Technical Minds, Human Hearts Pt II

Continuing the theme from last month, we are going to continue to ask the question: Should Scientist / Managers, and leaders in general, lead from the heart? And what does that even mean?

For those of you with bottom line responsibility for people and their outcomes, it means much more than you might think. This is not a fluff topic whatsoever. Let’s look at a typical event that happens in organizations every day, and see where heart centered leadership can make the difference.

Let’s say upper management has a specific training protocol for new employees. Not inexperienced employees, I’m talking about new hires who come from similar organizations. For whatever reason, the current protocol is lacking, it’s not enforced, and you have lower level supervisors not exactly teaching by the book or leading by example.

You hear all of the excuses, chief among them being “we are too busy to train properly, with these production deadlines, we can only do the barest of minimums”.. as you might guess, the outcomes are spotty, the superior employees carry the bulk of the load, and the struggling ones get terminated eventually.. this is a vicious cycle for both employer and employee, especially in these times, and everyone deserves better.

The typical organizational response is to lean into the established protocol, and keep repeating the cycle. Even those who stop to ask what’s wrong, tend to only focus on..what is wrong.. which is demoralizing to say the least.

The heart – driven leaders of more forward thinking organizations take a different approach. They take what is working, and build on it. Do more of it. How do they find out what is right and worth keeping? They ask. Ask those responsible for administering the training. The leaders ask questions of those who have gone THROUGH the training. Lots of good info to be had there. The most important folks to ask are the scientists who have to work with the new hires..how well is the protocol preparing the new hires for the daily work? In addition to the work, what about culture? That’s important too.

The other area to look at -  have we become so focused on production quotas and outcomes, that we’ve given short shrift to the training? Supervisor burnout is a real thing, and training is often seen as something that takes away from their “real job”.

It’s important to ask, how good of a job are we doing at supporting our trainers? They get pulled in many directions, and that needs to be remembered.

In closing - When we think of the word stakeholder, we tend to think of scientists at the executive level. I would submit that top organizations, the ones on the cutting edge, understand that stakeholders exist at every level of the organization, and their opinions, needs and answers are as valid as those at the top and should be given all the necessary attention. THAT is heart centered leadership.

Bio: Thomas Patrick Chuna, CHM, is a seasoned talent acquisition and organizational development specialist with nearly 30 years of recruiting experience across diverse verticals, including life sciences, bio informatics, biopharma, and biotech. As Chief People Officer, he has built comprehensive hiring processes for technical and leadership roles while facilitating programs that enhance productivity, communication, and leadership effectiveness.

A certified Hiring Manager, DiSC consultant, Outplacement Consultant, and Certified Xchange Guide Facilitator, Tom specializes in helping organizations navigate change while building and developing leadership teams. He is an experienced webinar conductor and blogger on career and organizational transformation topics.