3 Genuine Ways that Leaders Should Connect with the Heart
(Special Note: Valentines Day is worth celebrating—a time to think of romance and love. My wife Mary and I, along with 19 other couples share our amazing romance stories that defied the odds in Captured by Love—Inspiring True Romance Stories from Vietnam POWs. Mary and I just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. You can download a sample of the first 50 pages that includes Forewords by my great friends, the singer Tony Orlando and the actor Gary Sinise (Lt Dan). Now, on to the coaching blog below.)
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While it’s traditionally the love and romance month, let’s take a broader look at the power of love in all relationships—especially for leaders and teams in the workplace. Now that probably sounds crazy to some of you, so let me explain.?
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To Love and Be Loved
Every human being wants to be loved because it’s at the core of who they are; it gives them a message that they are important to others. That’s why the more a person has received love from others, especially from their parents in their early years, the more emotionally healthy they will be.
Love can produce ever-increasing and powerful results. The more love that adults receive at home and at work, the more secure they will be. And the more secure they are, the more confident and humble they will be and the better they will perform, and the longer they will stay with their team.
People who have a Judeo/Christian background know that the primary source of love is God’s love, and in fact most all other religions share a similar view. There is a great book about this idea called Surrender to Love by psychologist Dr. David Benner. I’ve read this small book five times and often re-read a few pages during my devotional time. He makes it clear that the most important thing we can do is to surrender and receive God’s love. Once we receive it, love makes us healthier and more confident, enabling us to give more love to others.
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This coaching clip expands on this idea. Please watch, and then continue reading the blog below –
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Connect with the Heart
In my leadership books, I typically don’t talk about love in a direct way. Instead, I encourage leaders to “connect with the hearts” of their people. Here are some very practical yet genuine ways to do it –
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1. Accept and let them know you care about them.
- Treat them like they are special and important.
- Smile and greet them.
- Encourage them with positive feedback.
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2. Let them know that you believe in them.
- Ask them for their input and listen to them.
- Identify and focus on their natural talents.
- Remember they likely have talents that are different from yours.
- Help them develop their talents and use them more at work.
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3. Lead with a positive influence in professional (and personal relationships). Pause to think about specific people and consider their talents. Then look for times and places where you can encourage and lift them up and free them to be all they can be.
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"Great leaders know the bottom line of valuing others is to come up with a plan to practice connecting with their hearts." [Tweet This]
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And remember, these are rays of love that help their people grow more healthy, more secure, more loyal, and better performers. So, let’s all coach ourselves to connect with the heart every day.
LE [Tweet This Article]
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