Love is like a puzzle. When you’re in love all the pieces fit but when your heart gets broken it takes awhile to get everything back together again. ~ Author Unknown

I’ve been thinking about Valentine’s Day. It seems to me that this celebratory day of love can be a hot topic of debate. People either love it or love to hate it. I’ve always taken a personal shining to this “holiday” because of its association with the heart.  Heart-Centered Leadership (HCL) is an invitation to listen, to practice and to change the world by first changing yourself. This path of the heart is characterized by 7 principles that promote leading from the inside out rather than a set of behaviors and competencies.

Maybe you don’t like Valentine’s Day. Perhaps you feel that it is a creation of the greeting card industry or there’s too much commercial hype. Understandably, this can put a lot of pressure on people to feel that this day is only for “lovers”. What if you’re single or recently split?  For you it may feel like a day with too many expectations.

Thinking about this reminded me of a story that generated some media attention a while ago regarding a unique company benefit called “Heartbreak Leave”. I checked it out – and found that yes, a company out of Japan, Hime & Co, has a plan in place to offer employees personal leave after a break-up.

When I first heard about heartbreak leave (also referred to heartache leave), I thought it might just be a clever publicity stunt. However, as I read further into the story, I learned that the company in question was a very small firm and 100% female, so it makes sense that this concept would be acceptable and workable for them. Miki Hiradate, the CEO of Hime & Co. offered what is commonly referred to in the U.S. as P.T.O. or paid time off. Many progressive firms offer this so that employees can choose – for whatever reason – to opt for a “personal” day off. What Hiradate is doing differently is openly acknowledging that her employees have tough break up times and rather than “faking sick” and not coming to work, they have the freedom to use these days and return to work when the worst is over.  She is also on to something by addressing the issue head on and saying, “take the day off, get over it and then come back to work recharged and refocused”. My take on this is that her employees will be more motivated because the company seems to truly understand and care for them. I would definitely call this leading from a heart-centered approach.

Can every company do this? No, but Miki Hiradate is at least addressing the issues authentically. There is no lying or counter- productivity and she is building company loyalty at the same time. I suspect that because this is so unusual she likely received a flood of resumes from people who want to work for someone like her.

I believe there are many bosses who try to understand and empathize when an employee is going through a tough time and allow them to take time off.  I certainly have extended this privilege to my employees over the years – due to family problems, or health concerns etc. Hiradate is just taking this concept to a new level — one that might not be very practical for the traditional corporation. But the lesson here is still the same. When you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customer who will in turn take care of your bottom line. Just one example of how heart-centered leadership can create a more pleasant and productive work environment.

February 14^th is certainly nice from a romantic perspective – but I truly believe that when it comes to leadership, the principles of HCL should be celebrated and honored each and every day.

Wherever you go, go with all your heart. ~ Confucius

Tags: compassion, Heart-Centered Leadership, heartbreak leave, Valentine's Day, workplace

12:38 pm

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