LEAD With HEART
“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”
—Nelson Mandela
In many organizations today, people are still selected for leadership roles based on their ability to be hard-hearted. The theory is that if leaders operate with heart, it will be too difficult for them to make needed budget cuts. They will be too soft on the people who work for them. And they won’t be able to make the challenging decisions to be competitive in the marketplace.
As true leaders, though, we know that leading with heart is key to our success and ability to actually lead others effectively. Without the ability to connect to our own heart, we operate as mere automatons. We are limited to our five senses and unable to connect with the full range of our humanity. This detachment from our Self, makes it impossible to fully connect with others, much less be an influencer or hold a vision that inspires them to follow!
When we detach from our humanity, we not only miss the mark for our organizations and ALL of the stakeholders we serve. We also miss the mark for ourselves. At a deep level we know that when we close off our heart externally, there is an internal part of us that is shut down as well.
FULLY EMBODY YOUR HUMANITY
Fully embodying our humanity takes us out of the surface of life or “flat zone.” Most of us know this flat zone well, since it is where we have been taught to live. It is the place that keeps us from feeling the depth of our pain and suffering. It is the place that makes us good “worker units” and “leader automatons.” But, it is not the place of aliveness that allows us to love deeply and live fully with passion, creativity and exuberance.
When we dive down below the surface of the flat zone, yes, we will find the layer of pain and suffering. But, once we dive even deeper under that layer, we reach the treasures at the core our being. This is where we can experience the richness of life. It is also where our life once again beats to our heart center, so we can fully experience the heart connection in our relationships, work life and leadership journey.
When we lead with heart, we have the depth of character to tap into our inner wisdom for wiser, more thoughtful and nuanced evaluation of situations. It allows us to access our naturally compassionate self, who takes into consideration the challenges, pain, fears and growing edge others, who are struggling in their own lives. It helps us respond with less defensiveness when challenged by those we report to. It allows us to act beyond just our own self interest and really take to heart what is best for all stakeholders involved.
Leading with heart doesn’t mean we give up our cognitive ability to attend to business. It does mean we have access to both our head and heart for better decision making. It allows us to better synthesize information within ourselves and across our organization. When there is a dilemma to solve, we drop into the center of ourselves, listen to our heart and then return to the mental plane to implement the inner direction we receive. We become better observers and better discern the subtleties that are at play in situations, particularly related to the people involved. We also personally experience the power of true empathy that comes from leading with a heart-felt connection to those we serve.
WE’RE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU
PERSONALIZED MENTORING
While you have a unique heroic path to follow in life, you don’t have to face your personal challenges alone. We are here to help you master those challenges through Life Guidance Mentoring and Leadership Development Mentoring.
Let us know if we can further support you on your personal or professional journey!