Leadership success can be summed up in these four words: Winning hearts and minds.
A few weeks ago, I had a consulting visit with a marketing executive who said marketing is about winning hearts and minds (a topic I will share more on tomorrow). As she said these words, I thought to myself, this sounds a lot like leadership.
Often leadership is mistakenly seen for the work around a mission, a vision, an organization, a business model, a strategic roadmap, deadline, net profit, standard operating procedures, and a host of other elements that comprise a leadership journey. However, the core of leadership is winning hearts and minds.
If leadership was a car, the engine would be the heart and mind. You can drive a car without a windshield. I know this first-hand because during college I flipped my Chevy Blazer, and for a whole summer in the Texas heat, I drove without a windshield. I wore a pair of goggles to shield my eyes from all the bugs—and I kept extra goggles on hand for any passengers. Although it was difficult, my Blazer still got me where I needed to go because the engine remained intact. Likewise, we can execute leadership without some of the supporting elements of the journey. Yes, we may get a few bugs in our teeth, but we can still get there if we win the hearts and minds of those who follow us.
What is your strategy to win the hearts and minds of your people? By hearts, I mean how people feel about us, about the journey, and about the mission. It’s what drives them to commit, to engage, and to give it their all. Winning minds means that when people think about the work, the mission, or us as leaders, when they logically evaluate all that is happening, we score well with them. You may be the most loving leader the world has ever known, but if you are disorganized, ineffective, and do not understand how to make things happen, you will lose the minds (the logical perspective) of those around you.
For instance, if you are a pastor who preaches great theology from the pulpit, but the hearts and minds of the people are not aligned with yours, if you have not won them over as a loving shepherd, if you have not truly listened, truly communicated and managed their expectations, your efforts will come up lacking. In the life of Jesus, we see Him preaching great theology while consistently touching people’s hearts in a personal way.
Likewise, you may practice stellar business principles, but if your people are not in love with the mission, the work—with you—your leadership will ultimately be ineffective.
Some will say, “I don’t have time to worry about hearts and minds. I just need to point the way and have people get things done.” Then please take the next exit off of the leadership highway because you will not be effective. If you win people’s hearts, but in their minds they question your methods, your process, or your direction, your leadership will also fall short.
If you want to go the distance, do it by winning hearts and minds.
How can I support you more as a Christian leader and entrepreneur?
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