Leadership Lift: Empowering You to Lead with Purpose and Impact
December 12, 2024
This Week's Focus: Leading with Your Heart, Not Just Your Eyes
Welcome to your weekly boost of insights and encouragement for purposeful leadership. This week, we’re focusing on what it means to lead with empathy and intention. As leaders, we often rely on what we see, but true leadership happens when we look deeper—beyond attitudes or behaviors—and lead with our hearts. Let’s explore how leading with empathy can create lasting connections and inspire meaningful impact within your team.
Thought of the Week: Lead with Empathy, Inspire with Purpose
Leadership isn’t just about addressing what we see on the surface—it’s about asking the deeper questions that help us understand and connect with the people we lead. Our eyes may notice attitudes or behaviors that feel challenging, but our hearts prompt us to ask, What’s behind this behavior? How can I bring out the best in this person?
When we lead with empathy, we create a foundation of trust and understanding. This approach not only helps us navigate difficult moments but also inspires loyalty, motivation, and collaboration. Reflect on this: Are you leading with your eyes alone, or are you allowing your heart to guide your leadership?
Book Spotlight: Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
This week’s book spotlight is Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, a powerful guide to leading with vulnerability and courage. Brown emphasizes the importance of empathy in leadership and challenges leaders to approach situations with curiosity and connection rather than judgment or assumptions.
Excerpt from the Book:
"Vulnerability is not about winning or losing. It’s having the courage to show up when you can’t control the outcome." — Brené Brown, Dare to Lead
Apply this insight to your team: The next time you encounter resistance or frustration, pause and ask: What might this person be experiencing that I can’t see? Leading with curiosity and empathy builds trust and opens the door to meaningful change.
Strategy to Try This Week: The Heart-Forward Leadership Practice
Empathy-driven leadership is most impactful when paired with intentional actions. This week, try these three steps to lead with your heart and build stronger connections with your team:
1. Ask the Right Questions
Before reacting to what you see, ask yourself:
What might this person be experiencing that I can’t see?
Am I interpreting their actions fairly, or am I making assumptions?
How can I help this person see the best in themselves?
These questions shift your focus from judgment to understanding, helping you lead with compassion.
2. Foster Trust Through Open Dialogue
Create opportunities for your team to share their experiences and perspectives. Whether it’s through one-on-one conversations or team discussions, showing you care about their input strengthens trust and morale.
Example: “I’d like to hear your perspective on this. What challenges are you experiencing, and how can I support you better?”
3. Celebrate Growth and Positivity
When you notice progress, even in small ways, take the time to acknowledge it. Recognizing the good in your team reinforces a culture of positivity and encouragement.
Example: “Your collaboration on this project has been outstanding. It’s a great example of what we can accomplish together.”
Real-World Success Story: Turning Challenges into Connections
A leader I know once struggled to connect with a team member who appeared disengaged and resistant to feedback. Instead of addressing the behavior directly, the leader approached the situation with empathy, asking questions like, What support might this person need? and How can I build trust with them? Through open conversations, they discovered the team member was overwhelmed by personal challenges. By offering understanding and support, the leader turned a difficult situation into an opportunity for connection and growth.
Journal Prompt for the Week
Reflect on how you approach challenging behaviors or attitudes in your team. What assumptions do you find yourself making? How can you shift your focus to ask questions that build understanding and trust?
Homework for the Week: Practice Empathy-Driven Leadership
Team Meetings: Start each meeting by reinforcing your team’s value and impact. Frame challenges as opportunities for growth.
One-on-One Conversations: Use these moments to ask meaningful questions, such as, What support would be most helpful to you right now?
End-of-Week Reflection: Reflect on how empathy and understanding shaped your interactions this week. What did you learn about your team—and yourself?
Motivational Quotes to Inspire Your Week
“Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.” — Simon Sinek
“Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.” — Mohsin Hamid
“The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own example.” — John Wooden
Final Thoughts
As leaders, our ability to connect with our teams goes beyond what we see—it’s rooted in how we understand and support them. By asking the right questions and leading with our hearts, we can create an environment of trust, motivation, and meaningful impact.
This week, let your heart guide your leadership. Seek to understand, celebrate progress, and inspire those around you to see the best in themselves. Together, we can achieve incredible things.
Until we meet again, Be a Leader. Be a Learner. Be Kind.
Roy
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Hey Good People— Let me tell you what shook me awake last week. We were on vacation. A real one. Not a “half-working, still-checking-emails” kind of trip—but one where I stepped away for real. And as much as I wanted the rest, I wrestled with it. Would things fall apart while I was gone? Would I come back to a mess? Would people think I was slacking off? Those thoughts followed me right up until the moment I let them go. Because what I found in the stillness wasn’t weakness. It was wisdom. The Truth That Hit Me Hard I wasn’t falling behind. I was finally catching up—to myself, to my family, to what actually matters. Here’s What That Break Taught Me 1. Rest isn’t a reward—it’s required. We talk a lot about being driven. But when you’re always on, always solving, always showing up… you forget what clarity feels like. Rest gave me back creativity. Focus. Peace. It wasn’t time off. It was time on purpose. 2. Good leadership means you’re not the only one holding it all together. The fear of stepping away comes from the belief that everything relies on us. But true leadership? It’s building a team and culture that thrives whether you’re in the room or not. I didn’t just trust my team—I needed to trust them. And they showed me I could. 3. Moments > Minutes I didn’t track time. I tracked moments: Laughing with my kids. Listening to my wife. Sitting still—no agenda, no title, no hurry. And Then This Hit Me… I’ve been married almost 20 years. In less than 7, we’ll be empty nesters. And I sat with that. Really sat with it. Because for years, I’ve been building, grinding, leading. But those milestones reminded me—the most meaningful parts of life aren’t achievements… they’re moments. The kind that don’t show up on a resume. The kind that don’t trend. The kind you don’t get back. So Let Me Ask You… What are you rushing past right now? What are you chasing that might cost you more than it’s worth? And when you look back years from now—what do you want to remember: The meeting… or the moment? Leadership That Lasts Starts at Home This isn’t a message to work less. It’s a message to live more. To lead not just projects—but your presence. To stop confusing busyness with purpose. To start building a life that your loved ones are actually in, not just around. Try This: Take five minutes today. Write down: One person you’ve been too busy to fully see. One moment you keep saying “maybe later” to. One way you can be fully present this week. Now—do something about it. Final Word Your legacy isn’t built in the boardroom. It’s built at the dinner table. On the porch. In the quiet conversations when you’re fully there. Success means nothing if you miss what matters most. So take the break. Have the conversation. Be where your feet are. Until next time— Be a Leader. Be a Learner. Be Kind. —Dr. Roy Bishop, Jr. Dr. Roy Bishop, Jr. is the founder of The Be Team—a movement rooted in the belief that leadership starts with mindset, not just metrics. Through coaching, training, and real-talk reflection, he helps leaders step up without burning out. Because titles fade—but presence and purpose leave a legacy.
Rest isn’t a break from leadership. It’s part of the many things that make it up. Recharge, realign, and reset. Tomorrow depends on what you give yourself today. #jointhebeteam #SoulCheckSunday #TheBeTeam #RestToLead
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