It was great to catch up with Lincoln Kee, the Senior Director of Talent and Leadership at Hilton.
We connected over an article I wrote on Empathy As a Leader.
We shared tons of ideas and practical perspectives on what it means to be leading in this brand-new world.
Both of us resonated on what it means to be a leader with ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ and yet, ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐บ on performance.
# Can Empathy and Performance go hand in hand?
# The answer is a YES!ย
# It can never be a maybe.
The following are my insights from our ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ฃ Conversation.
๐ญ. ๐๐ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ง๐ผ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ป ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ.
It is a complete myth that if a leader is empathetic or shows a vulnerable side, they are considered a weak leader.
In my own words, it’s complete nonsense because I have come across many empathetic leaders who are strong and capable.
+ They are kind to people and firm on performance.
+ They have the lowest attrition rate and a high-performing team with healthy tension.
+ Those who left always say great things about the leader.
Being empathetic does not come at the expense of performance; on the contrary, it levels up people’s performance,
It does take courage to have empathy, and leaders who can’t, simply lack the courage to lead.
๐ฎ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐ง๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ-๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐
๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ-๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ is a world where we learn to be Empathic while knowing when to deploy our Authority.
+ They are not exclusive of one another.
+ The word here is learning the balance.
๐ฏ. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐, ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐.
To thrive as a leader is more than just bringing in the numbers.
That is just striving with an imposter syndrome.
And yes, Imposter syndrome can take us quite far until exhaustion or when the career curtain comes down one day.
When the person is no longer a leader, there are no more perks, paid trips, or blow and whistles.
+ Then the question is; who am I end of the day?
+ No one will remember the P&L that a leader brings into the business.
+ But everyone will remember how the leaders treated and cared for them when they were there.
Your credibility as a leader is what people will say about you ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ.
This is ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ต@๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ฃ Signing Off.
May You ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ, ๐๐น๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ In The Brand New World.
