Leading with Heart: Five Conversations That Unlock Creativity, Purpose, and Results

by John Baird, Edward Sullivan

Overview

Wall Street Journal Bestseller

Two veteran executive coaches help today's leaders learn how to retain and inspire their teams through the one thing their research has found works: Leading with Heart. 

In these pages, leadership coaches John Baird and Edward Sullivan share hundreds of hours of research and firsthand accounts of guiding leaders at some of the world's most respected big brands and small startups (Apple, Nike, Google, and Slack to name a few). 

Through their coaching and research they uncovered the five behaviors transformative leaders engage in to connect authentically with their teams: 

1. They are aware of their people's needs. 
2. They help their people to confront the fears that hold them back.
3. They understand their own desires and what drives their people. 
4. They leverage their unique gifts and help people find their own. 
5. They connect with their core sense of purpose and help people find theirs. 

The key to achieving these behaviors is asking the right questions and having conversations that connect you and your employees on the deepest human level—conversations the authors coach you on how to navigate.

At a time when workplaces are struggling to build high morale and connected cultures, Leading with Heart will help leaders to unlock the best version of themselves and those around them with transformative results.

No matter where you are in your career, this book is your launch point to leading with heart. By encouraging you to ignore outdated “leadership hacks” and embrace introspection and growth, Leading with Heart guides you to ask the right questions and find your own answers. Now you too can create a leadership game-plan that is authentic to you and brings out the best in those around you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063052932
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/21/2022
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	399,644
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

John Baird is one of the premier executive coaches in Silicon Valley, and over the past twenty-five years he has worked with top leaders at start-up organizations as well as at Fortune 500 firms like Apple, Nike, and Twitter. He founded several companies, including ExecutivEdge, Edgeman Coaching, and the Velocity Group, where he is currently chairman, and serves as a fellow at Sapphire Ventures and on various nonprofit local and national boards. Baird holds a PhD in organizational communication and leadership from Purdue University.

Through their company, Velocity Group, a leading global executive coaching firm, Baird and co-author Edward Sullivan work with top executives at companies like Apple, DoorDash, Geico, and MasterClass.

Edward Sullivan is the CEO and managing partner at Velocity Group. His twenty-five-year career as an executive coach and political consultant has taken him around the globe coaching and advising start-up founders, Fortune 500 executives, and heads of state of foreign nations. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Forbes, Fast Company, USA Today, and Nasdaq, among others. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Through their company, Velocity Group, a leading global executive coaching firm, Sullivan and co-author John Baird work with top executives at companies like Apple, DoorDash, Geico, and MasterClass.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 What Do You Need to Be at Your Best? 23

2 What Fears Are Holding You Back? 69

3 What Desires Drive You, and Which Might Derail You? 113

4 What Are Your Greatest Gifts? 159

5 What Is Your Purpose? 197

6 Helping Your Company Lead with Heart 227

Conclusion: The Leading with Heart Challenge 259

Acknowledgments 261

Notes 263

Editorial Reviews

Essential reading for anyone who wants to transform the culture, purpose, and impact of their organization through more powerful and authentic conversations.” — Valerie Ashby, Dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University

“Written by two world-class coaches of iconic companies, Leading with Heart is unlike any other leadership book—a must-read for any CEO or leaders wanting to take their company or leadership to the next level.” — Jon Rubinstein, Amazon board director; former Apple executive (aka “The Podfather”); and former CEO of Palm, Inc.

?“Required reading for entrepreneurs or any leaders looking to scale up their business and get results.” — Tony Xu, CEO of DoorDash

“Filled with resonant stories and practical insights, Leading with Heart takes readers inside many of today’s hottest companies to explore what has made them so successful—heart-open leadership. This book is instructive for anyone trying to build a more inclusive company culture and have more impactful conversations in every area of their life.” — Adrienne Gemperle, Chief People Officer of Sweetgreen, former CPO of SoulCycle, and SVP, global HR operations at Starbucks

“Leading with Heart will make you a better leader, colleague, and human. Drawing on their years of experience advising leadership teams, Edward and John share surprising insights and practical tools to help you master the skills needed to build a winning team in the postpandemic world: more empathy, more curiosity, more awareness. Read this book and your heart will grow.” — Safi Bahcall, physicist, entrepreneur, and bestselling author of Loonshots

From the Publisher

Leading with Heart will make you a better leader, colleague, and human. Drawing on their years of experience advising leadership teams, Edward and John share surprising insights and practical tools to help you master the skills needed to build a winning team in the postpandemic world: more empathy, more curiosity, more awareness. Read this book and your heart will grow.

Safi Bahcall

?“Required reading for entrepreneurs or any leaders looking to scale up their business and get results.

Tony Xu

Written by two world-class coaches of iconic companies, Leading with Heart is unlike any other leadership book—a must-read for any CEO or leaders wanting to take their company or leadership to the next level.

Jon Rubinstein

Leading with Heart puts you in the room for a private conversation with two masterful coaches who helped build MasterClass and dozens more of the best companies of the last twenty years.

David Rogier

Filled with resonant stories and practical insights, Leading with Heart takes readers inside many of today’s hottest companies to explore what has made them so successful—heart-open leadership. This book is instructive for anyone trying to build a more inclusive company culture and have more impactful conversations in every area of their life.”?

Adrienne Gemperle

Essential reading for anyone who wants to transform the culture, purpose, and impact of their organization through more powerful and authentic conversations.

Valerie Ashby