I have written about heart-centred leadership before. It is a favourite topic of mine because it produces such surprising results.
Who knew that being heart centred as a leader can produce exceptional financial gains for many organisations?
Leaders are fascinated by the topic, which is not surprising: Coming from the heart is always a good idea when it comes to leading your team.
We have had a strange few years where our business and home lives became linked like never before; for many of us, this has re-evaluated how we want to work and how we want to be led in the case of our teams.
As I drafted this article, the UK government announced that social distancing and self-isolation rules would end over the next few weeks.
The feedback on my LinkedIn channel suggested that employees still want flexibility from their employers and a touch of ‘love’ and ‘understanding.’
This is still very much the case.
Wondering if you can develop a heart centred approach? Then take a look at a selection of qualities it is key to develop.
Your Personal Development Is A Consistent Habit
Personal development begins with self-awareness; heart centred leaders are self-aware; a trait critical to develop if you want any chance of understanding others.
When you begin the journey of self-awareness, you start to understand your values, beliefs, and your purpose in life.
It is almost impossible to understand at a deeper level other people until you know yourself.
You Put Your Self Care First
Today’s leader’s biggest challenge is the pressure to perform at an accelerated pace and higher levels to be profitable.
This means experiencing a great deal of stress to achieve goals and objectives. Longer working hours, 24/7 access and fewer resources can create additional stress; and because the pressure is on you to perform, you may put yourself last.
This has been especially so during the pandemic, with many leaders being burnt out through a lack of self-care.
If you are not strong, mentally and physically, then it is unlikely you will be able to take care of your business and your employees. When you are healthy, focused and calm, your positive behaviour cannot help but enhance employee productivity and engagement.
You Support Others To Develop Their Self Esteem
Having worked with thousands of participants on Zestfor training programmes over the last thirteen years, my team and I have noticed that self-esteem, or should I say lack of it, is a challenge for many employees.
Therefore logically, a heart centred leader who helps their team improve their self-esteem will make an enormous difference.
Self-esteem is related to what we think about ourselves.
High self-esteem is attributed to people who think positively about themselves and what they can achieve. Self-esteem can be context-specific. An employee can think they are a great parent though maybe not the best manager of a team.
Lack of self-esteem is easy to spot and, in a work context, centres around feelings of inferiority often fuelled by lack of success and skill gaps.
Another characteristic of low self-esteem is a tendency to be impatient or easily irritated by mistakes or inadequacies. This is often directed at the self, but it can also be directed at other people.
People with low self-esteem often determine their goals and direction in life based upon what others might want or need.
The good news is that a heart-centred leadership approach can help through an honest, authentic, and trusting approach that creates connection.
When you regularly express gratitude and treat employees with respect, you lead your people by example. The bonds of trust can only be forged when you consistently show your team that they are valued, listened to, and involved.
You Have Responsibility and Accountability
Heart centred leaders do not blame others. Instead, they look at their contribution in any situation and, in the words of Stephen Covey, always seek first to understand what has happened in any circumstance before blaming others.
Heart-centred leaders always understand the importance of being accountable and responsible for any situation within the team.
A well-known presupposition of heart centred leaders is that employees have a positive intention underlying their actions.
Yes, they do and developing your curiosity will help with this quality.
Being curious is a great skill to develop, and it starts by asking better questions. Being consistent in making every attempt to understand the behaviour of your colleagues, rather than making assumptions that you know what happened or what they are thinking — will yield substantial, long-term rewards.
You Are an Impactful Communicator
Good managers are always good communicators. An inspired, heart-centred leader is mindful of how words and actions can be interpreted.
When you have the awareness to understand that everything you do and say has an impact, you will begin to direct your energy and intentions consciously. If you can master your communication style by understanding your style and others the difference in how your team begin to engage will consistently generate improved results.
Until next time,
Julia Carter
How Can We Help Improve Your Leadership Skills
Our range of leadership development programmes focuses on supporting you to improve your leadership capability.
Managers and their teams will improve vital communication, collaboration and influencing skills over six months – developing all participants into high performing virtual team members. Click here for a full programme description or call one of our team on 0845 548 0833.
About Zestfor
Zestfor specialises in developing leadership Training programmes and resources scientifically tailored for technical markets – including Pharmaceutical, IT, and Life Sciences.
Our blend of in-classroom, online, and virtual live-stream delivery methods will engage and assure even the most introverted team members from the first meeting – whether face-to-face or virtually. So, to have a brief chat, call us on 0845 548 0833.
