There are so many ways to give. While we live in a retail-based world of material gifts and ads everywhere… truly we all know that the most important kind of giving is giving from the heart.
Someone very close to me once said:
“Open your heart and you can have anything you want in life.”
I’ll always remember that. I constantly challenge myself to take that message and incorporate it into who I am at my work.
There are so many ways to give, and so many ways to share from the heart, and so many people to share with: our family, our teammates, our employees.
Giving From The Heart In A Business Context
This past week I was working with a client and I asked them to share a time when they overcame adversity and had the courage to come through the other side – and how it helped shape who they are today.
Many shared work experiences, some shared personal stories. They were all incredibly powerful.
I chose to actually participate in the exercise, (which I usually don’t do). I was inspired to share my story of being bullied as a child and how I used that experience to help my son with a similar issue in his early teens.
At the time with my son, I wasn’t consciously thinking about coming from my heart or giving from my heart – but yet my heart was very present in that moment. I wanted to do anything I could to help him through and allow him to grow from the experience.
That same desire and willingness to do anything I can to help someone through their struggle and help them grow from the experience – that’s how I approach the people and teams that I work with today. With my heart.
I believe – with all my heart – that showing up in this way is a big part of bringing forward the best version of myself… and that each of us is capable of bringing our best selves forward.
This bringing forward of our best selves – this is at the heart of how we at Hallett Leadership coach the teams and individuals we work with: we believe that showing up authentically, and with heart, is the key to transforming company cultures from the inside out.
A New Book Coming In 2022
Showing up authentically at work is so important to me, that nearly two years ago I set out on a new adventure to write a book about it. In that book, I share many of my personal stories and experiences, striving to help as many people as I can learn the lessons I learned in my business career – and to learn them much faster than I did.
I was a little naive about the writing process: I thought that it was a simple matter of telling a few personal stories, and that a book would take only nine months to write, edit and publish…
Having crossed the finish line, I can say with confidence that the book has something worthwhile to say about the value of true human connection in business – and how an individual can learn it and harness that connection to achieve outstanding results.
At its heart, the book is about showing up as the best version of yourself and trusting that you can get far better results through your teams than through your individual performance.
The book is going to be released in January. It’s called The Missing Piece: How Successful Companies Develop High-Performance Cultures.
In addition to sharing some of my personal stories, I also share many stories around leadership in the workplace and overcoming business adversity and disruption. Disruption is something we all face these days…
Concluding Thoughts
By embracing who we are, including our vulnerability, our humility, our personal power, we can achieve virtually anything as a team. I say often we are better together than we are alone.
So for 2022, find your way to show up as the best version of yourself, and in so doing, give from the heart. Give from the heart to those around you.
As my dear friend said, open your heart and you can have anything.
…and as Teddy Roosevelt said:
“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
Have a wonderful holiday season. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing more with you in 2022. Until next time, all the best.
Take care, stay safe, stay healthy.
Dean
(Note: If you find this article useful, please consider forwarding it to someone who would enjoy it. If you were forwarded this article, you can sign up to receive our content each month.)
