The heart in this context has little to do with the blood-pumping organ in your chest, which is simply an organ that responds to signals from the brain and chemicals flowing in the blood, whether produced by the body or introduced into the blood stream by some other means.

Rather, when we speak of the heart and mind we are actually making reference to emotions and thoughts, the two main components of our brains—the limbic and Neocortex, respectively—which are responsible for creating human connections and motivating behavior. 

Research has shown that emotions [heart] are three times more impactful in creating human connections and driving behavior, than is rational thought [mind]. We are hard-wired emotional beings and when we operate in line with how we are wired everything works better.

That is why it is more important to have a meeting of the heart before trying to have a meeting of the mind. The heart acts like a filter or lens through which rational thought is interpreted. A meeting of hearts first makes a meeting of minds much easier.

Here is a practical example. I was recently involved in a conversation between the sales and service depts. of a dealership. These depts. are notoriously at odds with each other as each tries to glean gross from each car deal for their own dept. seemingly to the detriment of the other. 

At the beginning of the meeting the General Manager welcomed the managers to share their concerns with the other as he wrote their concerns on a whiteboard. Once the concerns had been listed the General Manager instinctively wanted to start handling each of the concerns in turn.

I jumped in and asked the group whether we could spend a little time having a meeting of the hearts first before trying to have a meeting of the minds. The leaders gave me a little bit of blank stare so I explained that each of them has feelings that is based on both perception and reality, although probably more perception. I further explained that these feelings either further or inhibit our ability to resolve our concerns and differences. And until we have a meeting of the hearts it would be difficult to have a meeting of the minds. They seemed to understand so we proceeded further.

I asked each manager to share how they felt about the other leader and their dept., which led to a great conversation about why they felt that way. Once we were able to clear up the emotional disconnects we were able to work through each of the previously stated concerns with relative ease.

To be more effective great leaders seek a meeting of the heart before attempting a meeting of the mind.

Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

Any great endeavor requires sacrifice—time, resources, choices, and human will are all constrained. When we choose one direction we are naturally sacrificing another direction. When we invest time and resources in one choice it means they are no longer available for another choice. And human will has an affinity for comfort, which is typically diametrically opposed to the concept of sacrifice.

It is said that the biggest enemy of great is good, not bad. 

Improving past bad requires some sacrifice, but the amount of sacrifice required to improve past good seems exponentially greater. In addition, pushing past good, in pursuit of great requires us to sacrifice comfort with no guarantee that we will actually achieve great. That is why most people accept good-enough—they lack the will and passion to make the necessary sacrifices to get to great.

Great leaders, however, are driven by a vision that boosts their will and passion and compels them to sacrifice. That is also why it is critical that all members of a team catch the vision [so that they are able to muster the will and passion to push on when everything within them wants to rest when they achieve results that are “good-enough,” but not great]. 

Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

Great Leaders create cohesive teams, engaging cultures, inspiring visions, compelling missions, and fulfilling outcomes.

Bad Leaders allow toxic teammates, default cultures, unknown visions, optional missions, and mediocre outcomes.

Who would you rather follow?

Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

What is buy in? And why is it critical to true teamwork and engagement?

Buy in involves more than just saying yes or raising a hand. Yes is simply a word in a world where words are cheap. In fact, words are similar to intentions, which don’t amount to anything without actions.

Buy in requires a positive attitude and psychological commitment or ownership so that words are transformed into actions and momentum towards the collective result.

Unfortunately many people say yes [to a job], because they need money or feel obligated to participate, but are not truly bought in to the vision and mission of the endeavor. A job can be done with one’s “hands and feet”, but buy in involves surrendering one’s heart and mind. 

The study of the brain reveals that this thing we often describe as “engagement” is connected with the limbic system of the brain, which is also our emotional center. We cannot force people to emotionally connect. People must volunteer their emotions and their emotional connections. In other words, they must feel something before they truly buy in and engage—passion, desire, commitment, responsibility, etc.

Everybody has heard the expression of an emotionally disconnected person who says, “I may be standing up on the outside, but I am sitting down on the inside.” In other words, when people are emotionally disconnected they may go through the motions [with their hands and feet], but this results in 40-70% effort. 

That is also why you can never coerce or manipulate somebody into buying in. Buy in involves a choice and a degree of submission [to surrender one’s heart and mind].

I believe that is what is behind the old saying, “If you love something set it free. If it comes back to you it’s yours. If not, it was never yours to start with.” 

That is why great leaders seek buy in—so they get the entire person and not just their obligatory parts. And that is how great leaders build great teams that achieve great results!

Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

I contend that the secret sauce of every great organization is inherent in its guiding principles—it is what differentiates one organization from another and it is what ultimately determines the organization’s trajectory, like the rudder of a ship.

So, what are the guiding principles that are determining the trajectory of your organization?

If you have taken the time to define them, good for you, you are one of the few organizations that has done so. Remember, however, that guiding principles are more evident in the actions of your people than in the words you put on paper or the posters you hang on the wall.

The challenge with guiding principles is that once you define them your organization will be held to the higher standard outlined in your principles. Maybe that is why most organizations do not take the time to define a set of guiding principles, although that is simply fallacious thinking. 

Defining guiding principles is not just an exercise so you can check the HR box. Defining guiding principles is an important step of providing your organization with a greater sense of purpose and identity, elements that have been proven to provide people with a greater sense of intrinsic motivation, direction and affinity with the organization.

When you define your guiding principles be careful that you select elements that are inherent and core to your organization. Don’t simply choose a number of aspirational or “permission-to-play” principles, like: honesty, integrity, etc.

Your guiding principles need to be things that are already inherent to your organization, but which you want to honor, recognize, and ensure greater consistency. 

Your guiding principles also need to be non-negotiable—you must be willing to sacrifice other things, like money, time, comfort, etc. before you compromise your principles.

Once you define your guiding principles and live them consistently they will guide the behaviors of your people and they will become baked into your culture and motivate those actions for which your organization will be known and valued by others…leading to greater customer loyalty and higher employee retention.

Don’t leave your organization rudderless. Carve out time to define your guiding principles. The effort will pay ongoing dividends and it is something that will define you as a leader!

Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.