Episode 14: Leading Through Life - Grief
Compassion + Compliance with Heart
We want employees to bring all of themselves to work. Including the tough stuff. Leaders must find the balance of leading with both compassion and compliance. It’s possible!
Listen Here:
(The notes below are only a brief summary of what is discussed in the podcast. Be sure to listen to get all of the goodness! If you would like a full transcription of the episode, please send an email request to: angie@angie-robinson.com. We’d be happy to provide that!)
In this episode - I welcome Tim Bigonia – owner of Journeytograteful.com and the Journey to Grateful podcast.
As we know - leaders wear many hats and are responsible for so many things. Being self-aware and really excelling at the human skills is most critical. And because there really isn’t a separation between work-life and non-work life – leaders will be faced with leading employees when they are going some of life’s “tough stuff”.
One of the life situations that many people experience is grief based on a loss in their life.
It’s a hard topic on its own. Many people who don’t have the experience with grief don’t really know what to say, how to act, etc. As a leader – when someone on the team is going through this – the leader should be finding that balance between what to say, how to act, how to show compassion – yet run the business and administer policies (around leaves and attendance and performance, etc.).
Tim and I dive into that very topic on this episode! I encourage you to take a listen or request the transcript so you get all of the goodness from the interview!
Tim shares his story of losing his wife, Colleen, to breast cancer. It is through this loss that he founded Journey to Grateful and started his podcast. He shares stories and insights into the grief journey - helping others to find a way forward and/or in supporting someone who is experiencing their grief journey.
We also talk about Tim’s experience with his employer and leader at the time. He shares his thoughts and advice to leaders on how to best lead an employee who is experiencing grief.
One of the biggest takeaways is that leaders should always be honest and respect boundaries. It is the leader’s responsibility to be transparent. And the way leadership is approached makes a big difference. There is a balance between compassion and compliance that can be achieved. Your employees are not only your greatest asset - they are human. We are all human - experiencing all the human things. Although there is a business to run - we can do that with heart.
What do you think?
What experiences have you had with leaders you have worked for? How did they lead you when going through some of life’s tough stuff?
How have you led a team member who was going through a difficult situation?
Relevant Links
Find all of the wonderful work that Tim Bigonia is doing at www.journeytograteful.com.
Tim’s podcast - Journey To Grateful - can be found at Apple Podcasts, Spotify (any podcast platform, really) and his website!
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