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 too busy to spend time with them in one on one career coaching?

I’ve read several articles in the past week about doing away with annual performance reviews and replacing them with regularly scheduled coaching sessions so that employees know how they are doing on a more regular basis. As the workforce changes, supervisors and leaders need to change. The challenge this puts on leaders is that they are required to interact with their people more frequently and that might expose what is really on their heart. If a leader really only cares about his numbers, his department’s goals or his promotion, it will all be revealed in regular interactions. So if you really want people to be successful, you must ensure that your words and actions match. It takes far more time to recruit, train and develop new employees than it does to coach them and help them be successful. The results will reflect on everyone.

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. As humans, tend to be so self-centered that we often consider God’s word as an afterthought. Try to introduce God into your conversations at home, it may feel uncomfortable at first but it quickly goes away. Remember the love that God has shown to all of us and be extra forgiving when someone really disappoints you. Daily devotional reading will help you understand the depth of God’s grace and love for you. As God comes into your heart, He will be reflected outward in how you treat others. You’ll be more understanding, have compassion and show forgiveness. Think about what your reflection looks like today and ask, is this what I really want to show to others?