A Human Approach to Leadership: Growth, Connection, Impact
Let’s kick this off with a confession: I’ve learned more about leadership from bad leaders than good ones. Painful, yes. Enlightening? Absolutely. Turns out, surviving under a questionable leader can teach you a lot about what not to do—and those lessons tend to stick around like glitter after a craft project.
Here’s the wild part: even the bad leaders usually have an uncanny understanding of people. They just wield it poorly. The next time a leader does something that makes you consider banging your head against your desk, try this thought experiment:
Question to ask yourself: What do bad leaders understand about people that I might be missing?
Instead of spiraling into frustration, you start unraveling the why behind their actions. Questions like this help you figure out the people puzzle and become a better leader yourself.
Leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room—it’s about being the one who understands the people in the room.
To help lead with a human approach, I’ve crafted a simple framework to break down what people really need from their leaders.
The 3 Things People Need from Their Leaders
When you strip leadership down to its essence, it’s about addressing three universal needs: growth, connection, and impact.
1. The Need to Grow
No one wants to feel like they’re stuck in a never-ending loop of mediocrity. People need to feel challenged, like they’re learning, stretching, and improving. The twist? Growth doesn’t always look like a straight path to success. I once had a team member who hesitated to take on a challenging project. They were convinced they’d crash and burn. I gave them a nudge (okay, more of a shove) and promised I’d back them up. Fast forward a few months: yes, there were hiccups—“we’re doomed” moments included—but they came out the other side sharper, stronger, and more confident.
Here’s the question: Are you giving your team opportunities to stretch and stumble, or just keeping them busy?
Actionable tip: Hand out stretch assignments generously, but don’t vanish after the handoff. Support your team, celebrate their efforts, and treat setbacks as fuel for growth, not failure.
2. The Need to Connect
Let’s face it: great teams don’t just work together—they click. Trust, respect, and a sense of belonging aren’t just “nice to have” extras; they’re the glue that holds a team together. Without them? Your team feels more like a middle school dance—awkward, stiff, and full of side-eyes.
I’ve been on teams where trust was so strong you could practically read each other’s minds. I’ve also been on teams where meetings felt like a series of polite-but-pointless chess moves. Guess which one delivered better results?
Here’s your gut check: Does your team feel like a team—or just a group of individuals forced to share a Slack channel?
Actionable tip: Build trust like it’s part of your daily workout—not something you save for team offsites. Listen (actually listen), foster honest conversations, and create moments for people to connect with each other, not just with you.
3. The Need for Impact
People don’t just want to churn through tasks—they want to feel like they’re contributing to something that will matter years down the road. It’s the difference between grinding through the mundane and being fired up by the vision of what they’re helping to build.
I’ll never forget a leader who constantly told us, “Just focus on today’s JIRA tickets,” with zero context for why our work mattered. It was soul-crushing. In contrast, I once worked with a leader who connected every task—even the boring ones—to the future impact we were creating. Suddenly, even the grind felt worthwhile.
Ask yourself: Am I helping my team see how today’s work contributes to building something impactful for the future?
Actionable tip: Show your team how their work ties into a larger vision with future impact. Even if it seems obvious to you, spell it out—it makes all the difference.
Mastering the 3 Needs
Here’s the kicker about the “3 needs” framework: it’s not just a tool for understanding your team—it’s a mirror for understanding yourself.
Using the Framework to Understand Yourself
Most leaders are great in one of these areas, while others… not so much. Maybe you’re a visionary who can paint an inspiring picture of the future but struggles to foster collaboration or help individuals grow. Or maybe you’re a connection maestro who builds trust like a pro but forgets to zoom out and articulate the big picture. Whatever your leadership superpower is, owning it is step one.
Step two? Reinforcing the areas where you’re less naturally gifted. This isn’t about becoming perfect in all three needs—it’s about being self-aware enough to know when you need to step up or lean on others to fill the gaps.
Using the Framework to Improve Your Team
Now, let’s talk about your team. Chances are, you’re nailing one or two of these needs while the third quietly collects dust in the corner. For example, in the startup world, teams often are great at addressing impact. They’re laser-focused on big, bold missions—launching products, scaling fast, and disrupting industries. But growth? Connection? Those can easily get sidelined.
The framework can help you pinpoint the exact areas where your team might be wobbling, so you can get to work shoring things up.
What’s Next: Ask Your Team
Think you’ve got this nailed? Don’t guess—ask.
Here’s a simple exercise: send out a quick, three-question survey to your team. Ask them to rate, on a scale of 1-7, how much they agree with these statements:
Growth: I am working on a project or goal that is causing me to grow professionally.
Connection: I have a high level of trust and psychological safety with every person on my team.
Impact: I am working on something that will have a large impact for the company.
The results might surprise you. They’ll also give you a clear roadmap for where to focus your leadership energy.