It’s been a very short four months in my new role at Hutchinson Consulting and I’ve contemplated how I came to the decision to shift my focus, change my career a complete 180 degrees, and become an executive recruiter in our hospitality and spa industries? The likely answer would be for personal reasons, but the honest answer is because a woman reached out. Lori Hutchinson, founder of Hutchinson Consulting and a mentor, mastered my career path over two decades like a ship’s admiral, exercising strategic control in guiding my talents which ultimately shaped my blessed journey. Thus in our final call before her passing, I listened intently to her message of why executive recruiting and placement was the logical next step for me. Had she not reached out, like so many women do each day for their families, communities and businesses, I clearly might have missed the boat.
Reaching out is a trait most commonly practiced by women business leaders too, and perhaps why there is a surge in more female CEO’s than ever before. The successful leaders today pair business acumen with emotional intelligence and provide the organizations they oversee with heart-centered leadership.
So how can you become a heart center leader?
- Think like a millennial in three sequential steps: Put your business first, it needs to grow and prosper for the remaining steps to thrive. Put your team second, the culture of an organization is built on a community of shared vision. Put yourself third, taking valuable time to recharge, reconnect and re-engage.
- Follow your intuition and lead from it. Many managers will have a gut reaction to something but fail to listen to it, speak up about it, or push forward. My instincts have taught me that intuition is rarely ever wrong.
- Remind yourself of your role in the organization and value those on your team with gratefulness and praise for their efforts, even if in a simple hand written note.
- Share your story, share your victories and your defeats. As a leader showing a personal side provides a safe environment for others to succeed in and to fail. Safety brings forth creativity and creativity spurs innovation.
- And finally reach out! If you’re unsure, ask. No one ever fails by asking a question.
So in this first note to you in my new role with Hutchinson Consulting, I’m taking a new step in developing my leadership skills from the woman mentor who so graciously guided me… and I’m reaching out with deep appreciation in knowing that what we do each day as leaders, managers, and as recruiters, can steer others toward a journey to heart centered leadership. Let Hutchinson Consulting source the right candidates for your valued team.
