Leadership is an Affair of the Heart

I've been reading Kouzes and Posner's new book - The Truth About Leadership. In the book, they lay out 10 truths about leadership. Truth Number 10 is that Leadership is an Affair of the Heart. Here's a quote "There's no integrity and honor without heart. There's no commitment and conviction without heart. There's no hope and faith without heart. There's no trust and support without heart. There's no learning and risk taking without heart. Nothing important ever gets done without heart."

It has certainly been my experience and I bet yours as well, that what I remember most about great bosses, up and coming new leaders and wonderful teammates is that they had heart. It's what made us connect. It's what made us accomplish more than we thought was possible. It's what made us reach.

Today I am grateful for those co-workers and leaders who lent their heart to the work and to the development of others. They were - and are - terrific role models.

Do you remember in the movie "You Got Mail" when everyone was saying - "It's not personal, it's business" and Meg Ryan says "What do they mean by that? I mean, shouldn't it be personal?"

Kouzes and Posner end this chapter with "Leaders put their hearts into their businesses and their business in their hearts. They love what they're doing and they stay in love with leading. (they stay in love with leading - I think that bears repeating), with the people who do the work, with what their organization's produce, and with those who honor them by using their products and services."

Being a Leader with Heart...it's the only way to go!