The Art of Caring Leadership: How Leading with Heart Uplifts Teams and Organizations
- 3h 14m
- Heather R. Younger
- Berrett-Koehler Publishers
- 2021
If your people know you care about them, they will move mountains. Employee engagement and loyalty expert Heather Younger outlines nine ways to manifest the radical power of caring support in the workplace.
Heather Younger argues that if you are looking for increased productivity, customer satisfaction, or employee engagement, you need to care for your employees first. People will go the extra mile for leaders who show they are genuinely concerned not just with what employees can do but with who they are and can become. But while most leaders think of themselves as caring leaders, not all demonstrate that care in consistent ways. Your employees will judge you by your actions, not your intentions.
Based on Younger's interviews with over eighty leaders for her podcast Leadership with Heart—including Howard Behar, former president of the Starbucks Coffee Company; Judith Scimone, senior vice president and chief talent officer at MetLife; Garry Ridge, CEO and chairman of the board of the WD-40 Company; and Shawnté Cox Holland, head of culture and engagement at Vanguard—this book outlines nine ways that leaders can make all employees feel included and cared for. She even provides access to a self-assessment so you can measure your progress as a caring leader. But this is not a cookie-cutter approach: just as Monet and Picasso expressed themselves very differently, each leader should express caring in his or her own unique, personal style.
Younger takes an often nebulous, subjective concept and makes it concrete and actionable. Leaders have the power to change the lives of those they lead. They shouldn't just want to care, they should see caring as imperative for the success of their employees and their organization.
About the Author
Heather R. Younger is an experienced keynote speaker, two-time author, and the CEO and Founder of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement, leadership development, and DEI consulting firm, where she is on a mission to help leaders understand the power they possess to ensure people feel valued at work.
Known as The Employee Whisperer, Heather harnesses humor, warmth, and an instant relatability to engage and uplift audiences and inspire them into action.
Rooted in her belief that employees aren’t just numbers on the payroll but human beings with ideas that matter, Heather’s talks and workshops are dedicated to helping teams, leaders, and organizations shine by improving how they listen to, communicate with, and empower employees.
In this Book
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Foreword
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Introduction—So, You Think You’re a Caring Leader?
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Cultivate Self-Leadership Skills
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Make Them Feel Important
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Look for the Greatness in Those We Lead
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Involve Them
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Lead the Whole Person
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Create a Listening Culture
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Provide Them Safe Spaces
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Empower Them to Make Decisions
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Build Their Resilience
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The ROI of Caring Leadership
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Conclusion—Are You Ready to Become a Caring Leader?
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Notes
