Lead with your heart

 As we start to move into February and Valentine’s Day, we take a look at what it means to lead with your heart.

 Being a leader doesn’t always come easy for most people but inherently we are all leaders. For Hawaiians, ‘alaka’i’ includes guiding with emotion. When we think about how we lead those around us, are we doing it with compassion, with responsibility….with emotion?

 Many years ago, I was at a grocery store and saw a woman at the edge of the parking lot of the store holding a sign asking for help from people driving by. I drove right past her and then decided to go back and talk with her. She was a grandmother, retired and suddenly thrown into being the primary caregiver for her two teenage grandsons. She was struggling trying to raise them, feed two growing boys and trying to figure out how to save to put them in college with her meager income. She was at a loss as to what to do and resorted to seeking help on the street. She told me that she was ashamed to be too close to the grocery store doors and decided to be at the entrance of the parking lot instead. She needed food for her grandkids. Many people saw me speaking with her and I decided that I would go in and purchase a grocery gift card for her. I told the cashier about the woman outside. The cashier then decided to rally her co-workers at the store to also help the struggling grandmother.

 A leader isn’t necessarily the CEO of a large company, or a city/state government. Parents are leaders…teachers are leaders. Giving to others is alaka’i. Emotion is typically seen as a weakness but inherently we are emotional creatures. Hawaiians see leading and guiding with emotion as a way to strengthen the individual as well as the group.

 How do you demonstrate alaka’i each day?