MFL 31 – Mark C. Crowley: Human-Centered Leadership

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Mark C. Crowley: Human-Centered Leadership

One of the most innovative leadership thinkers in business today, Mark C. Crowley is the author of Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21 st Century, and his mission is to fundamentally change how we lead people in the workplace. If that word “heart” in his book title suggests his management approach might be a little soft, Mark proves the just opposite. Backed by breakthrough scientific research – and over 20 years as a senior leader at one of the nation’s largest financial institutions – his insight turns traditional leadership insight on its head.

Educators already see Mark’s thinking represents the future.  His book is being taught in 4 US universities including one Organizational Leadership Ph.D. program. Mark is a regular contributor to Fast Company Magazine and his two most recent leadership articles on LinkedIn have been read well over one million times.

 

Podcast Time Stamps

[7:40] – Mark talks about his background in business and how he developed his perspective on leadership.

[12:26] – Mark’s success in leading people in his previous positions led him to investigate how he developed his leadership perspective.

[16:34] – Mark talks about the secret to leading from the heart.  It’s not about being soft and sentimental but about the idea of caring for the people you lead.

[20:00] – Mark shares the practical ways to move beyond the theory and into how to work with people in a real way.

[25:37] – Even with the perspective of care, there is still the aspect of maintaining a standard and addressing peoples’ issue of happiness.

[28:26] – Mark shares how high performers and a competitive environment can work in a more collaborative culture.

[32:10] – How this leadership perspective works within the small business context.

[34:48] – Mark describes the new organizational culture and how transformational leadership addresses this new context.  If you don’t adapt, you will not survive.

[38:15] – Mark talks about his own personal definition of success – it has to do with his relationships with people.

[41:05] – Mark shares about his book and where we can connect with him online – he shares how his book is being taught at the university level.

 

Resources and Places to Connect with Mark:

Twitter: @MarkCCrowley 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markccrowley/

Website: http://markccrowley.com/

Mark’s Book:  Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21 st Century

 

Top learning moments

1. Get to know your people. People want to know that you care about them as individuals.  They are not cogs in a machine.  The era of bossing people around without considering their humanity is over.  People won’t put up with it.  So to lead, you have to invest in your people.  And it’s about the relationship.  Do they trust you?  And how can they trust you if you don’t know them or know anything about them?  It’s about building a relationship – not a “touchy-feely” type of relationship, but one of authenticity and mutual respect.  This is the new face of leadership.  Good, human-centered leadership comes through relationship.
2. Relationship comes when people know you care. It’s the old adage, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.  When you care for people, when you are interested in investing in their lives, when you add value to them and care about them as people and not just objects that you manage, it makes a difference in how they respond to you.  Caring doesn’t mean excusing lack of effort or failure, it means holding people accountable for their work and challenging them to meet the high demands that you set.  Caring is about how you speak with and to them.  It is about how you treat them and how you help them to become who they want to become.  So, consider leading from relationships and investing time into the people you lead.

 

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