Real leaders lead with heart, not just deadlines.
Imagine starting your Monday morning with a leader who doesn’t jump straight into tasks, deadlines, and pending items — but instead says:
“What a great performance by Arsenal yesterday, you must be thrilled!”
and then follows with,
“How’s your marathon training going?”
That right there is leadership — a leader who cares about the human being first, not just the employee.
This happened to me today. My direct report celebrated Arsenal’s win (my team since 1993) and checked in on my marathon preparation. Only after that did we discuss the week ahead, festive updates, and key priorities. It reminded me again that real leadership today is about bringing our human side to work.
We have all experienced the opposite too — walking into work and the first words we hear are:
“What’s the update on those pending tasks?”
Yes, work matters. But people matter more.
Great leaders care about their people beyond the job description. They integrate meaningful conversation — because sometimes reminding someone about their personal goals is the strongest motivator for excellence.
I remember when Dominik Ruhl, former COO of The LUX Collective, would always ask about my international speaking engagements — how they went and what I learned. That inspired me to grow and push boundaries.And today, the reminder came from John Rogers, Hotelier Extraordinaire and GM of LUX* Maldives properties during that morning conversation I mentioned above.
We all have the opportunity to make a difference.
It starts with the conversations we choose to have.When we connect as humans first, the great work naturally follows. Leadership becomes easy when we lead with care — and unnecessarily difficult when we don’t.
Reflection for the week:
What leadership lessons are you learning, applying, and sharing today?