Written by Nick Roud. Global Award Winning Executive Coach 5th September 2023
The Heart Of A Leader.
When we look at global leaders those that perform at the very top of business what do we notice and more to the point what do we not see from the outside?
The role of any leader be you leading the largest organisation in the world or about to establish a business is to set clear a clear vision. No two vision are or will ever be the same. As the leader grapples with the vision he/she will at some stage be thinking about what next after the vision is delivered on. You see an elite leader is always one step or two steps ahead. I have no evidence to prove that if you are a good chess player you would possibly be a good leader. Maybe that’s a topic worth investigating.
When we look at the heart of a great leader what would we see? We would see passion, energy, drive, commitment, dedication the list goes on. If we were to hold that heart in our hands we would expect to see it beating at a consistent pace, we wouldn’t want it beating then stopping for a few hours then beating again would we. You see this what we want to see in our leaders, a heart that is full, a heart that is strong, heathy and keeping the body moving forwards.
The heart of a leader may at times get broken, not ever decision is going to pay off, not every goal will be achieved but in having the heart broken in time it will only serve to strengthen the heart, allow it to grow, learn and hopefully be better informed.
I could name many a leader who I have coached with a healthy heart, the themes I take away from or work together is that they are open to receive feedback, they put personal development at the very top of their to do list. They genuinely care about others and when I write ‘genuinely care’ what I mean is they love there people. They do what they say they are going to do, they listen, they do not judge, they want to be the absolute very best, they want to win, they are hungry to win and they don’t suffer fools. There drive and passion at times get knocked of course but as they look deep within and their purpose, at there personal commitment they find there way out and back on track.
The heart of our future leaders needn’t be different to what is written above, it should love itself and it should love others. A heart is a muscle, and just like any other muscle, we must nurture it and take care of it, just like those we lead we must nurture them and care for them, help them when they need it and step back and let them fly be it within our organisations or elsewhere. The heart of a great leader is to see others be successful. As we serve the organisation we lead you will need to make unpopular decisions, these decisions will be well thought through, they may impact others, as you help those effected by the decisions you must treat them with love and respect after all that is the healthy heart of a great leader the way you treat others. You are not there to be liked, leadership isn’t a song contest, you are there to ensure the wellbeing of the organisation you lead be that for profit or not for profit.
Do I believe a leader can lead without heart! I’m sure there are many organisations with leaders who are nasty, horrible, disrespectful, corrupt, fraudulent, manipulative, back-stabbing but I have faith that Boards and the Chairs of those Boards will smell a rat and pretty quickly ensure that leader or leaders are dealt with appropriately.
The heart of an organisation beats from the top and to ensure longevity and success then the heart beats of all its people must be beating to the sound of the same drum only then can the vision be executed.
If you find this blog of value and your are interested in finding out more about our award winning leadership coaching then I’d encourage you to check out our specific 1:1 coaching for CEOs, executives or emerging leaders. You can contact the author of this blog Nick Roud at nick@roudcareers.co.nz or +6421375630 for a confidential chat.
Nick x
Nick Roud is a multi-award winning leadership coach,
nickroud.com | Awarded Best Leadership Coaching Coaching Business 2023 | +6421375630
