LEADERS ENCOURAGE THE HEART

We used to hear leadership guru said, “ The heart of a leader must be a caring one. Without this heart, his leadership will be without purpose.”
Do we have a caring heart ? A leader’s heart is the one that bridges the connection between him and his team members. Leadership filled with values that encourage the heart speakers directly to people to deeply and contributes to creating meaning in the workplace.

Opening Oneself

Everything starts within as a leader. Most managers fail to recognize the efforts of others because expressing genuine appreciation means showing emotions. For most people expressing emotions is a weakness. This is what happened to one of my former German colleagues, Gunther. He was afraid of praising his staff good work because he did not want to be perceived as playing favorites. However, he realized that his staff did really deserve to be recognized. During a presentation, he publicly thanked people for fostering collaborative spirit on the project. He later realized that what he had done established a human connection with his colleagues that had not been there before. After that, communication was more open among her staff and she felt less guarded and people responded with a new level of enthusiasm for his leadership.

Secret Revealed

We all wanted to be loved and we have high needs for it. The same can be said of the workplace relationship between leaders and those who follow them. Chief Executive Officer and venture capitalist Irwin Federman said that love is necessary ingredient, one that is rarely appreciated, in part we underrate the role of our feelings.

On love for leaders, Federman said, “ You do not love someone because of who they are; you love them because of the way they make you feel. “ Love and affection has a place in business and the more positive leaders make us feel, the harder we will work for them more effectively.

If you work for a leader who encourages your heart, you will feel better about yourself and your self esteem will go up thereby increasing your potential to perform at your maximum best.

Say Thank You

It is important to appreciate someone who has done a good job. In a recent survey of employee turnover, the chief reason people give for leaving is that they get “ limited praise and recognition. : And they place on top of their list “ the ability to recognize and acknowledge the contribution of others “ as the skill that their managers should develop in order to be most effective.
Encouraging the heart can start with a simple thank you. To deny each other this gift of positive feedback is to deny increased opportunities for continued success.

Essentials of Encouraging

Set Clear Standards

To successfully encourage the heart, it is important that everyone cherish a common set of standards. Setting clear standards pave the way to achieve common goals which in turn can be the basis of determining who should be given recognition in terms of performance. The standards must be standards of excellence, be inspirational, and must bring out the bets in the team. Outstanding performance must be linked to a reward and must be measured against clearly defined standards.

Expect the Best

The best leaders believe that people can achieve the high standards that have been set. This is called the Pygmalion effect. It is a belief so strong that even if others do not believe in it initially, the leader’s belief, gives rise to self confidence and it becomes a “ self fulfilling prophecy. “ As a leader, you should believe in other people’s potential in order to encourage the heart.

Pay Attention

Managing by walking around is one way for a leader to know what is happening on the floor. The term can also be revised as caring by walking around. A leader walks around not to catch people but to pay attention to what they are doing and to understand the significance of their actions. As a leader, you must always be on the lookout for excellent performance among your staff.

Personal Recognition

The best leaders get to know their people personally. They learn about their likes, dislikes, needs and interests. They observe them in their own settings then when it comes to recognize a particular person, they know a way to make it special, meaningful and memorable.

Tell The Story

When you give recognition to other people, you must tell the story on how the person was able to perform exceptionally well. Stories move us, they touch us, teach us, and cause us to remember. Besides putting things in context, stories enable the listeners to see themselves in it. People can relate more to stories that set good examples.

Celebrate together

Public recognition is a form of celebration together, When you recognize someone in public, it encourages other people to emulate person’s exemplary performance. This is how groups learn lessons. The public ceremony provides a setting for broadcasting the message to a much wider audience.


Set the Example

Every leader in the organization ahs to take the initiative to recognize individual contributions, celebrate team accomplishments and create an atmosphere of confidence and support. Leaders set the example for others. You must practice what they preach. If you want others to encourage the heart, you must start by modeling it yourself.

Conclusion

The heart of effective leadership is genuine caring for people. How much do you really care about the people you lead ? If you answer is a lot then you are on the right path. But you must confront yourself with this question daily. When you care deeply, the above seven ingredients of encouraging the heart will become genuine expressions of your caring.