Episode 7: Working Philosophy- Love in Leadership and Why People Matter Greatly

Hello and welcome to the Create Your Best Year Podcast. This is your host, Clara Angelina Diaz-Anderson and I am really excited to be talking to you today because I have noticed that since I launched my podcast that people have been listening a lot to that intro episode. And I've been getting requests that people want to learn more about me and what I'm doing in the world. And so today, I'm recording this podcast, with the intention of one share with you a little bit more of how I spend my days as a business woman as a mom, but also as a coach and a teacher. I teach two courses at Harvard School of Professional Development. These two courses, one of them is called Leadership Coaching Strategies. And the other one is called Executive Coaching Mastery Session. And I absolutely love teaching these courses for a couple of reasons. So one is that on average, we have people from six to seven countries come to take the course. I've taught the classes live, you know, with people in a classroom, which has been a really amazing honor. Since, you know, we've had COVID, and we've been doing everything online. But, you know, I found that people are just extremely hungry to come together to be in person with each other, there is such a hunger for that, you know, there's nothing like the human touch the human connection. And I got, I was asked by, by someone at the school that I'm going to, if I could record something, they asked for 60 seconds, but I figured I'd take this opportunity and talk about it here on the podcast. And they asked me about my consulting philosophy. So in addition to being a coach and executive leadership coach, where I focus on helping women of color, really uplevel and uncover their power, in both their personal life and in their professional life. I'm also a consultant. And mostly what I consult on is business development and also diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, liberation and anti racism, practices within organizations. And I infuse all of that right into my coaching. And essentially, you know, someone from Harvard reached out to me and said: "Clara, you know, can you do something? Can you create a 60 second video on your consulting philosophy, that you say that people matter greatly, and that leadership is grounded in love". And I thought that this was really interesting, because, you know, while I, that I mean, the request is both interesting, but then when I really stopped to think about everything that I do in the world, and everything that I am from a woman and Afro Caribbean woman from the Dominican Republic, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend, cousin, teacher, consultant, all of it in you know, this idea people matter greatly to me has been something that I have been called. I've always been obsessed with people. I've always been obsessed with human behavior, human relationships, interpersonal relationships have just been here ever since I can remember I've always really looked at you know how, how people treat each other why they treat each other in the ways that they do. And there's a funny story that I like to tell and it's actually going to be in my upcoming book. where I keep being reminded by adults that when I was three years old, one of the things that people thought it was so funny about me was that every time an adult or really anyone would come into a room, and they wouldn't greet people, like they wouldn't say, Good afternoon, or good morning, I would literally stop them in their tracks. And I would say, "Hey, don't you know that when you enter a room, you greet people, and you say, Good morning, good afternoon". And while I still, you know, carry that very deeply in that people deserve to be acknowledged. I don't, I don't voice it that way. But in my work, I bring that to life. I bring that to life by helping people really understand why it is important that people are treated with love and respect. So why do people matter greatly, people matter greatly, because when you really think about a person's worth, there is literally no amount of money that one can put on what a person is worth. In companies themselves, I always tell the business owners that I'm working within the leaders that people literally are your greatest asset, because anything that we get in life, we get through people. People are our greatest asset, people are the greatest asset to this planet to companies. And so I think sometimes we forget that we I see that leaders forget that a lot. You know, a person's inherent value is just, like I said, something that I think there's there's no measure. But in an organization, I think on average, it is said that when you lose someone in your organization, it takes about three times their salary, for you to replace it on average. And so it really behooves us. Like we should really think about how do we keep people right within our organization, and neither been people in our lives that really present a great value to us, right? I'm talking about people that are adding to our well being people that are adding to our growth that are adding to our ability to be more fully human. Even those people in our families that I have, though, that sometimes I don't want to be around, I can, where I have been able to see their value for allowing me an opportunity to be more compassionate, an opportunity to really exercise empathy, and also an opportunity to exercise boundaries. And so when we can see people in that way, right for their inherent value, their dignity, but also what they're allowing us to awaken in ourselves and in an organization think this will would literally be a better place. If I say so myself. So why is love? You know, why should leadership be grounded in love? You know, when I say love, I don't mean about the romantic kind of love, I'm talking about the energy of love. The energy of love that stems from our heart center. In me understanding the heart as you know, this intelligent, one of the most intelligent organs in our body is the heart being able to be focused on doing things for the greater good, beyond profit, right and I think that there is a place where profit and doing good mean we know this and sometimes it takes a little bit more work to really think through to really feel in right to what is right for all what is good for all what is of the higher purpose. But I believe in an intelligence that goes beyond, an intelligence that calls us to really do what's best for the good of all. By that solution, that strategy is available. And so this be in February, the month of love. I invite you to allow the energy of your heart to guide you and your actions and your thoughts. And if you're a leader, how you lead inquiring of the people that work with you, your direct reports, ask them, you know, what would serve them? What are they interested in? I pay attention, right to how you can elevate them in how you can really honor their humanity. I think there's so much to be said, I think that, you know, this ties into the sense of belonging, right, when we're talking about doing diversity, equity work, you know, the, when a person, a leader is rooted in the spirit of love, right, they're able to get uncomfortable to really create cultures that are inclusive. Love is an all encompassing energy, it's a self organizing energy. We know when we are in a space that's full of love, children, know by who loves them, they can sense that they can feel it. And we are human beings, we are big kids, we are big children. I am so scientifically there is such a thing called mirror neurons. Right? And so this this ability that we have as human beings to sense what the other person is feeling and thinking about us. So the more that we are rooted on a spirit of love, a spirit of compassion, a spirit of dignity for others, in our work in our everyday being, but this specifically being about how we show up as leaders, we can help people feel a sense of belonging. And there is a study about that. When people feel like they belong, it literally shoots up their performance by something crazy like over 60% So this is not Whoa, this is based on science. This is based on research. When you embody a spirit of love, in your decisions to create a culture that is inclusive, it literally drives up performance in your household when you are the leader especially for the the women that are listening to everything you need to do in order to feel that love that sense of love. Right? You can start by appreciating what is good, what is right what's going well. For you around you. Sometimes I wake up and I literally look outside and I'm just thankful that I see trees I look for signs of life. And to me that is an expression of universe divine of God. Right to show me love, the sunrise, the sunset, the wind, everything that is given to us. In that spirit of love, it asks for nothing in return and allows us to be that's what you're being called to. So in this month of February, the month where we celebrate love, I invite you to think about love beyond the romantic but a love that is all encompassing and love that you can embody that you can influence others that you can see the love within you that you can see that you are love. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for joining me love I hope you have a lovely day!