A Full-Hearted Approach
To Leadership Development
Faith, hope and love are mentioned a combined 702 times in the Bible compared to the HEART which is spoken of over 1000 times.
Bruce Waltke states, “From the viewpoint of the writers of the Bible, the heart was the central organ that moved the rest of the body. It denotes a person’s center for both physical and emotional-intellectual-moral activities.” (Evangelical Dictional of Theology).
Respected theologian Dr. Robert Saucy writes that “the real identity of a person is his heart, the heart equals the person . . . the heart is where we think, feel, and will the activities of our life. These three functions are joined together in inseparable unity in the depths of the heart. Thus, there is an inevitable interchange between our thoughts, feelings, and will.” (Minding the Heart: the Way of Spiritual Transformation).
The Problem with Current Approaches
Despite being a multi-billion-dollar global industry, traditional programs and approaches to leadership development within organizations appear to have failed dismally in accomplishing their objectives and outcomes for leaders.
These approaches to leadership development are typically centered around developing the competence and execution capacities of a leader for the benefit of the organization. In other words, we develop leaders with knowledge and skill-based training with the expectation that what a leader thinks will necessarily influence what the leader does. We focus on thinking (thoughts) and doing (will) with little emphasis on the feeling aspect of how we are made.
Jonathan Haidt describes the futility of this approach. According to Haidt’s findings, the rational mind (what we think) relates to the non-rational part of who we are like a rider who sits on top of an elephant (what we feel). The rider on top of the elephant only thinks he is telling the elephant where to go when in fact, it is the elephant that is leading the way. (The Righteous Mind).
With an approach that ignores the elephant (an essential part of who we are and how God made us), it is no surprise that according to a recent Fortune survey, only 10% of CEOs felt as if their leadership-development initiatives made a clear impact on their work or the organization they led. McKinsey and Company confirmed similar results through their own research findings that only 11 percent of 500 executives polled around the globe strongly agreed that leadership development initiatives achieved and sustained their desired outcomes. Beer, Finnstrom, and Schrader (2016) found through their research that only one in four senior managers report that training was critical to organizational outcomes. (Harvard Business Review).
However, according to Dr. Susan David, research suggests that "feelings" and other emotionally focused development approaches that help a leader grow in his emotional awareness (EQ), does elevate a leader’s effectiveness across the organization in significant and meaningful ways. “Effective leaders,” are leaders who have developed what David calls “emotional agility.” (Harvard Business Review). Numerous studies from the University of London professor Frank Bond and others, also show that emotional agility can help leaders alleviate stress, reduce errors, become more innovative, and improve job performance.
Tin Man’s Approach to Leadership Development
Tin Man offers an integrative approach to leadership development that addresses the whole person by specifically focusing on the neglected part of most approaches: emotional awareness, or EQ.
Tin Man works with high capacity leaders who have for the most part already experienced some measure of success as leaders; conventional leaders, who when under pressure to perform, instinctively work from the neck up, relying upon intellect (figure it out), morality, (want to do the right thing), and/or self will (work harder). This conventional leader is often unable to see his/her blind spots, may struggle with burnout, and over time can exhibit a history of strained working relationships because of their inflexibility and inability to read emotional cues from colleges, teammates, and subordinates.
By contrast, transformational leaders have access to their heart; a place of deep passion and relational connectedness. From this place of greater self-awareness, a transformational leader who leads from the heart “sees” others with a growing capacity to empathize with, engage with, and empower those they lead.
Tin Man’s Recommended Actions
The most effective leadership development strategies employ regular “coaching that encourages introspection and self-discovery.” (NYU Stern Leadership Development). And ‘because leadership actions are inherently relational…organizations must contextualize and teach leadership development in a relational manner. (Six Truths of Modern Leadership Development. Skillsoft).
We recommend leaders engage in one-on-one weekly coaching with an experienced and trained Tin Man Mentor. Many leaders who do not pursue this course of action of their own initiative can be resistant to the vulnerability of being in a relationship of this nature where they are not “in control.” This is exactly the point, and it brings into focus the very need for the leader to take part in this particular approach to his development.
We recommend leaders participate in a Tin Man Leadership Intensive. The Tin Man Intensive is a 4-day highly interactive immersive experience with a maximum of 6 participants and two coach/facilitators (48 hours of direct contact work). This is the equivalent of a year of weekly one-on-one mentoring or coaching—it helps participants find the “bottle necks” or limiting factors in their lives and helps begin the process of applying recommended solutions. Most participants experience newfound passion for their work, excitement to be more productive in their careers, and increased fulfillment in their personal relationships. The goal of the Leadership Intensive is to help each participant become a fuller and more whole version of themselves, empowering them to have greater fulfillment and success in all they do in every area of their life. Taking part in the Leadership Intensive in conjunction with one-on-one coaching enhances and deepens the benefit of coaching ten-fold.