Let’s Sound Off with Cheryl DeSantis - Developing a Coaching Mindset and Leading with Heart in HR

Cheryl DeSantis is the Chief People and Diversity Officer at the SmileDirectClub based in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Cheryl describes herself as a purpose, and values-based leader and her values are courage, compassion, integrity and learning. She believes her purpose is to inspire and empower courageous transformation in leaders and to bring more empathy, love and kindness to the world. In this episode, Cheryl and I unpack what it means to have a coaching mindset in HR and how to be a more heart-centric professional. While many leaders may think that leading with empathy and focussing on creating meaningful moments that matter at work is "soft HR", Cheryl explains why this type of leadership is the future of leadership in the workplace. Cheryl is also a published author of the book "Steel Backbones Soft Heart", where she shares the story behind the turnaround in her HR career to heart-centric leadership and why all HR professionals and leaders should lead this way. We also discuss why her team value of "better is better" should be adopted across HR, what she does for self-care and the advice she would give to her younger self. This was a truly inspiring conversation, and I hope you enjoy it.  Follow Cheryl on LinkedIn and check out her new book on Amazon.