Managing From the Heart

In July of 2021 I announced to my community that I had sold Kim’s Gym and thanked them for their support over the years. The response from parents was incredibly heart-warming, but the responses that had the biggest impact on me were the ones from former employees.

They told me that this job was their most influential job that they ever had. They told me that I will forever be their first mentor and teacher. They told me that I helped them feel valued and seen. They said that this coaching job was the highlight of their college experience. One person reminded me that when she started working for me she was new to town and that we welcomed her with open arms and she will forever be grateful. Another coach said that without the tools and guidance that we gave her as a coach, she would not be where she is today.

Today, more than 19 months after receiving all of these comments, the thing that is clear is that I was successful in my leadership goal - to lead with my heart. I intentionally worked every day to fully show up for my staff, to teach them, to learn from them and to celebrate them. I spent time getting to really know them - not just train them to do the job, but find out who they are outside of work. It came easy to me because it was not an act. I genuinely cared about them and they could feel that.

Before the concept of Heart Centered Sports had ever occurred to me, I was already following a Heart Centered management approach simply because I loved my people and I told them so. You can do this too!

Employees stay in jobs because they feel valued. I know how hard everyone is working to run their programs. This job is hard and busy and tiring, but without our staff, we can achieve nothing. We must make time to show our staff how valuable they are. We have to celebrate their accomplishments, not just interact with them when they have made a mistake or need feedback. Focus on the positive and watch the positive expand!

Here are a few things that I did over the years that left a lasting impact on my staff. Feel free to steal any or all:

1. Write handwritten notes telling them about the impact they are having on the kids. Show them that you truly see them and the effort they are putting into their job. (I can’t tell you how many of my old coaches still have notes that I wrote to them)

2. Remember to celebrate the important milestones in their lives!

   1. Is it someone’s birthday? Celebrate it in the gym, post about it on social media, bring them flowers, buy some cupcakes, etc.

   2. Did someone just move? Moving is so hard and so disruptive to your life. You could have dinner delivered to their new place or buy them a house-warming plant.

   3. Is someone graduating? Get them a graduation gift or a card signed by their co-workers.

   4. Is it someone’s last day at work with your company? Send them off with love. Get them a card signed by the staff and the kids. Bring them flowers. Choose something to do so that they feel celebrated even when they are moving on.

3. When you promote someone, be sure to make this announcement publicly by emailing your entire database (copy your employee) AND post it to social media so that they can be celebrated by your entire community. Let them feel the love!

4. Start each staff meeting with some sort of activity that allows you to get to know them on a deeper level.

The more you lead with your heart, the happier your staff will be and the better you will feel. Remember that it is not just kids who need positive reinforcement, it is ALL humans.