Will You Bridge The Gap?

By Tyler Head

In this insight and the following couple, we will discuss the power of leading with heart and warn you about the cost it has or could incur on your organization should you neglect it.

Leading with heart includes characteristics like vulnerability, cultivating psychological safety, and developing high-trust relationships, among others.

We will pull on a couple of different scientific resources; a study conducted by Google titled “Project Aristotle,” along with Brené Brown, an expert on vulnerability and leadership, and David Rock, most known for his work in leadership neuroscience.

Anyway, let’s open up the conversation!

As a leader in the boomer generation, you were likely taught, trained, and expected to be strong, to fight for what’s yours, and to do what it takes to get to the top. It was imperative to climb the ladder and earn your way to the top.

Inherently, this gritty, pull yourself up by your bootstrap mentality is not bad and got you to where you are. However, we want to help leaders like yourself bridge the gap.

“The gap” is between what got you to where you are and what will help get your people farther than you are. After all, that’s what leadership is about—taking people further than they could or would go on their own. And… odds are, you are that type of leader. That’s why you’re reading this insight right now.

In our work, with leaders like you and organizations like yours, we see firsthand how much the leadership style of “Command and Control” contributes to isolation and siloed organizations. It undermines the trust on both sides of the coin—you and your people.

Your people don’t trust that you hear them, see their differences and approach to work and life as valuable…because how could you? It’s not how you learned.

For you, there might be a heavy feeling of loneliness at the top. You cannot let the people at the mid-level see your humanity, which historically is parallel to weakness in leadership. On top of that, your people on the lower levels cannot begin to fathom what you struggle with. Thus, loneliness settles in, while “Command and Control” continue to be the only way that you see to operate the organization.

For your people, a feeling of low trust culminates. Because the boss—leader—is too hard-pressed to understand where they are coming from, or even worse, you express that you’ve been in their shoes and write off their challenges as small or insignificant—with action or word.

…and the cycle continues.

But there is hope because we know from our work with leaders like you and organizations like yours.

You and your people want the same thing.

To move forward together—around a shared purpose, collaborating effectively, pursuing a clear vision, and providing excellent results.

So come back in a couple of weeks—we will dive deeper into what it means to lead with heart and continue the conversation around vulnerability—utilizing Brené Brown’s excellent work on the subject.

Last but not least, be encouraged! You are a leader that is willing to bridge the gap!

Think of DRYVE Leadership Group as your organization’s guide to better walking with your people, developing a shared purpose, and cultivating a collaborative culture that will DRYVE better business results. Click here to schedule a complimentary strategy call today!