How to Lead With Your Heart & Still Be Respected

Did you catch my recent post where we talked about logical versus intuitive business practices? This week, we’re continuing from that theme by talking about leading with your heart (versus your head) and if you can do this and still be respected. 

(Click here to read Logical vs. Intuitive Business Practices: Is It Time for a Shift?)

How to Lead With Your Heart & Still Be Respected

It’s a question many of my clients have asked in one way or another, “How can I lead with my heart but still be respected?” Especially as women, it often feels like we have to work that much harder to be respected. So, if leading with our heart is going to make this even harder, why would we choose that option?

I’m here to tell you that there is always a place for leading with your heart and still being respected! The alternative is leading strictly with logic (your head), and taking emotion out of the equation. The problem is, for almost everyone, this is impossible to do. As much as we would like to think we can take emotion out of every decision, it’s just not possible all of the time. 

That being said, finding a balance between leading with your heart and head, much like finding a balance between logic and intuition, serves most business owners well. 

Leading with Your Heart versus Your Head

To show you what I mean, let’s look at some examples of leading with your heart versus leading with your head.

Leading with your heart

• Putting people before profit—always. 
• Building positive relationships with your team and customers
• Tuning into your intuition (for more on how to do this, take a look at this post next)
• Placing an emphasis on positive characteristics, including generosity, compassion, understanding, and sharing

Leading with your head

• Making business decisions strictly based on numbers or expectations
• The fear of rejection or failure drives your actions
• Your emphasis is on the practical side of business rather than the personal 

As for respect? 

Think about the leaders you respect. Do you respect them because they make business decisions based on numbers and expectation? Because they are driven by avoiding rejection or failure? Because they focus on practicality rather than people? Let me guess–the answer is a big fat no. Instead, you respect them because of how they make you, their employees, and their customers feel.

At the end of the day, a BIG part of a successful business comes down to relationships (with ourselves AND with others). Although there’s a time and a place for leading with your head rather than your heart, leading with your heart is your best bet for building strong relationships. Not to mention, you’ll feel better along the way. 

When it comes to leading from a heart and intuition-based model, this is something I’m proud to have mastered. I have created three successful businesses this way, and now I want to help you do the same. 

Want to find out for yourself exactly what I mean? Click here to join the waitlist for my FREE upcoming vitality plan challenge. This three-day challenge gives you a taste of what I’m all about. If you’re ready to dive even deeper into building your business, boosting your vitality, and leading with soul, take a look at the coaching programs I offer here.