Purpose – To identify the characteristic features of humanistic leadership in the Tata group in India, and to explicate the key facilitating factors. Design/methodology/approach – Narrative case-study inquiry via semi-structured interviews with top management leaders and middle managers, and secondary sources of information. Findings – The top leaders of the Tata companies emphasised the following values and leadership experience: (1) Adherence to the founder’s philosophy and the basic core values, (2) Leadership with Trust, (3) Community as the key purpose of the enterprise, (4) Senior leaders as mentors and role-models, (5) Abiding by the ethical code of conduct, (6) Employee-focus and (7) Tacit alignment with Indian cultural values. These resonated with the humanistic leadership tenets. Based on the literature the authors also identified that in Tata leadership, there is an amalgamation of personal values (humata, hukhta, hvarshta: good thought, word and deed) and national cultural ethos (dharma, karma and jnana: emphasis on duty-bound action and knowledge). These leadership values are conveyed and institutionalised in the organisation via strategic initiatives such as the Tata Trusts, Tata Business Excellence Model, Tata Code of Conduct. This synergy of personal values, national cultural ethos and organisational strategy makes Tata group realise the humanistic leadership objectives, while achieving business targets. Research limitations/implications – The thematic analysis of interview data provides a contextualised understanding of how humanistic leadership gets realised at both the individual behavioural level, as well as at the broader organisational strategic level. This provides inputs to building the theory of humanistic leadership. Practical implications – By unravelling the factors that facilitate the realisation of humanistic leadership in the Tata group, the authors provide an exemplar for other organisations and business leaders to draw insights from. Social implications –Humanistic leadership, oriented towards upliftment of community and society, and not just profit maximisation, is critical to creating a more sustainable and peaceful world. Originality/value – This is one of first studies that conceptualises the Tata leadership from the humanistic perspective. The theoretical insights are of basic and applied use.