140: Leaders with Heart Leave Room for Mistakes

In this episode Heather interviews Diana Steinhoff, Executive Vice President, Product and Strategy at Life & Absence Management Administrative Solutions. Diana is a leader who does what she loves day in and day out, interacting with people that need help as they navigate difficult life events. Diana has mastered how to be innovative in a difficult space and infuse lots of compassion into her work.  Heather and Diana both offer examples of when they weren't the most compassionate leaders, but recognized their errors, and took ownership for their actions. Diana elaborates on the skill that's required to master the art of compassion. Many perceive compassion as a virtue of "softness", but on the contrary, compassion requires courage. Diana explains other necessary qualities of a good leader: authenticity, intentionality, and feedback orientated (both positive and constructive). Diana shares a beautiful and heartwarming story of how her mother strengthened the origins of her drive to lead. She then describes the personal challenges she faces as a leader, and the conscious decisions she has to make to better serve her team members.  While discussing leadership tactics for the current times, Diana calls upon leaders to seek avenues to continue learning, return to the basics of care, and create safe environments where their employees are able to operate, succeed and even fail, because our people are our number one asset.  Key Takeaways: People will remember how you made them feel. Control your emotions and practice empathy Bring in the human side, start with the basics of care Compassion requires courage Leaders must continue to learn Create a safe environment for employees  We need to protect our employees We need to engage our employees more We need to allow our employees room to make mistakes