Leading With the Heart: Building successful teams with trust and compassion

Robert Ackerman · J. Ibeh Agbanyim PHD

may 2024 · iUniverse

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So, you want to be a great leader? The first lesson of any successful leader is that it’s not about you, it’s about them. Leaders look out for the team as they inspire, encourage, and empower others. You pick them up and dust them off when they fall. You give them radically candid, concise feedback with a compassionate heart so they can learn and grow. You demonstrate integrity, respect, and trust. You are humble and self-aware. You become a great listener and encourage others to speak up and challenge the status quo. You make your team feel secure and trusting with one another. I started my career over 50 years ago as a clerk. I worked for many people over those years but only a few of them were great leaders. I watched and listened and learned. In time I got to try my hand at leading. That’s when the true learning began! I’m still learning, and at this point in my life I’ve decided to share what I’ve learned so far. Sharing is important to mewhether sharing knowledge, financial support, time with those who need it, laughter, or simply sharing stories with those who are interested. I’m a story teller, and in this book I’ve tried to tell a few of those stories and share the impact it had on my thinking, my career and my life. I have also seen where a good storytelling moved people into action, whether with a business agent deciding to come to the negotiating table to reach a union bargaining agreement, a director encouraging his team to brush up their project reports to be fit for submission, or when responding to a call from a person referred to me by someone I know. This book encompasses both lived experience and research that support the importance of leading with heart. As you read my story, I hope you can feel what I felt and can learn more easily some of the key lessons I had to learn the hard way. As you pursue your career, be daring, be brave, be humble, be patient, be persistent, and most of all be passionate. Remember, there is no greater feeling than “empowering the dreams of others.”