How You Lead Can Get Different Results
For some time, you wanted to revamp your business, but not sure what the next steps should be. This month I decided to write about Leading with Heart as it seems appropriate for Valentine’s Month. Look carefully to see whether you have what it takes to lead with heart.
Monday through Friday while you are in your workplace, you need to think how can I better lead my employees in order to move forward generating higher productivity with higher revenue. Yes, there is a cost when you neglect the human connection point in business. Some leaders think with your head and others use your heart in order to lead your business to success. Whichever one you choose of course is up to you.
There’s no bravery or boldness without heart. The various traits of a “Heart Leader” may fit for you as you read each one and see where you fit within them.
Heart Leader Traits
Heart leaders are humble, genuine and sincere. They are transparent and vulnerable. Measuring success is not by a spreadsheet as it is more so by the amount of impact they have on others within the organization
Projecting your authenticity shines through when you listen well. This goes along with encouraging others to be more open and promote both individual and team performance. Sharing how you feel, and sharing your passion about your ideas. Standing up for your principles, your values, and what you believe is right is heart centered leadership.
Follow the Leader?
“Leaders who have heart… will also have the hearts of those they lead.” – Michael Rogers
Take a moment to think about the leaders that you have been asked to follow in the past, what are the qualities that most attracted and most repelled you? The traits or characteristics and the way leaders behave and act actually demonstrate where you accept the best of how you should be.
The idea of bringing the heart into workplace leadership may appear soft yet, your emotions can be powerful enough to show your logic and reason for how you lead even in difficult times. Instead of jumping to conclusions (being reactive) you actually show the practical and proactive side of your leadership.
Heart leaders make people feel special as you give others a sense of purpose and making them feel appreciated for the work they do. Focus on employee relationships and undertake efforts to make team members feel that they’re a part of an organization´s success.
Balancing Your Head & Heart
“To handle yourself, use your head. To handle others, use your heart.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
The key to your leadership is to take the best parts of each leadership style and combine them to create your own approach. It should suit your personality as you need to be flexible and aware of how each approach fits for your specific style of leading. Great leaders know how to blend these styles within your own. Too often business is all about doing what your head tells you to do rather than your heart.
Head Leadership
Leaders using your head instead of your heart are great at creating a strategy and a plan as well as setting goals while holding your employees accountable to work on the plan’s actions and processes. These leaders know how to create systems and plans very well.
Head leaders are usually task-oriented as you know what it takes to get things done. Deadline-driven schedules are set-up with specific requirements of maintaining high standards. It’s been found that employees who need structure and who struggle with managing their time work best under this kind of leadership.
Heart Leadership
“We desperately need more leaders who are committed to courageous, wholehearted leadership and who are self-aware enough to lead from their hearts, rather than unevolved leaders who lead from hurt and fear.” – Brene Brown
Bringing the heart leadership into the workplace gives a sense allows for more caring of your employees as to getting to know your employees as well as your clients. Doing something special for them on their birthday or an anniversary underneath it all demonstrates a thank you to them. It also in-return, at least from your employees, gets them to be more productive for you and the company.
When employees feel they belong, have value and are part of something big, it also adds to their sense of well-being. Set up a meeting for your employees to attend. If you have more than one location, make arrangements for other locations to listen in and maybe ask questions. Your employees will appreciate being included.
Acknowledging them and keeping them in the loop regarding the overall health of the company. This includes any changes that will or are expected to take place. This gives your employees a good sense of belonging.
Having Reasonable Expectations
They are Trustworthy
Leaders who are not honest and transparent and whose actions lead to mistrust and doubt are not good for the heart. Second guessing a leader’s particular response to a situation can create nervousness and the potential to affect employees negatively.
Honesty and transparency reduce the feelings of anxiety and fear caused by the unpredictability of a leader. Leaders who are honest, authentic and somewhat predictable in most situations are good for the heart.
They are Understanding
As you strive for success, you know that mistakes happen. Allowing your employees to make mistakes helps them learn to experiment for other creative innovations. Don’t focus on who to blame or eliminate, instead look for learning of greater opportunities.
Offer guidance or other advice or tips to help employees to produce greater than what their potential really is. Don’t put them down due to their possible liabilities.