What I learned about management from Amnesty international

I am a trained activist. And because of that - I am a trained leader.  I was thinking about this as I have been watching the protests to end police brutality.  I am no longer active - but my heart is with the protesters.

Effective activists get trained. It's like any other project. If you want to be successful, you need knowledge of history, what has been tried, what works, and how to encourage people in power to come to the table to negotiate with you for the changes you want to see made.

I spent years involved with Amnesty International. And received so many training opportunities from them I lost count. They taught me:

• Leadership
• Volunteer management
• Public speaking
• Co-creation
• Egalitarian leadership

A big part of the reason I am able to teach these things in the world of business is because of the training Amnesty International gave to me.

What are the management lessons we can learn from social justice movements?

Passion and values is central to what you want to do. Ethics isn't secondary to organizing and management. It's central.  If what you are doing isn't going to make things better- don't do it.  We have a limited amount of time and resources and big problems that really need to be solved. Don't waste time on things that don't matter. 

What will work with the least input? We have a limited amount of time and resources, this is true of every movement. So - how do we create the most impact with the least amount of input? All conversations about strategy - take this into account.  And if you've taken my Reality Based Decision Making course - you will recognize this principle. 

Great leaders create great coalitions. No one gets anything done by themselves. There is always a coalition of people working in common cause that gets things done. Great leaders - built great coalitions. They don't care who gets credit - as long as the work gets done - and the work gets done - through coalition and that requires giving up ownership - and allowing people to co-create solutions together. 

Invest in people. The more skills your people learn - the more they can contribute. Amnesty International invests in it's volunteers. It teaches them how to be activists. How to lead, how to create and build coalitions, how to advocate for what you want and more.  I received more training from them as a volunteer than I ever have from any of the companies I ever worked for.  Most jobs I had - expected me to learn on the job. Invest in people. Teach them how to do better and be better at whatever job they have. And make this an ongoing part of the culture- learning and sharing.

Never take your eye off your goal: All activism serves a goal. I was taught to always keep that goal in mind and to take wins whenever you could.  Progress is made in small changes. Those small changes add up to big wins over time.  And yes - incremental change can be really frustrating - but there is no other real way to succeed. 

Treat people - including your adversaries - as potential allies: All activism is designed to either encourage or force people to change. If you can encourage people to change - great. If change has to be forced - ok - but try encouragement first.  When forcing change - you have to give the people you are trying to change - space to change. If you treat them as evil - you give them no space to do or be good. Always assume people will eventually choose to do the right thing. And encourage them - and accept them when they do - regardless of what went on before. Give people - a safe place to land in the new reality you are creating.

Share space with others and allow others to lead.  No one knows everything. Everyone I met along the way - was able to teach me things I didn't know before. I met people from so many parts of the country and so many backgrounds and life experiences. All of them had something valuable to contribute and each and every one of them was a capable leader when given the space to lead.  It is easy to see how this lends itself to a humanistic mindset. Like Confucius - I was taught that everyone is capable of being a moral person and everyone is capable of leading. They just need to be given encouragement, teaching and opportunity. 

Learn more:

I have a 16 hour online certificate program in Humanistic Leadership - https://humanistlearning.com/certified-humanistic-leadership-professional/

 

And a new book on Applied Humanism - how to create more effective and ethical businesses - https://humanistlearning.com/new-book-applied-humanism-how-to-create-more-effective-and-ethical-businesses/

Practicing Humanistic Leadership

I was recently asked to do a program for the Global Forum for Teacher/Educators on practicing Humanistic Leadership.  Here are the slides I put together.

Practicing humanistic leadership from Humanist Learning Systems

We only got through the first portion. I included more detail on the 7 principles at the end for anyone interested.

There are lots of good questions. I saved the chat - and will respond to the questions in future posts.  

If you are interested in having me as a guest for a virtual or live program - let me know. 

https://humanistlearning.com/contact-us/ 

7 Principles of Humanistic Leadership

Humanistic Leadership is an ethical philosophic approach that is at once: compassionate, reasonable and strategic.

Humanism as a philosophy is about doing good to be good. And that’s not easy to do because our behavior impacts others. We don’t live in a vacuum. And when we are in a leadership position, we have even more responsibility to do good, not just for ourselves, but for our team as well.

Being good is not easy to define because to be good requires so many different interrelated skills. So here is a list of 7 principles of humanistic leadership that will help you, as a leader, make better decisions, have more effective interpersonal relationships and feel more fulfilled.

1) Humanistic Leaders treat people with respect. Other humans are autonomous beings. They aren’t robots you can program. Understand that even if you pay them, they have volunteered to help you in exchange for that pay. They can quit anytime.  Respect their time and their effort.

2) Humanistic Leaders are compassionate. They never forget that the people they are working with and for are real people with real strengths, real weaknesses and, most importantly, real emotions.

3) Humanistic Leaders are ethical. They don’t just give lip service to their values. They actually live them and lead by example. No one wants to follow a hypocrite.

4) Humanist Leaders encourage their team to be the best that they can be. We all have limitations. But that doesn’t mean we can’t contribute to the best of our abilities. Humanistic Leaders look for ways to help people participate.

5) Humanistic Leaders are reasonable. They are willing to listen to dissenting views because they want to base their decisions on reality and not on assumption.

6) Humanistic Leaders are strategic. They review all their options, consider the  pros and cons of each solution and choose the one that will give them and their team the best chance of success.

7) And finally, Humanistic Leaders value service to others. Making the world a better place means making it better for the individuals who inhabit the world. Making a living and making the world a better place are not mutually exclusive. A humanistic leader seeks to do both.

To learn more about the Humanist approach – consider taking

my Principles of Humanistic Leadership Online course at: https://humanistlearning.com/principles-of-humanistic-leadership/

Or my personal development program:   Living Made Simpler – which discusses how to actively practice compassion and use critical thinking to make better decisions so that you can be the person you want to be. (https://humanistlearning.com/livingmadesimpler1/)