Tuesday's conference keynote speaker Bob Chapman discussed the principles of his transformative, people-centered approach to leadership, “Truly Human Leadership.” As chairman and CEO of the $2.4-billion global supplier of manufacturing technology and services, he believed that as a leader, it was his responsibility to ensure that his employees felt as if they mattered.

The idea of “Truly Human Leadership” was developed from three separate situations Chapman experienced. The first took place while he was visiting one of his company’s manufacturing facilities and noticed the joy on people’s faces when they discussed March Madness basketball games. He immediately thought that work should be as much fun. And later, at the wedding of his good friend’s daughter, he realized that each of his employees is someone’s son or daughter, and that they should be treated as such. Thirdly, he discussed that while churches can positively impact people’s lives for just a few hours a week, organizational leaders can spend up to 40 hours a week with their staff, and  they have a greater opportunity to profoundly impact their employees’ lives.

Chapman shared several stories about how implementing his people-centered approach to leadership within his organization positively affected his employees’ lives. Not only has this innovative approach led to increased productivity within his workforce, but his employees now lead far less stressful lives. Chapman states that the easiest way to relieve staff stress is to “make everyone feel like what they do matters,” and that the best way to be an “empathetic listener” is to care.

In closing, Chapman stated that, “When you create a community of empathetic leaders, you can eliminate conflict. The communities you serve are hurting, and you can help them by listening with empathy.”

If you missed this keynote or any of the other ICMA Annual Conference keynotes, check out the ICMA Virtual Conference.