Heather R. Younger - The Art of Caring Leadership: How Leading with Heart Uplifts Teams and Organizations

THE ART OF

Caring Leadership

Caring Leadership

How Leading with Heart Uplifts Teams and Organizations

Heather R. Younger

The Art of Caring Leadership

Copyright 2021 by Heather Younger

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First Edition
Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-5230-9214-7
PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-9215-4
IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-9221-5
Digital audio ISBN 978-1-5230-9222-2

2021-1

Cover design: Adam Johnson. Interior design and composition: Leigh McLellan Design. Copyeditor: Elissa Rabellino. Proofreader: Mary Hazlewood. Indexer: Ken Dellapenta. Chapter opening illustration: Michael Starkman.

For my sweet childrenGabriela, Sebastian, Dominic, and Matteo who help me show care

There are many employees in the world who are in pain. They are in pain because they are seeking leaders who care about them, not for what they can do but for who they are and can become.

For the leaders who want to commit to growing in compassion and showing more care for those they lead, your journey starts here.

I met Heather in a very digital way. In fact, we have never met in person! You see, we have a mutual friend, Garry Ridge, chairman and CEO of the amazing WD-40 Company, and I post simple gratitude photos every day on LinkedIn. I saw Heathers work and was impressed with her passion and dedication. She invited me to be a guest on her podcast, and we are now connected in a very meaningful way. Her whole mission is to guide leaders to a way of leading where caring is at the center of all they do. Its not just what she does, it is who she is at her very core.

I could relate because I had a caring leader early in my career who changed my life, simply because he understood what Heather teaches so well: that by caring, we can do remarkable things together.

Here is my story.

I remember the call like it was yesterday.

My CEO at the time, Kent Murdock, called me about writing a book on employee recognition. I was a regional salesperson at the time, and about a year before, we had had a conversation about how we as a recognition company should become the thought leaders in our industry, and that the way to do that was to publish the definitive book on employee recognition.

You see, I thought that it would make my life easier if people called me instead of my having to cold-call them. Kent thought it was a great idea and challenged me to write the book. Whoa! I didnt mean I should write the book! My idea was that the company should write the book and I should benefit from said book. That was when Kent said a few words that would change my life. He said, Chester, you are a smart guy. Figure it out.

Well, for about the next year I played with titles and ideas and what the book should look like. I wasnt making much progress. (I was a busy sales guy with a crushing quota.) So, when Kent called again, I was surprised that he had even remembered the idea. He said, We just hired a new head of Communications. His name is Adrian Gostick. He is a writer. Introduce yourself to him at the next sales meeting and write the book!

Twenty-plus years later, together we have written twelve books on recognition and employee engagement and culture together. Many have been New York Times and Wall Street Journal best sellers. We have sold more than 1.5 million copies and have traveled to more than fifty countries helping leaders and organizations create teams and cultures where people believe that what they do matters, that they make a difference, and when they do, someone celebrates their contributions. It has been a wonderful mission, and I hope it has changed the lives of leaders and organizations all over the world for the better. It all happened because at a critical point in time, I had a caring leader.

Kent could have easily forgotten about the idea or even had someone else write the book. Instead, he created a way for Adrian and me not only to write but to flourish! Because he cared about me and my development, my life changed, and the direction of the company changed in many ways. A lot of things got better for a lot of people, all because Kent Murdock understood the effect that a leader could have on just one person, me. He understood the art of being a caring leader, and I am forever grateful.

I tell you this story because the purpose of this amazing book by my good friend Heather Younger is to give you the road map to becoming a caring leadera leader who makes a difference in the lives of the people who follow you and, by extension, the team, their customers, and especially their families. You see, I have never met a caring leader whose impact stopped at work. It always rippled into their families and communities. Isnt that beautiful?

I hope you will take the time to read and study what Heather shares with you in The Art of Caring Leadership. It is well researched and carefully written to help you become the leader you need to be for your people and yourself. If there is one thing we all learn in our lives and in our trials, its that when we care for each other, everything gets better. It is all laid out for you, right here. All you have to do is commit, and start reading!