Tuesday, July 3, 2007

With Eyes and Heart

So a conversation with my soul-mate suggests that my usual "either-or" mode may have overstated the heart versus vision division in leadership in Friday's post. For me, leading from the top of my head alone tends to miss some of the heart stuff of the rest of the system (and maybe some of my own heart stuff), so adding heart is a corrective. But the leader still has to use eyes and rational frontal brain functions to identify and reflect on what's happening in the system. Sometimes just keeping the wheels on the wagon requires careful reasoning--finances, program trends, staffing designs. I'll continue to have my own hopes and dreams for the organization, but I'll be adding them to the mix, asking questions, holding up a mirror to the rest of the organization to see what they want, what they need, and where their "best selves" can go. that's the heart stuff.

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