Humanise: Why Human-Centred Leadership is the Key to the 21st Century

PART I The challenge facing human-centred leaders

A framework for future leadership

Part I provides a framework for thinking about the future and the kind of leadership required. I review five key changes that attract my attention because of their relevance to Human-Centred Leadership.

Chapter 1 introduces the sigmoid curve and the game-changer curve, two helpful models for thinking about the changes and transitions occurring at this time. I then propose that we live in a ‘leaderless' world and lack the quality of leadership that is required to lead us into the future through these shifts. Technology trends, examined in chapter 2, demand profound shifts in our moral and leadership capacity, while we need to develop a new moral foundation for business, government and society (chapter 3). Chapter 4 reflects on the humanisation of machines and the mechanisation of humanity and suggests we are about to witness a crossover where one could dominate the other.

Given these kinds of shifts it is time to upgrade our moral capability to match our technological capability. The key to this will be human-centred leaders who put people first and who integrate the technical and moral aspects of life and leadership.