HUMAN Leadership’s Final Component: Just Be a Good Human

I’m calling this the final component because it’s coming at the end of this series of posts. But in retrospect, maybe this should have been the series opener. (I might change the order when I write the book. Wink, wink.)

The elements of the HUMAN leadership framework—humility, understanding, mindfulness, attitude, and nurturing—are all important. While they aren’t the only qualities good leaders should possess, they are certainly among the most impactful.

My passion and calling is to help people become the right kind of leaders, and I believe the HUMAN leadership framework is one way to support that journey.

But there’s something even more fundamental—something that has to come first.

Before you can be a HUMAN leader, you need to be a good human.

The Slow Fade of Humanity

Is it just me, or does humanity seem harder to find these days?

Don’t get me wrong—people have always struggled to get along. From the very beginning, we’ve allowed jealousy, fear, and insecurity to divide us. Tribes fought tribes. Tribes became nations. Squabbles escalated into world wars.

One might hope that as the centuries passed and we became more advanced and enlightened, we’d get better at being human. Maybe we have in some ways. But it often feels like we’ve simply found more efficient ways to be unkind to one another.

Technology has given us remarkable tools for connection—and equally powerful tools for division.

Social media encourages us to show only our best side. Instead of building real relationships, we compete with our “friends” for likes and follows. And the temptation is understandable. Relationships are messy. They require effort. I might have to put my phone down, get in my car, and drive across town to have dinner with someone. Have you had dinner lately? That can take hours!

It’s far easier—and far safer—to hide behind an avatar and carefully curate what I share.

The unspoken agreement seems to be this: I’ll show you my good side, and you do the same. We’ll each deal with our own baggage privately. It’ll be easier that way.

But that’s not the worst part of our increasingly virtual world.

We’re often downright mean to one another.

One platform or another gets singled out as especially harsh, but I’m not convinced the problem is isolated. I see it everywhere—social media, sports message boards, comment sections under news articles. Even people who supposedly share common ground can’t seem to treat one another with basic decency.

In many ways, we’ve become less patient, less charitable… less human.

We Can Do Better

If you’re reading this, you can help turn the tide.

I hope you become a good leader. We desperately need more of them. But even if leadership isn’t your aspiration, be a good human. We need those even more.

How do you do that?

At its core, I think it comes down to one idea: value people.

At the time of this writing, there are over 8.2 billion of us on planet Earth. Value every one of them the way you value yourself.

Easy peasy!

I’m kidding, of course. Truly valuing all people is the work of a lifetime. But here’s a perspective that might make it more attainable: think of good as a direction, not a destination.

What Does a Good Human Look Like?

Being a good human isn’t about getting everything right. We’re all flawed. We all mess up. Nothing is more human than that.

Being a good human is about consistently working to get better at the things that matter most—the things that demonstrate genuine care and concern for others.

Across centuries, cultures, and belief systems, a few themes keep resurfacing:

• Respect people

• Be honest

• Deal fairly

• Take responsibility

• Don’t harm others for personal gain

Easy to say. Harder to live.

You’ll definitely be tested, especially when faced with choices like:

• Telling the truth… when silence feels safer

• Taking responsibility… when blame would be easier

• Showing grace… when retaliation feels justified

Ultimately, you’ll have to decide how to express goodness in your own life. These questions may help:

• Who showed you what “good” looks like—intentionally or not?

• When have you been proud of how you showed up as a human being?

• What qualities do you admire most in the people you respect?

Final Thoughts

HUMAN leadership is something I hope resonates with you. I hope you see value in the framework and aspire to lead accordingly. But I’m realistic. Not everyone wants to be a leader—and that’s okay. Organizations and communities need followers too.

But being a good human? That’s something I hope we can all embrace.

Being a good human isn’t about checking boxes or claiming moral high ground. There’s nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself—but goodness isn’t about you. It’s about others.

It’s about choosing, again and again, to live in a way that demonstrates you value the people around you.

That’s a responsibility we all carry—not just as leaders, but as human beings.