Preserving Dignity: A Connected Leadership Essential
by Robert Hackman
Photograph by Dave Lowe on Unsplash
People need dignity and love
Love and understanding
From the song ‘Mink Coat at the Bus Stop’
By Rickie Lee Jones
Dignity is an indispensable element of constructive relationships and connected- leadership.
A mindset and culture of dignity hold the power to release untapped potential, intensify commitment, and harness collective effort. Conversely, approaches and conditions that undercut dignity can be devastating.
I contend leaders’ disregard for people’s inherent dignity carries a high cost.
Please allow me to share my perspective through the stories of a Midwest manufacturing company, Hamdi Ulukaya, the C.E.O. of Chobani, and a woman Ukrainian refugee.
Disconnected Leadership
I spent a week visiting manufacturing clients several years ago to strengthen client relationships, understand their challenges, and uncover new business opportunities.
What I encountered surprised me – my first first-hand experience with the adverse impact of globalization and disconnected leadership.
In Indiana, a company manager believed I was there to announce a price increase and immediately told me why he would not tolerate one. What prompted his reaction?
Like many others, his company was ruthlessly priced out of existence by its multi-national clients.
The pressures to comply were so impossible, and the threat severe. These firms found themselves in a perpetual double bind, forced to constantly lower prices in the face of higher costs; otherwise, the business would be moved to Mexico
The pain of the humiliation and shame he was being subjected to was evident, and he was willing to do almost anything to alleviate it. Such is the impact of denying people their dignity.
Connected Leadership
Viewing Hamdi Ulukaya’s TEDTalk, entitled ‘The anti-CEO Playbook (https://www.ted.com/talks/hamdi_ulukaya_the_anti_ceo_playbook), reminded me of an antidote to what I witnessed in the Midwest. He articulates the danger and damage of disconnected leadership and makes a strong case for dignified, connected leadership.
Hamdi tells the story of resurrecting an old yogurt factory abandoned by the largest food company in the world and turning it into a highly successful one with the very same workforce.
He declares the business and C.E.O. playbook is broken because it does not show how to be a noble leader.
He proclaims, ‘When you are right with your people, when you are right with your community, when you are right with your product, you will be more profitable, more innovative, and have more passionate workers.’
He believes leadership is founded on ‘the dignity of work, the strength of character, and the human spirit.’
Connected leadership means you make decisions with your people in mind, not despite them.
He describes his leadership ethos as the difference between R.O.I. (return on investment) and return on kindness.
A Testament of Courage
I was profoundly moved by a photograph of an 86-year-old Ukrainian woman taken by the husband-and-wife team of Daniel Farber Huang and Theresa Menders. Sitting in a train station with her remaining possessions, she had traveled six days alone from her home to Poland, uncertain about her future.
Vilifying immigrants and refugees inspired Daniel and Theresa to found their non-profit, The Power of Faces (https://www.thepoweroffaces.com/.
Its purpose is to tell refugee stories to the world through pictures and videos to restore their desperately needed dignity.
Their presentation to https://beacon4life.org brought the need to honor people’s dignity, appreciate their lived experiences, and the need to understand and support them into sharp focus.
Immigrants and refugees currently comprise 30% of Chobani’s upper-state New York and Idaho workforce.
During this period of unprecedented change, uncertainty, and trauma, seeing and regarding people’s shared humanity is more vital than ever.
We each choose whether to treat others with dignity each time we encounter them. We make an impact when we do so. The only difference is the direction.
Preserving others’ dignity and our own is a crucial leadership fundamental with far-reaching impacts on you, your team, your company, and the broader world.
Worthy Considerations
- As a leader, do you sometimes unwittingly view people as objects rather than persons? If so, how can you increase your awareness and shift your regard?
- What does denying people’s dignity cost you, your team, or your company? What possibilities could a culture of dignity create?
- What responsibilities do you have as a connected leader? How can you extend the influence of dignity to others in your community?
Please reach out to me if you want help learning how to foster a connected leadership mindset founded on dignity for you, your team, or your organization. I welcome the conversation.
Robert Hackman, Principal, 4C Consulting and Coaching. He provides executive coaching for leadership impact, growth, and development for individuals, teams, and organizations. Committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, he facilitates trusting environments that promote unusually candid conversations. Rob is also passionate about the power of developing Legacy Mindsets and has conducted over 50 Legacy interviews with people to date.
A serious man with a dry sense of humor who loves absurdity can often be found hiking rocky elevations or making music playlists. His mixes, including Pandemic Playlists and Music About Men, among others, can be found on Spotify.