How to gain a leadership presence by using your heart. Embracing your heart in leadership is more than just leading your business; it’s about leading with passion and a deep sense of purpose that resonates with you and inspires others. Far too often, purpose, mission, and vision statements become meaningless checklists, failing to ignite genuine enthusiasm within the business or with a business’s target audience.
However, leading with true purpose means you genuinely want others to believe in what you do and gives them a way to discover their unique contributions to a greater cause.
When your purpose is authentic and articulated in a way that your audience can connect with, the magic happens! It gives you a deeper satisfaction with what you are doing and it gives your customers a reason to choose you over your competitors. It shows them who you are, that you are safe to do business with and really care about them.
These elements become focal points that guide your business strategy and direction. But beyond that, leading your business with your heart infuses it with an electrifying energy that truly matters in your life, the lives of your clients, and even potential clients. Just imagine your impact when you genuinely believe in your defined purpose!
This is when your business really matters and becomes a driving force in your life and that of your clients and potential clients. Because to have an actual purpose you believe in is an exciting thought, isn’t it?
Leading with heart also means you believe in the people you surround yourself with. You believe in your people. You trust them. You guide them. You show them the way.
But how easy is it to find your TRUE purpose and heart?
People get stuck in their heads because everyone tells them, society gurus, coaches etc. schooling even tells you that you need to listen to your head and be someone else. Your own personality isn’t important, and you need to fit into some mould ‘of how a business should behave.’ Old-school corporate culture teaches us a cold approach that is outdated and keeps everyone at arm’s length.
All of this means that we give more voice to other people’s intentions or purpose (agenda) and as a result discount our own hearts and our purpose. The reason we exist and the unique impact we can make on the world.
How to find your purpose
We only discover our purpose when we start listening to our hearts. To do this, you need to make time and space to start listening to what brings you joy and then work out how you can start to bring that slowly and surely or even quite dramatically into your working life.
It takes time and courage as often you have to change as a person, to become who you truly are and go against the grain of what is usually advised.
When you start to tap into who you truly are, your business will develop a personality and personalities are what make us stand out and shine. It’s a process of unleashing the shackles and showing up as our authentic and brilliant selves. Those who don’t resonate with us will move away, and what you gain is clients that DO resonate. When you have clients that really resonate with you, you block out the difficult clients and the issues that come along with them and you expand, grow and truly enjoy the interaction of those who come your way. Relationships become natural, organic and easy.
The challenge with expressing it once you find it
Expressing your heart and learning your purpose is not for the faint-hearted. In fact, some people, even your nearest and dearest and some of your current clients, won’t like it because they are not used to it. Many might scoff at it and not take you seriously. It can be a rollercoaster, and It is typical at this time that you discover who your true clients are and, indeed, partners or friends, which is why so many resist it, as they know this can and does happen.
It becomes a price you will willingly pay for leading from your heart and living your purpose, which is surely what we are here to do.
The consequences of not following your heart
It’s clear and very tangible. It means stunted growth, anonymity, not owning your space, never living up to your potential and meeting retirement age and even your deathbed feeling unfulfilled.
There are statistics to back this up
A study in Psychosomatic Medicine found when people have a greater sense of purpose, they have less incidence of cardiovascular disease and lower mortality.
When you find your heart
During my collaboration with a talented leadership coach, we recognised that she had been operating her business under the assumption that her corporate clients’ only desire was a return on investment (ROI). However, this approach prevented her from bringing her whole self to the table; her authentic identity and what made her different and stand out was lost.
Together, we redefined her brand and positioning to include her authentic heart and who she was. Through extensive exploration, we discovered a profound book title that encapsulated her core message: This title not only became her book’s centrepiece but also transformed into her new tagline, symbolising her commitment to prioritising the individual.
By shedding the generic business name and distancing herself from the standard speak of her industry, where she was referencing all the other experts in her field, she began to embrace her own wisdom and experience. Embracing her authentic self, she rebranded her business under her own name. The powerful shift in her branding allowed her to connect more deeply with her audience and convey her genuine passion for helping others.
As we progressed, we focused on developing an online training program that could be white labelled, customised and rebranded for larger clients. This seamless and impactful program resonated strongly with her target audience, and she started generating significant income, empowering her to take a year off to concentrate on completing her book. A book she is now ready to take to market.
Her book, enriched with her insights, experiences, and her own message, promises to make a meaningful impact on the world and was all made possible by her willingness to add her heart and, as a consequence, find her true purpose that connected with her audience and gave them so so much more than just the baseline ROI. Her remarkable success story shows the power of embracing one’s true identity and serving others passionately and authentically. That’s what comes from connecting with your heart and being brave enough to realise your potential.
Finding your heart and purpose might change the direction of your business and life
A gifted furniture restorer I worked with grew up working in his family’s business, specialising in furniture restoration, but he had fallen out of love with the business and was seeking a new direction in his life. Something remarkable happened as we discussed purpose and passion on one of my programmes; his eyes lit up when he mentioned his archery hobby. There was a spark of passion and excitement that hadn’t been present when discussing furniture restoration.
Recognising this newfound enthusiasm, I encouraged him to explore his passion for archery further. Until then, he had rarely ventured outside his own town and had limited international exposure, having been out of the country only once or twice.
His journey took him far beyond his comfort zone. He became a national archery coach, a significant achievement in itself. He went on to win several European titles, trained in the United States and has since become qualified to work with people with special needs. This enabled him to use archery to empower and provide therapy for individuals facing physical challenges. By combining his expertise in archery with his compassionate nature, he found a fulfilling way to impact the lives of others.
Throughout this transformative journey, his upholstery business has continued to operate in the background, providing him with a stable source of income. However, his true joy and sense of purpose are now firmly rooted in the world of archery. Following his heart had not only changed the direction of his business but also transformed his life.
The choice is clear. Dial into your heart, access your true purpose and realise that being brave enough to be who you really are is the key to achieving your dreams.
