Healing Open: A Next Level Leader's Guide to Growing Emotional Strength

When your heart is hurting, the natural instinct is to close yourself off. Yet as a next level leader, you're called to rise above this impulse and remain open to all human experiences. Your wounds can either harden you or grow you into a more emotionally strong leader—the difference is in how you heal. Like a broken bone that must be set in the right position, let your heart set open.

The Leader's Challenge: Continuous Presence

Leadership, whether as a parent guiding young children or as a CEO steering a global organization, demands your presence even as you process your own emotions. The temptation to compartmentalize—to postpone addressing your emotional needs until some future milestone—often proves destructive. Consider Tiger Woods, whose early training to separate his emotional self from his performance eventually led to a profound personal crisis in midlife.

Creating Space for Healing

You cannot bring your full presence to your work when crucial conversations remain unspoken. As a leader, actively create spaces for healing:

• Host listening sessions where concerns can be openly shared
• Promote and normalize the use of mental health services
• Establish ongoing support systems that extend beyond immediate needs

Our Success Circle programs , originally designed for leadership development, have evolved into enduring support networks that continue nurturing leaders decades after their completion.

Healing by Example, Leading by Example

A Success Circle of female leaders has supported one another through victories and setbacks for seven years. Recently, recognizing the emotional toll of the presidential election, they scheduled a spa retreat during Thanksgiving week. This isn't just self-care—it's a deliberate demonstration of prioritizing healing to effectively hold space for others. As a leader, you go first.

Integrating Emotional Processing into Daily Life

Make emotional awareness a natural part of your routine:

• During evening meal preparation
• While taking a relaxing bath
• On your morning walk

The key is consistency, not complexity.

A Simple Practice for Emotional Connection

Try this straightforward exercise:

1. Pause
2. Close your eyes
3. Place one hand on your chest
4. Ask yourself: "What do I need right now?"
5. Listen for simple emotional words: trust, safety, love, joy

Remember: The language of the heart is fundamentally simple. It doesn't require elaborate processes or extended retreats—though these can be valuable. What matters most is creating regular moments of connection with your emotional experience.

Key Takeaways

• Model healthy emotional processing for your team
• Create structured spaces for communal healing
• Integrate emotional awareness into your daily routine
• Remember that effective emotional practices can be simple
• Prioritize your healing to better support others

The path of leading with an open heart isn't about avoiding pain—it's about letting it deepen your capacity for love.?

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