5 ways to be the caring leader that uplifts teams

In my years of experience, one of the common questions I hear from people is how they can run a successful business and motivate their teams to help. The truth is, one of the best ways to keep your teams engaged and excited is to lead with heart, which a survey from Korn Ferry says is the future of leadership. But what does that mean exactly?

To really understand what it means to lead with the heart, it doesn’t take much more than looking within my own back yard. When you live in the Triangle, you’re surrounded by all things basketball, and one of the most legendary basketball stars in our region is Mike Krzyzewski, or Coach K. This inspiring coach spent 42 seasons at Duke. And when he retired in 2022, he ended his career with the title of winningest coach in Division 1 basketball and five national championships under his belt. He also wrote a book on this very subject.

In Leading with the Heart: Coach K’s Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life, he outlines the most important attributes that can unite any team: “communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring, and pride.” That concept doesn’t just include decorated sports teams; it also includes work teams. And how do you lead with the heart first to build those attributes? Here are 5 tips that will empower and motivate your team.

There is a distinct difference between listening and hearing. While hearing is a simple function that only involves the physical ability of your ears to process sound, listening is active. Listening takes work, but it’s also an incredible way to help your team feel valued. In fact, a Salesforce study shows that employees who feel heard are 4.6 times more likely to perform their best. Talk about a powerful, yet simple action.

Listening to your team shows that you value their opinions. It shows that learning is part of your culture. And it encourages collaboration, a culture of communication and honesty, which breeds innovation and insights. This simple action can change your business for the better.

Vulnerability can be a difficult trait to learn. Yet if you’re willing to open your heart and show that it’s not only acceptable to be vulnerable, but that this trait can be celebrated, you’ll be showing your entire team that you value honesty and transparency. And you’ll show that it’s acceptable for your team as well.

The best way to allow your team to get vulnerable is to lead by example. If you can commit to being the first to show that vulnerability to your team, it can go a long way to helping them open up. Be willing to discuss difficult topics and to invite your team to talk to you about their own emotions and well-being. This is a great trait to model.

Being curious and having empathy might seem like two very different traits. Yet they aren’t completely disparate. Curiosity means having the desire to learn, but this trait also means you need to be willing to know you aren’t always right. You must be open and willing to learn new things, explore new ideas and perspectives, and to seek understanding even when you don’t understand something at all.

That’s where empathy comes in. When you have a deep desire to learn, you’ll want to hear what others have to say. When it comes to your team, that means putting your own ideas on the back burner to hear what they have to say and to understand their thoughts and feelings. And when you’re willing to take that leap, you’ll form more meaningful connections with those around you. Building a stronger team relies heavily on your ability to lead with curiosity and empathy.

When you want your team to be more than just cogs in a wheel and you begin to empower them in the workplace, you’ll quickly notice how inspired your team will become. In fact, when you lead with heart, your team will feel more motivated to help fix issues because they’ll see there’s potential for real change to happen.

Research shows that a great company culture can successfully enact change. And by modeling that open heart within your company, your team will feel more engaged in helping ensure any change that needs to happen does.

Your team wants to feel connected to each other through shared goals, a common purpose, and through a safe space where ideas and accomplishments are celebrated. These are basic, yet natural human needs that you can strengthen within the workplace by simply nurturing relationships, creating a space where feedback is encouraged, and allowing people the ability to make mistakes and voice concerns or questions.

That’s where being authentic can help. In addition to being willing to listen, you can step up and share your own experiences, mistakes, and insights that will build trust with your team and enrich those relationships. It’s one of the most genuine ways you can lead with the heart.

Leading with the heart can go a long way toward helping unite your team and ensure long-term success for the future. And while a national championship may not be on the line for your business, you can still find meaningful success no matter what kind of business you own.

Jim Allen is a business leader and entrepreneur who has built one of the top-producing real estate groups in the Triangle. He is President of The Jim Allen Group, which is consistently named one of the top real estate teams in North Carolina and even North America.