The heart of leadership

The Heart of Leadership by Mark Miller was to me a ten out of ten. I absolutely loved this book. In this book it goes over how leaders are different and how it is a privilege. It focuses on character not on leadership skills like so many books often do. Leadership skills are just the tip of the iceberg while leadership character makes up what is beneath the surface. The other thing to is you can have the skills but without the character those skills mean nothing, they will get you no where. So let’s dive into what this book teaches us about leadership character.

First what does HEART stand for:

Hunger for wisdom

Expect the best

Accept responsibility

Respond with courage

Think others first

To hunger for wisdom is to never stop learning. Mark Miller says to think of wisdom as a hunger that will never be satiated. Learning is something we will always be doing, it is up to us to push how much we are learning. As well as what we are learning. Are you just learning random things here and there or are you going out of your way to improve? It is so important that we focus our time and energy on things that teach us how to be better, skills that help us make it in this world or skills we can even use as hobbies.

Expect the best. Your mindset can make or break you. Positivity is key to make it through. Expect things to work out and they are more likely to. If you are always expecting things to go wrong and looking for the bad then well that will be the outcome. Nobody likes the negative person in the room, bringing down the energy. Bringing down other people. A positive person lifts up the mood, lifts up those around them. Overall makes the workplace a better place to be.

Accept responsibility. Stop blaming others, take accountability. It is okay to make mistakes. It is okay to mess up. Own up to it. Nobody is perfect, nobody expects you to be perfect. Show others that you don’t expect perfection just for them to try their best. Show them it’s okay to come forward when they make a mistake and that it can be fixed by working together as a team.

Respond with courage. Remember you choose how you respond. Stay calm, collected. There is no reason to become angry and rash. Lashing out shows a lack of self control. Stay confident and calm when dealing with situations, especially those tough ones. Show those around you that you are in control of yourself and the problem that lies ahead.

Think others first. Stop with the selfishness. Stop putting your wants above the needs of others. A true leader helps other thrive. They help their coworkers, friends or whoever it may be excel. They lend a helping hand where they can. A true leader doesn’t give up on taking care of themselves, they do however help those around them. They stop with the I want this promotion so I am going to make my co workers look bad and instead help that co worker get that project done on time.

A true leader has HEART a true leader is there for others, is always looking for an opportunity to learn, grow, take initiative. A true leader goes out of there way to have character not just skills.