Bridge Module #6

Fighting for Heart 

Become a Heart-Engaged Leader


All humans are searching consciously and unconsciously to live fully human. Be one of the courageous few who intentionally step forward to do something about it. The corporate landscape is desperate for a less mercenary, less competitive, less toxic atmosphere, and we can only get there if we start paying attention to our hearts. Just as we have learned to pioneer new technologies, financial tools, and economies of scale, so we must turn our attention to something more primal. More fundamental to our humanity.

At this point, we simply can’t afford to keep moving forward without one of our greatest assets: our feelings. We have to slow down long enough to catch up with ourselves, to reintegrate, and to try this thing a different way—the way we were meant to live—wholeheartedly. Have you grown accustomed to leading with your feelings on life-support, then trying to resuscitate them just before you walk through the door at the end of the day to greet your family? Then maybe we can agree that it’s not working anymore. Maybe it never really was.

  1. Learn & Grow

2. Explore & Discuss

Entrenched across the depths of our communities, companies, and cultures at large are varying perspectives and beliefs around the validity of emotions. Are feelings good or bad? Do they help us or hurt us?

  1. How were emotions handled in your family growing up?

  2. As a result of your upbringing, what did you come to believe about emotions?

  3. In what ways has your emotional inheritance and mindset influence your leadership positively and negatively?

3. Integrate & Explore

So let’s talk about outcomes. What is it that we really hope to accomplish through all this heart-work?

Q: Which of the 4 Emotional Attributes do you NEED to strengthen and why?
Q: Which of the 4 Emotional Baselines do you NEED to strengthen and why?
Q: Which of the 16 Emotional Competencies do you NEED to strengthen and why?

4. Apply & Practice

Remember, every module will end with the offer for you to take this work further in some way.

RESOURCE: HEART ENGAGED EQ CARD SET
You may have great intentions to work out and even buy a gym membership, but at some point, you will need to get in your car, drive to the gym, and lift those weights if you want to add muscle. The Heart-Engaged EQ Cards offer a practical way to grow. CLICK HERE to order cards for you and your team.

CHALLENGE :
Every day, pull out a piece of paper and for ten minutes, write down as many feelings that feel real for you at that moment, regardless of the reasons, context, or accuracy. Say them out loud as you write them. Speaking makes our feelings become more real. With your feelings identified, now isolate two or three from the check-in and start expanding on each.