I founded my first company, Pottinger, with one core value: to deserve.

To deserve our employees, our customers and our community. And to deserve, I had to truly care. I had to bring love to situations at work, just as I did at home. 

But when most stereotypes of strong and reliable leadership refer to impermeability and infallibility, being more vulnerable, more real, and more inclusive meant that I had to do more than care; I had to dare. I dared to believe that there was a better way, I dared myself to be capable of being that kind of leader. I dared to be different.

Old models of leadership and outdated ways of leading persist. The favouring of logic, pragmatism and strength over more authentic and empathetic styles results in insufficient regard for the well being of the people being led. Daring to care, on the other hand, is being brave enough to allow yourself to take into account more of what actually matters – and vitally your greatest asset – your employees. Self preservation takes a back seat and collective success moves to the front. 

The consequences of a leader’s stony exterior, and perhaps even stony interior, are detrimental. It creates distrust, a lack of motivation and inhibits the very alignment to goals that are core to an organization’s success. 

When I am asked about the role of caring in the workplace and in leadership, I like to highlight the benefits. Quite simply, it is from this integrated place of decision making, involving our heart, intuition and mind that we make better and more sustainable decisions, and de-risk more effectively our decision making and taking. 

Leading with care is like flexing a muscle: the more you work and practice it, the stronger you get. And with that new strength, you find that you have more control. You can direct with more focus and precision where your attention needs to be. 

We all deserve safe homes and workplaces. One of the best ways that you can ensure a safer place for all at work is to show others how to lead with care. We need more stories of heroes who lead with both pragmatism and empathy.