The Head and Heart in Leadership
If you can’t choose between the head and the heart, pick the heart and trust the head to find a way to figure it out.
Maybe this seems off-topic for a leadership advisor. It’s not. If you’re leading without heart, you’re doing it wrong.
The heart is where you find love, soul, and inspiration. The heart is home to respect, esteem, empathy, and humanity; it’s where we find our purpose and our passion.
The head is where we entertain logic, judgment, safety, and preservation. The head is risk-averse. It prefers you to progress at a moderate pace, obey the rules and customs, and avoid rocking the boat.
Motivation is created in your head.
Inspiration is created in your heart.
Your head also creates fear and doubt.
Your heart is fearless and certain.
A good leader will make time to strategize options. The head thrives here because it likes to solve problems — and usually does.
A great leader also listens to their heart — although most will credit their gut. They have an inner knowing, and although it may not appear logical or sensible to others, they pursue this “feeling” if only because it “feels right.”
Trust this feeling more often in your leadership life. Yes, be open to input, feedback, feedforward, and advice from others who may be more objective, so you have a complete picture, then proceed.
Lead with your heart and then let the head do its job.
Knowing Your Values
Here’s why knowing your values is so important. When you know them, you make decisions faster, and those decisions support you; they don’t sabotage you. You know the difference between when you act congruent with your values and when you stray because your body tells you.
When things aren’t right, you don’t feel right. Curiosity becomes anxiety. Self-assuredness is replaced with self-doubt. Butterflies in your stomach no longer innocently flutter; they violently kick. If you ignore the signs, they don’t disappear; you simply grow numb to them. Neither confidence nor good leadership is found here.
When you know your values, you know what you want. When you are a leader, you tell people what you want.
When the answer is yes, you show gratitude and keep moving forward.
It can sting when the answer is no, but it is better to know no now, not later. You still show gratitude and move in a different direction.
Your values make it possible, so get to know them better and use them to your advantage.
Lead on Purpose
Check out “Lead on Purpose; A workbook to reignite your mission, vision, and values” from Karl Bimshas Consulting’s Leadership Workbooks series. Available at LeadershipWorkbooks.com.
Want something more hands-on? Reach out directly, and let’s see if a leadership consulting agreement makes sense for you or members of your organization.
The Reflections on Leadership Podcast
Listen to quick reflections on leadership and occasional interviews with busy professionals, challenge your perspective, provide inspiration, and give insights to help you manage better and lead well. Available on your favorite platform, or click here.
Leadership and Management Clusters
To stay relevant in a changing world, you must find ways to manage better and lead well, but where do you start? Review the 27 disciplines in this PDF and score yourself (or your organization) on how often you demonstrate each category.
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