Building Human-Centered Leadership in a Burned-Out Workplace
Workplaces everywhere are stretched thin. Leaders are trying to navigate competing priorities, keep their teams engaged, and somehow make space for equity and inclusion—all while avoiding burnout themselves.
But here’s the truth: most new managers don’t get the leadership development they need to succeed. They’re promoted because they were great individual contributors, then handed a team and told, “Good luck.” No wonder delegation feels impossible, feedback is awkward, and psychological safety never gets built.
I recently had a powerful conversation with Ryan Stadt, Senior Talent and Inclusion Manager at Cengage Group and executive coach, on the Hard at Work podcast. Here are some of the things that Ryan suggests on how to develop excellent “people leaders”, why empathy and equity are non-negotiables, and how leaders can build healthier, more resilient teams.
Why We Need to Rethink New Manager Training
Leadership development often focuses on systems and compliance—the HR tools, the paperwork, the processes to “not get yourself in trouble.” But the real work of leadership isn’t just signing off on expense reports or mapping projects on a dashboard.
Great leadership is human-centered leadership. It’s built on:
Trust and inquiry (not control and micromanagement)
Emotional intelligence and listening skills
Space for reflection, feedback, and honest conversations
A willingness to examine inequity and design for fairness
When organizations skip this part, they end up with burned-out managers who can’t delegate and teams that never reach their potential.
Creating Space for Psychological Safety
Developing leaders who know how to slow down and actually see their teams as people takes intentionality. Small shifts can make a big difference:
Start meetings with check-ins to gauge team energy
Use short pulse surveys to catch burnout before it spirals
Teach managers to share news neutrally and let employees process it without bias
Focus coaching on defining outcomes, not prescribing step-by-step methods
Why Inclusive Leadership Matters
True leadership development also means looking honestly at workplace equity. The current backlash against “DEI” is real—but avoiding the topic isn’t leadership. Creating equitable workplaces doesn’t require buzzwords. It requires action:
Examining hiring and retention data
Making policies like bereavement leave flexible and humane
Ensuring meeting norms allow every voice to be heard
This is what fairness and inclusion look like in practice—and it’s work every leader can do.
