5b72a535386308.29798112.jpg "Leading from the Heart vs. Leading from the Mind")
Anything in excess is not good. Whether it is too much sun or too much food, it is important to have a balance since even excess amounts of good stuff will likely bring negative results. The same also applies when it comes to leading with only your mind or your heart.
Collaboration of Mind and Heart is creating the culture of ‘Trust’ and ‘Care’ in the organization.
A leader who only uses his mind can appear uncaring or unemotional about the distinctive qualities and abilities every team member has to offer. Additionally, this is likely a leader who does not know anything about his or her team members and therefore is not intuitive about ways of motivating or exciting the team. In fact, they expect employees to work since they are compensated to work.
In contrast, leading with only the heart can make you appear overly emotional. If you do not balance it out with thoughtful leadership, then you might not be considered as decisive enough. Therefore, it is vital to balance the heart and the mind to bring in all the positive qualities of a leader.
Leading With both the Heart and Mind
Mind leaders are excellent at coming up with a business strategy, setting goals, holding team members accountable and also creating a budget. They have the knowledge on how to create work systems and process that can help or equip their teams to function more effectively. They are also great at forecasting and avoiding potential pitfalls. Effective mind leaders are all about being knowledgeable and competent.
Heart leaders excel in making their work environments a special place. They acknowledge how important every team member is since they take the time to interact with employees personally. When you use your heart in leadership, it means you treasure your team, which makes it easier to rally the team around your vision and encourage them to do their jobs at a higher level of productivity.
These leaders care about the welfare, dreams, and feelings of their employees. Hence, leading from the heart is basically about that deep connection and caring for your employees.
Combining These Two Elements
Consider how great the atmosphere in your work environment will be if you combine the heart and the head together. You will have a more dynamic group of employees who are inspired to do their work at high-quality standards and efficiently since they want to, but also they are clearer about the direction of the business.
It is important to single out the benefits of leading with the heart as it has been consistently proven to have an essential role in leadership skills, especially on its positive effects on staff and the company as well.
Leaders need to balance the “Mind and Heart’ by becoming aware of the importance of ‘Structuring’ and ‘Care' while working with people.
Enhancing Productivity
Leading with the heart is essential to motivate your employees to respond positively to the changing goals and circumstances. Most employees resist making changes due to the fear of the unknown, which results in people holding back, acting more defensively and generally resisting pursuing success.
Leaders who show concern for the well-being of their employees’ lives are able to create healthy attachments that empower all the employees to fully embrace the risks of seeking success and therefore, enhance productivity.
Click here to explore the complete program.
Feeling Connected is Mentally Rewarding
Research shows that the human brains have evolved to deeply value social attachments. This is not to say that managers should see them or act in a paternalistic way every time. Rather, these bonds allow managers to maximize on the tendencies and strengths of their employees instead of going against them. When you isolate an employee with intimidation or authoritative demands, it triggers a sense of fear, threat, and isolation. The brain then shuts down, and it becomes much harder for employees to think or work productively.
The other positive aspect of developing a secure attachment with a caring leader is the fact that you can benefit from support figures during times of stress. This way, employees can feel more at ease with lesser threat responses, which is essential for helping teams in surviving and thriving in a crisis situation. Additionally, as the leader, you will also feel psychologically rewarding when you are able to support your employees through connecting and interacting with them.
Conclusion
Think for a moment about the kind of leadership traits you project both at work and at home.
Are those traits giving you positive results?
Do you feel that it is time to re-work some of those traits, such as caring, respecting or gaining a deeper understanding of your employees?
Comments