abilities in your company, explore our complete Leadership Training offerings. Together, let’s develop leaders who firmly put people and performance first.

In addition and if you are eager to get your hands dirty on how to build creative, human-centered culture book a short 1:1 clarity call today!