LEADERSHIP RESEARCH
HUMANIFIED LEADERSHIP
Research Interest
My research focuses on advancing a paradigm shift towards "humanified leadership" - a new model that places empathy, emotional intelligence, and fundamental human needs at the core of leadership thought and practice. This represents a profound reframing of what constitutes effective leadership amidst accelerating change and interconnected crises facing the Anthropocene epoch.
I aim to critically examine the shortcomings of conventional leadership approaches centered on control, prediction and profit maximization. Studies point to rising moral decay, short-termism, dehumanization of the workforce, erosion of public trust, and incompetence at senior levels, signaling an urgent need to redefine leadership (Riggio & Newstead, 2023; Petriglieri & Petriglieri, 2015).
Unlike leaders who enabled past prosperity, organizations now require talents at all levels empowered to make meaningful, ethical choices aligned with social responsibility and the greater good (George et al., 2007; Codreanu, 2016). My research will investigate pragmatic frameworks to inspire this "leadership becoming" across sectors.
An additional focus is exploring the implications and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) on how leadership can be humanified. Through transdisciplinary approaches transcending traditional boundaries (Nicolescu, 2006), I aim to forge cohesive models facilitating coordinated efforts to humanify leadership practices. Drawing from philosophical anthropology (Ingold, 2015), I hope to advance inclusive, ethical models cherishing human dignity.
The goal is a renaissance in leadership capable of prioritizing empathy, ethical conduct and human flourishing over narrow self-interests to transform organizations and society positively. As the United Nations (2023) argues, such new paradigms embracing mindfulness and humanistic ethics are urgently required to navigate the Anthropocene sustainably.
Research Question
How can the disruptive paradigm of "humanified leadership," which embodies empathy, authenticity, integrity, purpose, curiosity, and a focus on fundamental human needs, be developed and implemented to fundamentally transform conventional leadership models in the Anthropocene epoch, and what revolutionary role can artificial intelligence play in amplifying this human-centered leadership transformation through a multi-method qualitative approach grounded in analytic autoethnography?
Sub-Questions
- What fundamental shifts are needed to move away from conventional leadership models that prioritize control, prediction, and profit maximization, especially in the face of the Anthropocene's challenges?
- How do these shifts address critical issues like moral decay, short-termism, workforce dehumanization, erosion of public trust, and incompetence at senior levels?
- How can empathy, authenticity, integrity, purpose, curiosity, and a focus on fundamental human needs be harnessed to redefine leadership practices, making them more human-centered and impactful?
- What innovative strategies and best practices can be identified to operationalize these qualities in leadership?
- What pragmatic frameworks can be developed to inspire and catalyze a revolutionary shift towards humanified leadership across various sectors?
- How can surveys, unstructured interviews, field observations, and digital storytelling influence and potentially reveal new, disruptive leadership models?
- How can a transdisciplinary approach, integrating diverse perspectives from various fields, create cohesive and groundbreaking models of humanified leadership?
- In what ways can this approach solve complex, multidimensional leadership challenges and generate bold, actionable insights?
- How can the concept of "leadership becoming" be reimagined to foster innovative and ethical decision-making at all organizational levels?
- What role do reflective practices, personal narratives, and ongoing self-examination play in this transformative process?
- What revolutionary potential does artificial intelligence hold in enhancing and scaling humanified leadership practices?
- How can AI be ethically and effectively integrated to elevate decision-making, improve efficiency, and address humanity's most pressing challenges in unprecedented ways?
- How can humanified leadership models boldly confront and solve issues such as moral decay, short-termism, workforce dehumanization, erosion of public trust, and senior leadership incompetence?
- What disruptive interventions and strategies can emerge from a multi-method qualitative approach to lead this transformation?
By addressing these bold and disruptive questions, the research aims to revolutionize our understanding of leadership and its practical implications, offering visionary insights and transformative solutions for leading in the Anthropocene epoch. The methodology emphasizes a dynamic, rhizomatic perspective and a transdisciplinary lens, ensuring a holistic, innovative, and interconnected approach to understanding and transforming leadership.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The methodology for my research on humanified leadership in the Anthropocene is a multi-method qualitative approach grounded in analytic autoethnography. The overarching framework of analytic autoethnography allows me to weave my narrative as a practitioner into the fabric of the research, ensuring transparency and integrating my presence as the researcher into the understanding of leadership dynamics.
I am adopting a rhizomatic perspective to mirror the complexity and interconnectedness of humanified leadership, eschewing traditional, linear approaches for a model that is as organic and sprawling as the topic I seek to understand. This choice of lens is deliberate, aimed at encapsulating the myriad facets of leadership that evolved and adapted in the Anthropocene era.
Within this transdisciplinary lens, I seek to gain a holistic understanding of intricate societal matters and apply scholarly learning to discover workable answers founded upon a wide range of standpoints. The specific research methods I will employ include surveys, unstructured interviews, field observations, and digital storytelling via blogs and a dedicated web page. Each method is chosen for its potential to illuminate different angles of humanified leadership, collectively providing a holographic view of this multidimensional concept.
My data collection process involves detailed steps, including instrumentation and data analysis designed to allow themes to emerge naturally, shedding light on the very essence of leadership humanification. I view the methodology as an active agent within the unfolding narrative of leadership in the Anthropocene, rather than merely serving as an instrument for achieving ends.
My ambition is to challenge and expand the conventional structures of leadership study. I aspire to reframe the perspective of leadership into one that is as vibrantly human as it is fluidly adjustable to the diverse complexity of the world, reflective of the very textured reality it aims to steer.
The autoethnographic component involves my regular reflective practices, such as journaling, to document and scrutinize my daily leadership interactions, contributing to a comprehensive autoethnographic portrayal of corporate leadership. The synthesis of my personal data with theoretical frameworks aims to yield insights into the application of various leadership theories in practice, deepening theoretical insights into ethical, inclusive leadership, and guiding others through the Anthropocene's challenges.
My transdisciplinary exploration will interrogate the complexities of leadership, bridging disciplinary divides and integrating diverse viewpoints to generate holistic understandings of societal challenges, culminating in actionable insights that transcend traditional academic discipline constraints. The key characteristics of my transdisciplinary informed approach include a focus on complex, multidimensional problems of leadership, collaboration between academics and non-academics, integrative frameworks and theories, context-specific and solution-oriented approaches, and a reflexive critique of disciplines.
Overall, my proposed methodology combines a multi-method qualitative approach with analytic autoethnography and a transdisciplinary lens, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of humanified leadership in the Anthropocene and generate practical, context-dependent solutions for real-world leadership challenges.
Take the Survey
The Future of Leadership in the Anthropocene - Survey. Thank you for considering participation in my research survey. Please read the instructions and provide your consent if you agree to participate. The study involves completing a 15-20-minute survey. Your responses will be completely anonymous. No identifying information will be collected or connected to your answers. If you are 18 and above and willing to participate, please click `agree´ in the below check box, which will take you to a consent form granting you access to the survey. Upon reviewing the form and consenting, you can access the questionnaire. Please make sure that in agreeing to participate, you have read and understood the information provided in this form. . Kind Regards, Sakis Tassoudis Research Student Middlesex University Faculty of Business and Law Doctor of Professional Studies (Transdisciplinary) Email: [email protected]
Contact Me Now
Please fill out the form to get in touch with me. I am here to answer any questions you may have on my research topic and for exchanging ideas with you and your leadership team. In case you want to participate in my survey or you are interested in being interviewed for my research, please express your interest in the message box.
Thank you. Sakis