How To Be A More Human Leader

“To be most effective in today’s environment, leaders must be human leaders. Human leaders must be able to lead not only with their heads but also with their hearts and souls,” says veteran executive coach Hortense le Gentil, author of the new book, The Unlocked Leader: Dare to Free Your Own Voice, Lead with Empathy, and Shine Your Light in the World.

She adds, “In addition to being respected, seen, and valued, employees also seek leaders who feel human, not distant and perfect beings with whom they can’t connect.”

Additionally, leaders need to put the collective interest before their own and work hard to make other people’s good ideas happen.

“And although the book focuses on leadership at work, each of us is a complete individual, not a sum of separate, isolated parts. As such, the process presented in the book applies to all areas of your life,” shares the author.

She further explains that becoming a human leader is a journey, not a destination. Accordingly, the book covers that journey via three parts:

Part 1 – Understanding what a mindtrap is and identifying your own, as well as the voices behind it. Most commonly, mindtraps are mental obstacles that ground you in old ways of thinking, sap your energy, and hold back your company and employees.

Part 2 – Learning to shift your mindtrap out of the way. Finding the courage to challenge your mindtraps and confronting your fears.

Part 3 – Adopting and maintaining a new perspective and putting your human leadership into practice (mindbuild). Reimaging the kind of leader you can be, and then strategically putting this image into action.

The journey to becoming a human leader can profoundly transform leaders and employees alike, and help companies function better as a whole. “In fact, human leaders make their greatest impact by changing the way they connect. This starts a chain reaction across organizations and interconnected networks of human relationships,” shares the author.

Hortense le Gentil

Earlier this year, the author shared these additional insights with us:

Question: What is the primary takeaway you hope business leaders will take away from your book?

Hortense le Gentil: Each of us needs to identify what is making us feel “locked,” locate the source of your central obstacle – what I call a mindtrap – and begin to find our authentic voice. To “unlock” your leadership potential, you need to challenge your beliefs, face your fears, and leave behind what no longer serves you.

You can start today by taking time to reflect upon what kind of leader you want to be, learn to use your authentic voice, and make sure the story we’re writing is our own.

Question: How long should a person assume it will take them to transform from being an old-style, more traditional "superhero" leader to human leader?

Hortense le Gentil: There’s no timeframe or limit on how long any transformation will take – remember that human leadership is a journey, not a destination. Some leaders dramatically change their leadership style, listening skills, and empathic behaviors in a matter of weeks, while others take years to evolve. What matters most is our commitment to change.

Combining real life stories, psychological insights, research, and actionable tools, The Unlocked Leader is a timely and powerful guide for those who strive to lead not just with their heads, but with their hearts and souls—inspiring many others in the service of something bigger than themselves.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book, authored by Hortense le Gentil with Caroline Lambert.

Comments

How To Become A Catalyst CEO

Catalyst leaders are individuals who accelerate decision-making, empower teams, and spark innovation. To improve your catalyst leadership skills, you’ll want to read the new book by Constantine G. Alexandrakis , which provides a hands-on guide for building leadership teams and cultures that ignite business transformation. The book is The Catalyst CEO: Why CEOs Can’t Lead Transformation Alone―And What The Best Do Instead . Drawing on decades of experience advising world-leading companies, Alexandrakis challenges the cult of the hero CEO and offers a powerful new paradigm on what it truly takes to make business transformation happen―and stick. Alexandrakis defines transformation as more than change. “It’s a deliberate reinvention of how a company creates value through its people, its business model, and its place in the world.” He adds that “Real transformation depends on teams that are willing to argue clearly, and directly, while still finding a way to decide and move ...

Proven Strategies For Keeping Teams Focused During Times Of Uncertainty

“Crisis leadership is not only about operational efficiency—it is fundamentally human-centered. Leaders who communicate openly, prioritize safety, listen empathetically, and empower teams can sustain trust, engagement, and performance, even in life-threatening circumstances. Organizations that maintain this balance are not only surviving—they are building for the future,” explain the authors of the new book Against The Storm: How True Leaders Prevail When The World Shakes . The authors and leadership experts Tom Kolditz and Mariana Khomitska share in their book a practical framework that can be applied across industries and roles. “One of the primary purposes of our book is to pass along leadership tools for crisis management,” explain the authors. “Effective crisis management is fundamentally about reducing uncertainty to restore a sense of control and stability." Key strategies focusing on minimizing the effects of uncertainty a...

James G. Ellis Shares The Leadership Lessons Behind A Lasting Legacy

In his new book, James G. Ellis shares the lessons he learned throughout his career as an entrepreneur, CEO, professor, mentor, and one of the nation’s most respected business school leaders. He is the former Dean of the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. For aspiring leaders, educators, and entrepreneurs, A Journey of Insights: Lessons In Leadership And Legacy , offers a roadmap to success grounded in real-world experience, with a focus on humility, listening, and building strong, collaborative environments. The book is both a personal memoir and a strategic guide for those aiming to leave a lasting legacy in business. At the core of his message is the central theme that listening to voices around you throughout life is the key to success. “In essence, ears can speak louder than voices,” shares Ellis. The book also explores pivotal moments that helped define Ellis’ understanding of leadership, including encounters with Pres...

How To Rewire Your Mind To Build Your Adaptability Quotient

Alec Litowitz argues that the most valuable skill of the next decade isn't IQ or even EQ (Emotional Intelligence). It's AQ: your Adaptability Quotient, the ability to question assumptions, update beliefs, and respond effectively when reality changes. Litowitz is the author of the forthcoming book (releasing on September 15, 2026) The Adaptability Quotient: Rewiring Your Mind For Success In The Next Human Era . And he shares that “AQ is a learnable way of using your mind like a high-performance machine: to model risk, absorb feedback, make faster corrections, and create repeatable advantages in conditions where most people stall out—or drown.” In short, it’s all about how to move from “making the right decision” to “making decisions right.” “As artificial intelligence, media, and scientific advances reshape the cognitive landscape, adaptability becomes the essential discipline for reclaiming human agency,” adds Litowitz. “And a s AI resha...

How To Become Your Best-Self Leader Everyday

“By focusing in specific ways on five key leadership elements— Purpose, Process, People, Presence, and Peace —you can increase your time, capacity, energy, and ultimately your leadership impact,” explains Amy Jen Su , author of the book, The Leader You Want To Be: Five Essential Principles for Bringing Out Your Best Self—Every Day . Su shares both Western management thinking and Eastern philosophy to provide a holistic yet hands-on approach to becoming a more effective leader with less stress and more equanimity. She draws on rich and instructive stories of clients, leaders, artists, and athletes. And, she focuses on three foundational tenets: s elf-care, self-awareness, and personal agency . Most important, Su explores in depth, chapter-by-chapter the Five Ps : Purpose – Staying grounded in your passions and contributions, doing your highest and best work that has meaning and is making a difference. Process – Relying on daily practices and routines that honor your natural energy rhyt...

How To Be A Tough Enough Leader

Tomorrow brings a compelling and timely book about how tough enough you need to be as a leader to lead your team to greatness without being a jerk. The book is Tough Enough , by leadership coaches John Baird and Matt Hunter . The authors explain that building a high-performing team requires a new form of toughness―not based on bullying and bravado, but rather pushing for exceptional results in a way that is firm, fair, and respectful. Drawing on decades of coaching top CEOs, elite founders, and ambitious leaders, Baird and Hunter break down seven specific habits that define the strongest, most effective leaders, from being clear about the company culture to strategically unleashing emotional thunder. They set the record straight on when to prioritize understanding and empathy, when it’s time to be direct―and, most importantly, how to do both at the same time. Their no-nonsense approach gives readers the tools to calibrate their toughness and compassion in a ...

40 Timeless Lessons From Southwest Airlines

A few years ago, Southwest Airlines celebrated its 40th year and was kind enough to share in its in-flight magazine 40 lessons it learned since 1971. The lessons provide good tips for business leaders. If you missed the full list, here are some of the highlights of timeless lessons: Invent your own culture and put a top person in charge of it . A crisis can contain the germ of a big idea . Simplicity has value . For Southwest, simplicity means using 737s for most of its fleet, which makes maintenance more cost-effective and allows more efficient training for flight crews and ground crews. Remember your chief mission . Take your business, not yourself, seriously. Put the worker first . For Southwest, that meant being the first U.S. airline to offer a profit-sharing plan, in 1974. Employees now own 13 percent of the airline. The web ain't cool, it's a tool . Southwest was the first U.S. airline to establish a home page. By 2010, ...

How To Transform The Influences Of Your Childhood Into Your Unique And Most Effective Leadership Style

The most significant predictor (up to 80 percent) of how someone shows up in their interpersonal interactions as a leader, and as a human, is their childhood, claims Pam Manfredo Curtis, PhD , author of the new book, The Origins Of A Leader: Transforming Family Patterns Into Leadership Power . Grounded in decades of psychological analysis, executive coaching, and behavioral data, Curtis elaborates that how leaders perform today is dramatically influenced by their childhood, with patterns formed early in life continuing to shape behavior, decision-making, and relationships at the highest levels. “When you know your why , you can change your how ,” says Curtis. “Put another way, when you understand the influential factors of your life, you can choose how they affect you. Curtis encourages you to explore specific childhood environments and discover how they shaped your strengths, communication patterns, and hidden limitations. Regarding the implications o...

A Roadmap For Next Generation Of Leaders Driving Culture-First Change

The transformative success of everything today’s leaders are driving – including AI (Artificial Intelligence) – will be determined not by whether they are “good” or “bad,” but by whether their organization’s culture embraces them. Decades of failed efforts prove that successful change can’t be mandated. That’s what Phil Gilbert believes and professes. “Change is a product, not a mandate,” says Gilbert. “Transform your initiative into a desirable offering that teams choose to adopt rather than an edict they’re forced to follow. Your organization is the market, and every project team is a potential customer who must be convinced that your approach will solve their problems better than the status quo. This product-centered mindset creates voluntary adoption that spreads organically.” This proven approach to making transformations is something people run toward, not away from. You’ll learn how this happens in Gilbert’s new book, Irresistible Change: A Bluep...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog