{"id":92367,"date":"2023-02-22T11:20:17","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T15:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=92367"},"modified":"2023-02-27T12:35:16","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T16:35:16","slug":"humanocracy-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/humanocracy-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Humanocracy: The True Meaning of “Human-Focused”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s the meaning of the term “humanocracy?” What are the main principles? What is a human-focused organization<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini brought over 50 years of management and leadership expertise to their book Humanocracy<\/em>. In the book, they explain the meaning behind the term “humanocracy,” which emphasizes the importance of fostering employee innovation and inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to learn the true meaning of humanocracy, according to Hamel and Zanini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is a Humanocracy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to authors Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini, to understand the meaning of “humanocracy,” we must understand what a human-focused company is. A human-focused company is an organization that\u2019s designed to bring out and harness each employee\u2019s full creative potential, instead of forcing people into lockstep using rules and micromanagement<\/a>. In other words, humanocracy means a human-focused company that optimizes people\u2019s contributions to the company<\/em>, rather than just their obedience and their production numbers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the authors say the central belief behind a humanocracy is that each person\u2014regardless of role or job title\u2014deserves the chance to nurture their unique ideas<\/a> and creative gifts. <\/strong>Everyone has ideas that are worth exploring, and allowing them to do so could turn out to be more valuable to the company than forcing them to just carry out their official duties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are three ways creating a human-focused company, or humanocracy, promotes innovation and creativity, according to Hamel and Zanini:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A humanocracy empowers employees: <\/strong>Hamel and Zanini explain that human-focused companies encourage and empower employees<\/a> to solve problems on their own, instead of having them work through their supervisors and managers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A humanocracy fosters accountability: <\/strong>Along with this empowerment, workers must take responsibility<\/a> for the outcomes of their ideas, whether good or bad. The authors say that team members in a human-focused company must directly communicate with each other about their issues and intentions, and they must hold each other accountable for their actions and results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A humanocracy fosters connection: <\/strong>Finally, the authors note, employees of a human-focused company must have direct contact with customers. Instead of having a separate customer service team whose entire job is to be the face of the company, a human-focused company nurtures direct relationships between the people who make the products and the people who use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: While the meaning of a humanocracy, or human-focused company, primarily can be defined as fostering innovation and creativity, that doesn\u2019t <\/em>mean leaving employees to figure out everything<\/em> by themselves: To thrive, they\u2019ll still need some training in their basic work tasks. Training employees<\/a> well and<\/em> encouraging creativity can also boost their inventiveness: One study found that in the workplace, creativity is the link between training and innovation<\/a>. In other words, employees need training to learn the basics of their jobs, but they also need creativity to find new and better ways to do those jobs. This has important implications: Many people think that innovation is about breaking away from your training, but this study suggests that innovation is more about building upon <\/em>it.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Can We Build Human-Focused Companies?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now that we understand the meaning of humanocracy, how can we work towards building human-focused companies? The authors argue that building a human-focused company\u2014or converting a bureaucratic one\u2014is a huge undertaking. You\u2019ll have a lot of work to do, and it can be hard to know where to begin. However, Hamel and Zanini believe that the best place to start isn\u2019t with any part of the company, but with yourself. <\/strong>Specifically, they argue, you have to undo the damage that bureaucratic thinking has done to you. Bureaucracy isn\u2019t just inefficient and tedious\u2014it\u2019s harmful to the psyche. Thinking of people (including yourself) like parts of a machine erodes your faith in human creativity, autonomy, and growth. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, before you can effectively build a human-focused company, you have to restore your belief that every person can do great things and truly embrace the meaning of humanocracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Heal Your Psyche<\/strong>

Restoring your belief in humanity\u2019s potential is much easier said than done, especially if you\u2019ve worked in a bureaucratic system for years or even decades. Psychologist Jill Suttie suggests five practices you can follow to start the healing process<\/a>: 

1. Consume various kinds of media. <\/strong>Modern news sites and social networks tend to promote negative stories and ideas about humanity\u2014fear and anger get people to click, which increases those sites\u2019 engagement and therefore their revenue. However, there are countless stories of courage and kindness happening every day as well, so make an effort to find those stories instead. 

2. Post positivity instead of negativity. <\/strong>It\u2019s often tempting to get into arguments on social media sites, but it\u2019s not likely that you\u2019ll change anyone\u2019s mind\u2014and you\u2019ll only make yourself unhappy by trying. Instead, post uplifting stories that will put you, and the people who read your posts, into a more positive mind frame. 

3. Get involved in a cause you believe in. <\/strong>Volunteer work and charity can inspire you, boost your mood and mental health, and help you feel connected to something greater than yourself<\/a>. Remember that one of Hamel and Zanini\u2019s key points about human-focused companies is that they allow people to work toward goals they believe in\u2014so, you could implement a volunteering drive at your workplace to create meaningful objectives for your employees or colleagues to work toward. 

4. Practice mindfulness<\/a>. <\/strong>It\u2019s easy to get caught up in negative thoughts and habits. Take some time each day to meditate, quiet your mind<\/a>, and open yourself up to everything that\u2019s presently happening around you. This will break you out of harmful thought patterns<\/a> and make you more receptive to new, uplifting ideas. 

5. Seek uplifting experiences every day. <\/strong>Take just 20 minutes a day to seek out stories and experiences that uplift you instead of depressing you. For example, you might read about brave and generous people, watch a video about amazing accomplishments, or indulge in an episode of a feel-good TV show. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Exercise: Apply Human-Focused Principles to Your Work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Humanocracy<\/em>\u2019s authors argue <\/em>that most companies have much more bureaucracy than they need and that we should replace bureaucratic practices with human-focused principles. With your newfound understanding of the meaning of humanocracy, take some time now to think about how bureaucracy might be hindering your work and how you could replace it with human-focused approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n