To lead with the heart or mind?

Leading with the heart or the mind is something I have often been asked about. Do I lead with my heart, where emotions guide the way, or with the mind, with logic and critical thinking? Most people tend to choose one or the other. If you lead with your mind, you rely on data, logic and strategy. If you lead with your heart, you are driven by emotion, intuition, and empathy. And there is always that tug of war between the two?—?whether it is love, where the heart wants what the mind talks you out of, or in work, where the heart is not into what you are working on.

For me, this is not a simple either?—?or question.

It has been one of my personal goals to learn a Sanskrit mantra every few months. During the recent Navrathri celebration of the nine forms of the goddess, I had the opportunity to revisit the Lalitasahasranamam, a complex chant of the 1000 names of Goddess Lalita. I have always loved the sound of the name Lalita. It means ‘the playful one’. That is what Lalita represents. She loves to play?—?with your heart and your mind. The Lalita Sahasranaman is an ode to the goddess?—?her beauty, her many powers, the divine feminine.

There is a line in the chant that deeply resonated with me:

Mano-rupekshu kodanda panchatanmatra sayaka

Nijaruna prabha-pura majja dbrahmanda mandala

This translates to -

“She who has the mind as her bow and the five subtle elements as her arrows, She whose own radiance floods and immerses the entire universe.”

There are many interpretations but the one I like the most is the idea that Lalita bends the mind to make it a bow, allowing the heart to blossom. She uses the senses as her arrows. I love this because it offers a beautiful way to see the relationship between the heart and the mind?—?not as adversaries, but as partners where the mind, like a bow, bends in service to the heart. The senses, as arrows, direct us toward deeper emotional and spiritual truths.

In my work at the accidental ally, I often find myself bending my mind to allow my heart to make decisions. We are not a typical profit-driven business. I am not here to make money off the backs of people with disabilities, which unfortunately happens far too often. I don’t make money from this work, and people often ask me why I do it. Despite the gatekeeping and challenges we face from several sources, we keep pushing forward. If I had only led with my mind, I wouldn’t be here today.

I have spent the last four years working with a talented group of individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). They are not your typical candidates, but they are exceptional- not because they are disabled, but because they are hardworking, fast learners who bring a unique and valuable perspective to the tech workforce. Despite proving that these individuals can make meaningful contributions to business, many still do not believe in the work we do and in their ability to be valuable contributing members of the tech workforce.

Goddess Lalita may seem playful but she teaches us to invoke our hidden power. To do that, we must bend our mind to allow our heart to see the truth with clarity and honesty. It is about having a childlike curiosity and playfulness to allow the goddess to work her magic.?

In my life and work, I strive to balance both the heart and the mind in a way that lets my purpose flow freely, much like Lalita who reminds us to skillfully bend our bow and use our arrows to guide our actions.