5 Things You Should Know About The Heart of a True Leader

I remember when in my undergraduate days, a roommate of mine had a case of a missing wristwatch. When it became clear to him it was permanently missing he started laying curses on whoever the thief was in the room.  I had no problems with his curses until he started saying the person who stole the watch would die. I was irked. Having confronted him on his approach he insinuated  I was the thief and may be speaking out of a guilty conscience. It was such a hilarious submission to me. In my head, I was like, if I wanted to steal a wristwatch, would it be your unattractive, low-grade grade, and cheap wristwatch when there are better designer wristwatches all around me?

While I sympathized with him, I had serious issues with his value system. What on earth could be compared to a human life? How much does a wristwatch cost and what is the value of a human life? All the wristwatches in the world cannot be compared to the value of a single human life. It's better to lose a thousand wristwatches than to lose a single soul including the life of the thief. Humans make wristwatches but which human can give life? Anyone who cannot place the value of human life above material possessions is a dangerous individual. He will make a terrible leader. 

You see,  a man’s priorities reveal his person. That takes me to the second problem I had with my former ex-roommate. It is that he didn’t have his wristwatch instead his wristwatch had him. This is the reason why he found it convenient to place the wristwatch above the sanctity of life. He practically wanted the wristwatch back at all costs. People who want things at all costs are brutally cruel and are extremely dreadful when in positions of power or influence. They are often willing to crash or shortchange the system to get what they want. When a man chooses material possessions over human life, it is advisable to keep the person away from leadership. 

Two key things define a leader: his heart and his skills. The heart represents his capacity to demonstrate passion and character.  The skills refer to his technical capabilities, and his ability to influence others to commit to the achievement of a common goal. How successful a leader becomes is more about the kind of heart he has than the skill he possesses. A leader with the right kind of heart will find it easier to work effectively with other people than one with lots of skill but with the wrong heart. The heart is the foundation upon which every other thing about leadership is built. Skill without the right priorities leads to dictatorship or authoritarianism. Leadership is driven by compassion and service to mankind. Personal gain is not the primary focus. A true leader has no appetite for material acquisitions at the expense of the people. He does not seek, power or position for the sake of self. A heart that is willing to destroy others to accomplish his personal goals is a dangerous person in a position of power and influence. One universal truth about leadership is that a true  leader  C. A. R. E. S.   It is an acronym where: C stands for collaborative, 

A is for Allegiance to purpose,

 R is for Respectful,

E is for Empathetic and

 S is for Service-oriented

1) Collaborative 

He understands the power of teamwork as a result craves partnerships. He is willing to make necessary trade-offs to build synergistic relationships that favor the achievement of set goals. He prefers to work as a team than do it alone. He seeks collaboration and inclusiveness in a diverse workplace. This helps him to make significant advancements that put him ahead. 

2)Allegiance to Purpose 

A leader pledges allegiance to no other except to the vision.   They dare to make the tough decisions  in favor of the vision without sentiments and prejudices  They act in the interest of what is best for the organization not what is popular. His strong allegiance to purpose and its accomplishment makes him able to take risks to achieve set objectives when others would rather play it safe.   

3) Respectful 

He genuinely loves his people and gives them the maximum respect they deserve. He is not hostile to dissenting voices. He is also aware that he doesn’t have all the answers and therefore welcomes the opinion of others even when they negate his own opinion. He recognizes the value of the contributions of other people and gives them due credit for their contributions.  He publicly admits mistakes and yields to superior arguments. Through this, he can increase the bond and cooperation among team members. 

4) Empathetic

A true leader is sensitive to others. He wants to see things from other people’s perspectives to understand where they are coming from. To step into other people’s shoes to understand exactly what they feel sometimes means listening, reasoning, and agreeing on a  compromise.  A true  leader values people over profit. He is tolerant of people’s weaknesses and accommodates their honest mistakes. He does not ignore the people’s legitimate concerns but seeks to address them. His empathetic disposition often earns him the stakeholder's respect while deepening the loyalty and commitment of his team. 

5) Service-Oriented 

A leader doesn’t lord things over his people. He is convinced he is there to serve and not to be served. He is also willing and ready to make sacrifices that advance the success of his people. Leaders are motivated by group interest, not personal gain. He places group interests above his interests. A leader believes that his success lies in how many people he helps to achieve success. His willingness to serve encourages service culture throughout the entire organization. Service-oriented organizations find it easier to increase their marketplace relevance giving them a priority place in the minds of the customers. 

Everything summarizes that if you develop the skills of your current or potential leaders but neglect to inculcate the heart of a true leader you will raise monsters as executives. People who build in one minute and the next destroy everything they painstakingly built. Stellar executives today and calamity the next day. Organizations should focus on helping their people cultivate the right kind of heart as well as the technical skills to succeed. The heart is the center of lasting success. The few tips above are 5 things about the heart of a true leader you should know.  If you don't have those 5 things, you are not a leader.  Adopting them would help you increase your leadership impact.