There is a saying “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” What is in your heart will reflect on your leadership style. If you are caring for your people, deflecting stress from all angles, sincerely working with them so they can: achieve more, learn more and, reach their goals then your heart is in the right place. Do you say “I want to develop my team so that they can take my place” but are then too busy to spend time with them in one on one career coaching? What are people seeing on your heart? If you’re old enough to remember “Leave it to Beaver”, we all rolled our eyes when Eddie Haskell would say “That sure is nice dress Mrs. Cleaver” when we knew he was up to no good. No one ever thought of Eddie as a kind young man that would never cause trouble. We saw what was on his heart. In leadership positions, we must strive to have our words and actions match. It will take more time to recruit, train and develop new employees than it will to coach them and help them be successful. You will also have a more engaged and satisfied workforce which will make your job much easier.

Proverbs 27:19 – “As water reflects our face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.”

This verse is about our hearts as Christians. What is on your heart? Do you attend church weekly and sing the songs but go out on Monday and terrorize your workplace by showing no compassion for others or “steal time” by putting in less than a full day so that you can get what is coming to you? God knows what is your heart! Putting God in His rightful place on your heart may take time and it won’t be easy, but God is understanding and has compassion as you work toward it. For many of us, putting God first is a hard transition since we, as humans, tend to be so self-centered. Introduce God into your conversations at home, it may feel uncomfortable at first but that will go away. Daily devotional reading will help you understand the depth of God’s grace and love for you. As God comes into your heart, that will be reflected outward in how you lead others. You’ll be more understanding, have compassion and show forgiveness. What does your reflection look like today?