LFTH - S1 E1

This is a podcast called "Leadership from the Heart" hosted by Romy Montero. It explores effective leadership principles that drive results and human connection. The episode discusses the concept of unattached leadership, which means separating personal identity from criticism. It emphasizes that differences of opinion enrich discussions and lead to better decisions. The podcast provides practical steps to practice and enhance unattached leadership, such as practicing self-awareness, separating oneself from the situation, seeking clarification, practicing mindfulness and deep empathy, learning from mistakes, and seeking constructive feedback. The goal is to develop an unattached leadership skill for not taking things personally, leading with objectivity, empathy, and resilience. The podcast concludes by encouraging ongoing leadership growth and reminding listeners to lead authentically and from the heart. Welcome to Leadership from the Heart, the podcast that dives deep into the world of operational focus leadership. I'm your host, Romy Montero, and I'm thrilled to have you join us on the journey of discovery, growth, and transformation. In each episode, we'll explore the essential principles of effective leadership that not only drive results, but touch the very core of human connection. At Leadership from the Heart, we believe that leadership is not just a title. It's a goal. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. 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It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. It's a mission. Today, I want to delve into the heart of how I embrace unattached leadership, and I hope that it resonates with you and your journey, too. Unattached leadership does not mean that you're detached from your team or their concern. Instead, it's about separating your personal identity from the criticism you receive. Understand that criticisms often reflect the other person's perspectives and experiences, and by not taking things personally, you can open the space for constructive dialogue, and understanding. Differences of opinions are natural and sometimes even necessary for any thriving team. When you adopt unattached leadership, you acknowledge that these differences don't diminish your leadership capabilities or abilities. Instead, they enrich discussions and lead to better decisions. Remember that you're leading a diverse group of varied perspectives, and your role is to facilitate the exchanges of ideas, not to suppress them. Challenging conversations can be daunting, but with unattached leadership, you can approach them with composure. Your focus shifts from being right to finding the solution that benefits the team and the organization. By not emotionally being tied to the outcome, you maintain your professionalism, even in the face of adversity. Next, I want to give you guys a few practical steps of how to practice and enhance your unattached leadership. The first piece of advice that I would like to give you guys is a pretty important one. It's how to practice self-awareness. Every leader should embrace learning emotional intelligence. As a people leader, its value is much greater than that of IQ. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and regulate one's emotions, and actually understand the emotions of others. It's the key to how you respond to what life gives to you. Self-awareness is the first step of managing your reaction. A tip I use is to write out how my body feels when I'm feeling under attack. For me, it's sweaty hands, heat coming up from the belly, a ringing in my ears, and start to get tunnel vision. This simple step has helped me understand what's happening physically in my body, and that it's my brain simply trying to protect me. It's my fight or flight feeling. And ever since I've written it down, I've noticed when it's about to happen or when it's happening, and I'm able to stop the impulsive loop that continued prior to this. This is especially helpful nowadays, when simple emails or text messages can send us into fight or flight mode without our awareness. The second tip is to separate yourself from the situation. Remind yourself that you're not the situation, and that the feedback is about a task or a project or circumstances, not a reflection of your personal worth. This separation helps you maintain perspective. We'll dive deeper into how to separate yourself a little later. The third tip is asking for clarification. If something seems personal or hurtful, ask for clarification to ensure you fully understand the intention behind the statement or the action. This can prevent a lot of misunderstanding and allows time for the fourth step, which is mindfulness and breathing. In moments of stress or frustration, practice mindfulness techniques. Deep breathing that's not too obvious and staying present can help you manage your emotion and prevent a knee-jerk reaction. Tip number five, cultivate deep empathy. Understand that others' actions or words may not be about you at all. They might be dealing with their own issues or stressors, and cultivating empathy helps you respond with understanding. Think about when you were triggered by someone and happened to give in to that trigger. The truth is your impulse is to make the other person feel how they quote-unquote made you feel. And so the tennis match of disagreements and arguing ensues. Deep empathy does two things. One, it helps you see the other person's perspective for real. That means removing any of your personal thoughts and feelings. The second thing it does, and this one is how you embody empathy. However the other person is responding has nothing to do with you. It's simply a war that's raging within them. Having lost your cool in the past, you can see yourself in this person and remember how crappy it feels. Tip number six, learn from your mistakes. If you do happen to react emotionally and take things personal, use it as a learning opportunity. Reflect on why you reacted that way and develop strategies to handle similar situations better in the future. This is something I still do. I try to catch it live in the moment, but whenever I'm speaking to someone and I lose my cool or I'm not listening, I simply say, time out. I didn't start this correctly. Can we please start over so I can listen? And it works every time. It shows my team and my colleagues how human I am, and therefore it allows them to be human as well. Tip number seven, regularly seek constructive feedback. Encourage open and honest feedback from colleagues and team members. This helps you view feedback as an opportunity for growth rather than criticism. Those are my seven tips. And so by practicing these strategies, you can develop an unattached leadership skill for not taking things personal. And over time, this approach will enable you to lead with greater objectivity and emotional resilience and a focus on achieving the best outcomes for your team and organization. As a leader, it's important to self-regulate so that you can help regulate those you lead. As we wrap up, I hope that my journey and insights into unattached leadership have resonated with you. Remember that leadership growth is an ongoing process, and adopting an unattached mindset takes time. By not taking things personally, you'll empower yourself to lead with clarity, empathy, and resilience. As a leadership coaching company committed to operational excellence and people-first leadership, Leadership from the Heart is here to support you on this journey. Thank you for tuning in, and until next time, lead authentically and lead from your heart. Thank you for joining us on another insightful episode of Leadership from the Heart. We hope that you've gained valuable tools and inspiration to transform your leadership approach and create lasting impact within your organization. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. Your feedback means the world to us and helps us reach more aspiring leaders like you. Remember, leadership is a journey and one that we're all on together. So until next time, lead with purpose, lead with empathy, and lead from your heart. This is Romy Montparnasse signing off, reminding you that your leadership has the power to shape a brighter future for all. ♪