Cultivating Human-Centered Leadership: Why Listening is Your Greatest Competitive Advantage

By Helen Wada with Jane Adshead-Grant

Are We Truly Embracing Human-Centred Leadership at Work?

Many organisations claim to value people, yet the lived reality for teams and leaders is often quite different. In today’s high-pressure world, it’s easy to become focused on numbers, process, and efficiency at the expense of real connection. In the latest episode of Human Wise, I sat down with Jane Adshead, a master coach and global faculty member with Time to Think, to explore how genuine listening and human-centred leadership can transform both business outcomes and the quality of our working lives. Jane’s almost forty years of experience in financial services and coaching, alongside her advocacy for “thinking environments”, offered a powerful reminder that workplaces can be places where people truly flourish.

Jane:
“When leaders develop the skills and character of care, empathetic listening, and generative attention, they ignite the finest thinking in their teams. This isn’t just good for people; it’s how we inspire genuine business growth.”

Reframing the Leadership Conversation: Blending Human Value and Business Value

There is a persistent myth that leaders must choose between putting people first or focusing on results, as if it is ever truly either or. Both Jane and I see, in our work with commercial leaders and teams, that sustainable success always emerges when you combine human value and business value. The commercial world doesn’t reward kindness alone, but it does reward the high engagement, creativity, and trust that flow from leaders who really listen and care. Human skills aren’t a “nice to have”, they are the foundation for sustainable business growth.

Helen:
“We do operate in a commercial world. But the skills that help people flourish, compassion, attentive listening, authentic communication, are the very same skills that drive business growth. It's time we proved that investing in human skills pays off for everyone.”

The Unspoken Challenge: Disconnection and a Crisis of Trust

Most leaders and teams today are running faster than ever, but speed comes at a cost. What Jane and I both notice is a crisis of connection, with people craving to be seen, heard, and understood. Pressure to decide quickly and speak more can actually undermine good decision-making and erode trust, making it harder for teams to think clearly or innovate. When leaders fail to create space for real dialogue, disengagement and decision fatigue quickly follow.

Jane:
“Leaders are under pressure to decide quickly, speak more, and listen less. This breeds a culture of reactivity, not responsiveness, causing decision fatigue and eroding trust. People want, more than anything, to be seen, heard, and understood.”

Slowing Down as a Competitive Advantage

Paradoxically, the best way to accelerate business growth is often to pause. Slowing down conversations, meetings, and decision-making can be a real differentiator in a world obsessed with urgency. In both my coaching and Jane’s, we see that giving people time to reflect and think out loud is what sparks the insight, innovation, and resilience teams need to thrive. Creating a thinking environment is not a luxury, it is a strategic necessity for high-performing businesses.

Helen:
“By asking for more, we may actually get less: less creativity, less innovation, less engagement. Creating space for people to pause, reflect, and truly listen is rare, and it’s precisely what sets high-performing teams apart.”

What Does a “Thinking Environment” Look Like?

A thinking environment is much more than a set of coaching tools, it’s a way of being that values every individual’s contribution. Jane draws from Nancy Kline’s Time to Think framework, emphasising that true listening, generative attention, and psychological safety can fundamentally change how teams operate. It’s about how we show up, the respect we offer, and our ability to hold space for others to do their best thinking, not just get through the agenda.

Jane:
“It sounds paradoxical, but creating time to think actually saves time. When people are really listened to, they access their best thinking, make fewer mistakes, and engage more fully. A thinking environment isn’t a luxury, it’s a strategic necessity.”

Human Skills Are Courage-Building Skills

For too long, organisations have prioritised technical ability while undervaluing the so-called “soft” skills. In reality, the ability to listen deeply, be curious, and create trust is the real work of courageous leadership. Jane calls this out as central to performance, listening is a leadership skill that takes as much courage as speaking up.

Jane:
“For me, listening is a courage-building skill. It takes as much courage, sometimes more, to listen quietly as it does to speak up. The best leaders of tomorrow are those who combine curiosity, deep attention, and the courage to ask questions that spark new thinking.”

Helen:
“Let’s stop calling these ‘soft’ skills. They’re the hardest to master, and they’re the ones that will help us grow both our people and our business.”

Practical Steps to Build Human-Centred Leadership

You don’t have to overhaul your organisation overnight. Small, deliberate changes in how you listen and facilitate conversations can make a dramatic difference. Here are some practical tips that emerged from our conversation:

• Start Every Meeting With a Pause: Jane shared the story of a CEO who kicked off every meeting with three minutes of silence. This simple habit boosted confidence, clarity, and focus across his team.

• Hold “Rounds” in Meetings: Ensure every voice is heard by giving everyone an equal turn. This fosters inclusion and surfaces better ideas.

• Offer Undivided Attention: Before your next conversation, ask yourself, what kind of attention will I offer this person? Just one minute of genuine, uninterrupted listening can transform their confidence and creativity.

• Prioritise Human Skills: Make space for skills like gratitude, psychological safety, and clarity in communication, not just as “nice-to-haves”, but as strategic imperatives.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, our success as leaders and in commercial discussions comes down to the quality of our conversations. When leaders commit to conscious communication, finding their voice, listening deeply, and acting with consideration, they unlock more influence, trust, and impact in every part of their work. If this is in a sales environment, you are more likely to be successful. Think about turning your human advantage into your commercial advantage. One conversation at a time.

For a richer conversation, listen to the full podcast episode with Jane Adshead-Grant or reach out to me on LinkedIn. Human Wise releases new episodes weekly. Tune in on your favourite podcast platform for more expert insights on building humane and high-performing workplaces.

Connect with Jane Adshead-Grant on LinkedIn or explore her work with Time to Think.

#HumanCenteredLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #ListeningSkills #BusinessGrowth #TeamPerformance #HumanWisePodcast