At the Heart Leadership

Organizations change. They have to in order to address the needs of those they serve; the end customer, the stakeholders and the employees. We’ve heard all our lives that “change is inevitable” – “change before you have” – “the only constant in life is change.” So why do so many of us find change to be hard? If you dig deep enough, at the heart of the matter is “fear.” And if that is at the heart of the matter, then that is where great leaders have to begin to lead, from the heart, speaking to the heart, and yes, connecting at the heart level. Sounds a bit woo-woo in the corporate word today but, is it? Or is it time to reflect on our own fears as a leader. As a leader, are we leading out of fear; running to stay ahead of lions? Or, are we running towards something, perhaps a vision or a goal? Whichever way we lead our people will follow. They will follow you out of fear, or they will follow you towards the vision. Rest assured, it’s what’s in your heart that speaks first verbally or non-verbally in work, at home and in life. I am sure you have heard it many time, “It takes courage to lead.” If we look at the root of the word courage we find that it means “to speak one’s truth with an open heart.” Yes, it does take courage to lead and there is nothing woo-woo about that.