The Upside of Showing your Humanity

Recently I had the pleasure of attending the LAMP conference hosted by GAMA International. During the conference, I attended the LAMP Celebration of Excellence dinner, in which New York Life Partnering Manager, John Baier was awarded the GAMA International Management Hall of Fame award.

After learning more about him from others and having the pleasure of hearing him speak, I could see why this man was not only prosperous at growing his business, he was a person people committed to on a deep level.

John Baier, to me, was a perfect example of a leader who sees the upside in showing his human side to those he leads.

Somewhere a rumor was started that leaders should keep their emotions to themselves – that revealing their humanity would cause their employees to lose respect for them. This is a nasty rumor and one that I’m here to squash immediately.

Effective leaders, who influence both the top and bottom line, know that strong relationships drive their success. To build these strong relationships they turn their nose up at the idea that it is lonely at the top, and instead, surround themselves with people who are willing to authentically and honestly show up.