“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Maya Angelou
I believe this quote has captured the true essence of leadership. I’d like to honor leaders by exploring a requisite for successful leadership, leading with the heart. When I think of leading with heart, my mind tends toward icons like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. But not all leaders encourage and inspire from such a public platform. Typically they guide their teams, committees, and companies to reach otherwise unattainable goals through their direction and dedication.
What is possible when we lead with Fierce Vulnerability?
Leading from fierce vulnerability says that I am willing to show more of myself. Fierce vulnerability means a willingness to connect with my colleagues, from a place of deepening our relationship. Here are some simple, yet powerful ways to practice leadership with fierce vulnerability:
1. Be authentic: Often, leaders are swayed by others’ opinions rather than enacting their own convictions. Inevitably, they experience unrest because of their head and heart conflict. Ursula Brown, former Xerox CEO and the first black female to lead a Fortune 500 company, recounts, “I was more convincing to myself and to the people who were listening when I actually said what I thought, versus what I thought people wanted to hear me say.” Being authentic means living a life in concert with our personal vision and values. Being authentic means owning our imperfections.
2. Keep your commitments: Fiercely honor your responsibilities; doing so demonstrates respect for others. Meeting deadlines, delivering quality work, and making informed decisions recognizes that our actions impact others. If you ever had a teacher who strictly enforced due dates, yet failed to fulfill her promise to grade papers promptly, you’ve felt the frustration of unattended responsibilities. So whether we promise to balance a budget by Thursday or buy bagels for snack day on Friday, fierce vulnerability says that we will do our best to honor our commitments and reach out for support when we can’t.
3. Roll up your sleeves: Jump in the trenches with your team. Help them meet deadlines, make decisions, find funding or stock shelves. Muddy your boots as you serve alongside them; they won’t forget your selflessness. Take BET co-founder Sheila Johnson. When she joined the cause to support films featuring Black actors, she did more than invest $2 million in The Butler, a movie chronicling a former slave’s journey to employment at the White House. She volunteered to lead the fundraising efforts, personally soliciting donations and endorsements from prominent Black investors.
4. Listen: Effective leadership means taking a vested interest in your people. We do that by listening—really listening. I’m a firm believer in WAITing. As I coach executive clients and mentor coaches, I try to remember to ask myself, “Why Am I Talking?” before putting in my expertise. This creates the opportunity to allow them space to discover solutions. Active listening yields a high return on energy and demonstrates sincere regard for the speaker. I’m told it even burns 300 calories per day! LOL! 😂
5. Champion others’ development: Prepare people for future opportunities by helping them delineate goals and craft plans to achieve those goals. Introduce mentees to influential people and encourage them to stretch outside their comfort zones. Finally, model vulnerability as you courageously share the professional insecurities, inadequacies, and obstacles you yourself have overcome as well as the challenges you currently face.
Leading with heart means reflecting a genuine concern for others. When we are appreciative, understanding, and vulnerable, people are most likely to respond with cooperation and commitment. As you continue to practice tapping into the power of leading with a fierce vulnerability join my panel discussions along my Fierce Vulnerability Summit book tour.
Love,
Sophia
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