In today’s podcast episode we interview Mark Crowley, Author of the book, Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership for the 21st Century. Mark spent 25 years of his life guiding individuals and teams to achieve record-breaking sales and profitability in the financial services industry. He focuses on leadership development as the most authentic driver of human engagement. Today’s podcast episode is focused on the importance of heart-centered leadership, the heart-centered approach in bringing teams together, and embracing emotional connection as organizations Team Anywhere.
What Surprised Mark Over the Last 2 Years
Mark was surprised at the fact that heart-centered leadership historically has been met with resistance from most organizations and teams due to the belief that heart didn’t belong in the leadership conversation. But that became history when The Great Resignation event happened during the pandemic. The pandemic offered workers the opportunity to work from home and contemplate what they really wanted out of the work environment. People quit their jobs due to different reasons pertaining to organizational leadership. With that being said, it was a wake up call for companies to change their leadership from then on.
Consciousness Shift Among Employees Through the Pandemic
Amidst the pandemic, a huge consciousness shift occurred among team members and employees. Before the pandemic, the idea of being treated indifferently inside organizations was unfortunately common. As employees wanting to ascend in our careers, we were willing to tolerate atmospheres of fear, intimidation and unrealistic performance goals. But a consciousness shift happened in the pandemic due to having But as employees had more time to reflect on the following questions, their expectations began to shift: Is this where I wanna be? Is this the work I want to do? Do I wanna work with these people? Do I wanna work for this company?
The Importance of Heart-Centered Leadership
Most organizations employ smart and dedicated people for management roles. Previous management styles favored “the mind” over “the heart,” which caused many offices to become soul-sucking institutions. Leaders and managers didn’t want to know you or your story.
The pandemic caused an awareness that humans need to be BOTH productive and emotional beings. We want environments that give people an opportunity to feel good about coming to work. It also means we want to experience positive emotions, which in turn, put people into optimal levels of performance.
Embracing Heart-Centered Leadership for Organizations
One important component of embracing heart-centered leadership is demonstrating the ability to bring teams together with tender loving care–not with the use of fear and intimidation. Mark discovered that when he exhibited consistent care of people, he received consistent performance in return. Mark further discussed that embracing heart-centered leadership requires the correct mindset because you cannot fake empathy. Empathy starts from the mind and trickles down to an empathetic heart.
Who is Mark Crowley?
MARK C. CROWLEY is a recognized visionary in workplace management, engagement, and culture. When the first edition of his book, Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century, was published over a decade ago, many business leaders were slow to embrace it and misinterpreted its title as being synonymous with soft, weak, and ineffective management. Today, his pioneering philosophy on heart-led leadership has launched a global movement and Forbes Magazine has called his ideas “visionary” and “the blueprint for the future of workplace leadership.” As an educational resource, the first edition of Lead From The Heart has been taught in nine universities. Now, Crowley is releasing a new edition of Lead From The Heart, updated and revised to address the needs of those managing Gen Z and Millennial employees, supported by the latest global research on employee engagement.
- LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/markccrowley/
- Twitter — https://twitter.com/markccrowley
- Website — https://markccrowley.com/
To learn more about heart-centered leadership, download this episode now.
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