Leading with Heart and Head

Eleanor R. Kootsey — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:18:16 +0000

While talking with a fellow coach recently about what we do in the Women’s Circle – connect deeply with ourselves and others – he asked me what leadership quality I thought the women were practicing. This man is a retired naval officer and Vietnam War veteran, he knows leadership! Before I came up with a good answer, he offered his… empathy. In the Women’s Circle, we are exploring and deepening our ability to be empathetic.

This empathetic quality is born from the willingness and capacity to lead with a combination of heart and head. It gets dangerous when one cannot or will not. Case in point – see Marie Wilson’s article about Robert McNamara in the Huffington Post this week.

Four years ago I began working for Girls For A Change because I wanted to empower a future generation of women leaders. I believed that our community, our nation and the world would be safer, healthier and more vibrant with a balance of women leaders bringing more feminine qualities and discernment to the table. I realized in the last presidential election however, that it isn’t necessarily just more women leaders I want in office, it is more empathetic leaders.

Empathy serves our families, our colleagues, our community, and ourselves (because Lord knows we are hardest on ourselves!)

I invite you to open your beautiful heart in combination with your brilliant mind and see what happens…

Eleanor Rouse » empathy

Leading with Heart and Head