Hello everyone, and welcome to the Hallett Leadership Monthly, where we talk about all things around the topic of leadership, and how to show up as the best version of yourself.
Last month we focused on the topic of giving from the heart. This month, we’re going to dive a bit further into this topic.
Let’s talk about wholeheartedness in business, and how it can transform your company…
1) What does it mean to be wholehearted?
Being wholehearted means valuing the person and the relationship as much as the issue at hand and the result you seek.
Some leaders just see people as a means to an end. That is not enduring leadership, and it certainly isn’t anywhere close to being wholehearted.
When I joined Fox, our chairman came into my office on day one, gave me a big hug, and said:
“You are the CFO. You can join any meeting and get involved in any project. You do not need to ask permission.”
And for the next 15 years, he genuinely cared about my level of engagement and my happiness, not just the results. Our connection came first.
2) How could bringing wholeheartedness to your workplace interactions influence the people who report to you?
We all talk about how negativity can spread quickly among teammates – well, positivity also can, and will, if you commit to showing up in a wholehearted way.
When we launched Franchise Management at Fox, the group reported to me for a period of time. The leader of the group faced a lot of resistance from the legacy marketing teams, and became frustrated. Her confidence was shaken, and she had a rough meeting with the Chairman.
Rather than react negatively and shake her confidence further, I met with her and conveyed to her how I admired her creativity and courage, and how amazing she was. I chose to reinforce who she is rather than focus on the immediate business impact. In that moment, I cared more about her than the possible ramifications of one bad meeting, and our relationship was changed forever.
How can you show up wholeheartedly among the people on your team?
3) Budget some of your bandwidth for personally mentoring young leaders in your organization.
Modeling wholeheartedness will capture your employee’s attention. If you set aside a little bit of your time to prioritize their progression as wholehearted leaders, you can have a lifetime impact.
Wholehearted interactions, and giving of your time and attention to lift up the people around you makes for:
(1) better, more gratifying living, and (2) better business.
