I’ve been contemplating what it looks like to incorporate something that I call “Heartbeat Leadership”. What is this? It’s the ability to both lead from the heart as a leader, and help your organization to stay healthy. As humans, having a heartbeat means that we are alive, and that our most vital organ is functioning at a level that can sustain life to the outermost part of our being. Let’s break down the two aspects of Heartbeat Leadership.

Leading from the heart. In order to become the rockstar leader that our teams need, we need to understand what makes us tick. pun intended. We need to understand our “why” as well as our “why not”. The why’s are the motivations for moving forward. The reasons we work so hard. The aspects of our work that put a smile on our face. The why not’s are the “why’s” in action. For example, if our WHY is to build product X to change the world, then WHY NOT remind your team on a regular basis the importance of their actions and jobs, no matter how “small” they may seem. This examples comes from my personal experience. Without breaking confidentiality, my team was tasked to protect a product from the elements by coating it in a rubberlike substance, in preparation for it to be launched into space on a satellite. Some of the steps to create the product for our team could seem small or trivial, such as taping and demasking said tape from this product. It isn’t the “glamorous” job of spraying the actual material which requires further training and certifications. HOWEVER without these two steps, the spray won’t work or function and you could have an electrical malfunction later. A malfunction of that magnitude in space can bring down a satellite. So when the Ukraine was unable to have internet and communication, the work that we performed as a team meant that this now war torn country could have internet again. 

To my surprise, my team informed me that no other leader had broken things down this way for them to understand the real life impact of their work before. WHAT?!? This team was working hard without a reason to do so, which is cool, but made their work a burden, rather than something that could help save lives, literally. 

Keep the heart alive, and healthy. As stated previously, this is a two-part style of leadership. The WHY and leading from the heart is critical to the second part of heartbeat leadership. If you are not leading from the heart, then you can’t drive change and be a force for good in your organization. In order to keep the pulse healthy, you need a heart that is pumping well. With that heart you can then build teams that are comprised of people that are following and responding with their heart. You see, light invites light, love invites love, the heart invites heart. It’s a reciprocal relationship that is established in which trust is built. When the heart is present, we show up for ourselves, and for each other. We build relationships that thrive because we care about each other. The care and trust that is built allows space for autonomy and ownership. These create healthy culture.