Leading in the Workplace: The Imperative of Head AND Heart
At no other time and within no other context has the power of “and” (compared to the limiting “or”) been more relevant and impactful than in today’s workplaces. Beyond balancing often-conflicting business priorities, as leaders we also need to find our balance between accountability and empathy in order to effectively manage today’s workforce. Which poses the question, how ARE we leading in the workplace?
Leading with our head
Delivering results to the business requires us to manage our teams in a way that gives them ownership over delivering on their responsibilities. It’s mostly a very business- and task-focused, rational, cause-effect type of process. To accomplish our desired business results, we need to consistently define clear non-overlapping roles, establish clear goals for our employees, and then hold them responsible for their actions and outcomes. When we prioritize accountability, we use data, business strategy and objectives to communicate our high standards to our team members and then expect them to deliver on their commitments. By leading in the workplace from a place of accountability, we promote transparency and fairness because everyone knows what is expected of them and gets recognized (and developed) based on their results. But every strength can be overused.
Overreliance on accountability alone can create a work environment where our team members feel blamed, stressed, demotivated, and afraid of taking risks and making mistakes. By only leading from our “head,” being steadfastly focused on performance and results, we may be inadvertently holding our team members back from being collaborative and innovative and, ultimately, delivering suboptimal overall company performance.
Leading with our heart
Delivering results to our business also requires us, now more than ever before, to be empathetic in how we are leading in the workplace. Honing and leaning on our ability to understand and share the feelings and perspectives of others allows us to connect with our employees on a human level. Coming from a place of empathy communicates to them that we genuinely care for their well-being, their personal challenges, and their professional growth. By showing empathy in our interactions with our team members, we foster a sense of belonging and trust, making them feel valued and supported and increase the likelihood that they will communicate openly, seek guidance, and share their concerns without fear of judgment. As such, we promote an environment where collaboration, teamwork and innovation can flourish.
Leading with our head AND our heart
Finding the balance between the two seemingly conflicting leadership imperatives may be as simple as shifting the questions we ask of our employees when things do not go according to our expectations. It may start with something like “Based on our last meeting, we agreed you would submit your draft proposal yesterday, yet I did not see anything come through. It’s not like you to miss deadlines. What got in your way?” Coming from a place of curiosity gives the employee the opportunity to speak about obstacles or roadblocks they encountered, which may be or not be related to work. Once we are aware of the situation, our response – balancing both accountability and empathy – may be something as simple as “It sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now! What support do you need to finish the draft proposal today?”
But, when under pressure, the reality is that simultaneously leading with both empathy and accountability typically does not come naturally for us – we tend to be wired in a way that leans more one way than the other. For example, from a Predictive Index perspective, those of us with an analytical type of behavioral profile, we probably find it easier to hold others accountable, compared to colleagues with a social type of behavioral profile who tend to find it easier to incorporate empathy in their interactions. Being aware of where we are in the spectrum of accountability-empathy, allows us to assess what a situation needs and choose whether to leverage what comes naturally or lean into the behavior that is outside our comfort zone.
Takeaway
As leaders, to deliver optimal results to the business, we need to be both kind and clear in letting our team members know what is expected. Taking time to understand what motivates each of our employees, both professionally and personally, and setting goals that meet both the individual employee’s and the company’s needs is just as important as letting them know where they have control over their resources, process and innovation and what parts of their work are nonnegotiable. Developing our prowess in both understanding the human dynamic and holding our team members accountable for their actions supports their growth and progress and allows us to deliver results to the business and how we are leading in the workplace.
Leaders are challenged more than ever before to continuously find ways to increase both productivity and employee engagement. Being self-aware and intentional in how we show up for our employees is critical in finding the balance between being a fair and empathetic leader. Overreliance on holding others accountable can lead to employee burnout, stress and lack of engagement. Leading solely from a place of empathy can impact our ability to deliver results to the business by letting employees “off the hook” for delivering on their goals. To deliver on both business results and employee engagement, we absolutely must embrace the power of “and” in how we lead our teams, leveraging both our heads and our hearts.
If you would like to discuss strategies for providing your leaders and managers with the self- and other-awareness to lead intentionally with both accountability and empathy, feel free to reach out to us.
