Humanity Works Better: Five Practices to Lead with Awareness, Choice and the Courage to Change

Get the best—not just the most—out of your teams.

Our modern workforce is suffering. For too long, organizations and leaders have sought success through a focus on efficiency and productivity, and it’s costing us dearly. Workplace bullying and abuse has reached epidemic levels—along with high rates of burnout, staff turnover, and mental illness. Clearly, something needs to change.

In Humanity Works Better, leadership experts Debbie Cohen and Kate Roeske-Zummer chart a new path forward: one that brings humanity, awareness, choice, and courage to the workplace. The result? A happier work environment that draws the best—rather than squeezes the most—out of people.

Through the same tools and practices they’ve used to transform teams at organizations like Adobe, DocuSign, Saba, Pinterest, the authors guide you through a framework that converts company culture from toxic to healthy, from competitive to collaborative, from fearful to trusting, one human at a time. You’ll address your own internal roadblocks to become a better person, and a better leader. And you’ll master the skills and complexities to navigate the complex relationships that make us human.

As you undertake this personal journey, you’ll become aware of who you want to be and how to live the whole of your life, inside and outside the workplace. You’ll emerge more confident, more effective, and more human, with the skills to lead a purpose-driven workforce that is energized, engaged, and driven to succeed. That’s not just good leadership; it’s good business.