Where Strategy Meets Soul

The world is on fire and dare I say many current world leaders are certainly not shining examples of what good leaders are supposed to be like. There are thousands of books on leadership. Podcasts, workshops, courses, papers, movies, perspectives as well explaining how leadership is defined. Showing various ways of how to strategise, think, act, speak right as a leader.

But a simple truth is “Leadership without a good heart is a body without soul.”

Practice of textbook leadership through techniques and styles by someone lacking good intentions ultimately shows them as the zombies they sadly are.

Twenty years back, I knew a leader who was constantly branded as “too soft and too trusting.” His peers couldn’t digest the kindness and trust he showed to his team at work. No visible failure, just quiet judgment from those who saw kindness as weakness. Cut to now – on one of his recent posts, dozens of people from the 200-person organisation he led back then, showed up in the comments. Almost all of them are now global CXOs, country heads, or critical leaders with remarkable careers. Many credited him for shaping who they became.

On the other hand, a few years back I saw a leader who was a complete stickler for growth- clinical, sharp, results-obsessed. But for them servant leadership, warmth, empathy and knowing fellow humans was HRs job. If someone was on a sick leave, surely they were shopping in a mall! Talking and being nice was super reserved for seniors, peers and clients. Spending human time with their team was NOT a priority. Numbers were surely delivered in short. But they killed the morale and confidence of a team that earlier had miraculous success and incredible bonding. The spark was gone. People just went through the motions.

That is not to say that bad people can’t be good leaders. They can, but usually only for a while. That is also not to say if you are good at your intentions and a good soul, you’ll automatically be a nice leader. Humans are complex creatures and there are 8 billion versions of us! Gosh! The best of humans and best of leaders will also remain imperfect and will have moments of weaknesses and faults.
But consistency of being a good person and trying to lead well – those efforts usually bode well for the leader, their business, their org and most importantly their people.

Being a good human is underrated, mocked even but in the long game, that is the sure way to create a good environment and long-term success. Have you seen kindness pay off in the long run, or the opposite?