“How do I advocate for a more people-centered leadership approach in a company that only cares about metrics?”
Today we have a reader-submitted question, so let’s jump right into it!
“How do I advocate for a more people-centered leadership approach in a company that only cares about metrics?”
Honestly, and I’m so sorry to say this, but I need you to be ready for heartbreak. It’s probably not fixable.
I know that is not what you want to hear, but if leadership is fully bought in to the idea that numbers matter more than people, you are not just suggesting an improvement, you’re threatening their entire belief system. And when someone (or multiple someones with C-titles) believes their value comes from squeezing harder, faster, and longer hours out of people, they will protect that system like their lives depend upon it. Because it kinda does.
When you speak up, expect resistance. They will nod politely. They will say things like “great idea, let’s circle back” or “we’ll add that to the next initiative.” And then they will go right back to rewarding overwork, praising “high performers” who crush everyone around them, and blaming burnout on the people who are drowning rather than the workload that is pulling them under.
You will be painted as idealistic, soft, unrealistic. You will be told that “this is just how it is” and “the numbers don’t lie.” You will be made to feel like you are the one tilting at windmills, chasing after some imaginary better way of working, while they double down on a system that is visibly chewing through people and spitting them out.
So how do you advocate for better inside a machine like this? You use their language, even while you know the odds. You show how burnout kills productivity, not just morale. You connect turnover to bad management, not bad hires. You link empathy to retention, engagement, and yes, even business outcomes. You make it harder for them to ignore that the way they are running things is not just cruel, it is inefficient.
But while you do that, keep your eyes open. Because if the signs are clear that they do not actually want to change, if they only want the optics of being “people-centered” while continuing to grind people down, then you need to stop confusing advocacy with martyrdom. You cannot out-care a company that has no interest in caring back.
That is not your failure. That is the reality of the system you are in.
So you protect your own fire. You do the work you can, where you can, but you do not bleed yourself dry for leaders who will never value it. And when you are ready, you take your energy somewhere else. Because trying to convince a company like this to suddenly value people is not noble, it is exhausting. And you deserve way, way better than that.
The Threadsmith Group Approach
At The Threadsmith Group, we don’t believe in cookie-cutter advice. We believe in real answers for real people, backed by experience, strategy, and a healthy dose of common sense.
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