Human-Centered Leadership: The New Competitive Advantage

In times of change and uncertainty, strategy often becomes synonymous with control more KPIs, tighter governance, longer slide decks.

Real progress rarely comes from more complexity. It comes from clarity, trust, and human relationships.

That insight didn’t arrive all at once; it unfolded gradually. While studying Strategic Procurement Management at the University of St. Gallen, I was introduced to Netmapping - a strategic tool that helps leaders identify where they can act, influence, or observe by mapping out systemic cause-and-effect relationships.

It taught me how to focus in complex environments. But the deeper lesson came later:

Strategy is not just about making choices. It’s about creating the space for others to lead - and driving impact together.

From tracking everything to trusting each other

This mindset became real when our team set out to simplify and refocus our approach. At one point, we were contributing directly or indirectly to more than 45 KPIs. Through structured alignment and tough prioritization, we reduced them - first to 8, then to just 4.

But the real shift wasn’t the number. It was what came after: a renewed focus on people, shared ownership, and the trust to act.

Instead of managing every detail, we empowered our teams through Communities to lead the transformation. The message was clear:

Here’s the goal. You have the strengths, the skills, and the trust. Let’s build this together.

Power lives in the team

This belief was reinforced during my recent studies at Harvard Business School Online, where I explored Power and Influence for Positive Impact.

One idea stood out:

Power doesn’t reside in a title. It lives in the individual and team. And it’s activated not through pressure - but through humility, empathy, and a shared sense of purpose.

When people are seen, trusted, and invited in, they bring their full selves. They lead. They create. They own outcomes.

Leadership is shared, and so is impact

For me, this is what human-centered leadership is all about. It’s not about pushing people harder. It’s about lifting them up - so they lead from their strengths and contribute to something greater.

We didn’t transform by tracking more. We transformed by trusting more. And that trust became the multiplier for everything that followed: stronger results, deeper engagement, and a culture of true ownership.

Because the most impactful strategies are never enforced from the top.

They are carried forward - by people who believe in them.