Leading using your heart matters

Leadership based on the heart is based on the passion of making a difference in people while achieving final results. Changing leadership is an art. There is not an exact formula of how to remain innovating and directing changes in organization. In any case, when a leader manages with the heart, you can wait to see results beyond the expectations.

An example of that.

An example of this is Ray Davis, CEO of Umpqua Bank, whose exemplary leadership dehumanized the banking industry and eventually rejuvenated the banking with a human touch. He began by acquiring the small Umpqua community bank with five branches based in Roseburg, Oregon. The bank was worth $ 20 million with $ 140 million in assets. Today, its parent company is in Portland, it has 300 branches in five states and has $ 25 billion in assets valued at $ 4 billion.

What he did.

Davis changed Umpqua company culture to reflect a unique relationship with customers repositioning themselves as “the best bank in the world.” He reinvented the boring and predictable banking experience with other kinds of experiences that appeal to the five senses, such as organizing book clubs, conducting yoga classes, offering coffee and tea, and opening new stores for merchants. Umpqua’s branches became a meeting place for local businesses and communities.

The gradual change was based on this philosophy: Leading with the heart matters. Why? Because what changes is not the organization. It is the people. Also, people have hearts. In the case of Ray Davies from the Umpqua Bank, there are at least three things to learn.

1. First, start and continue incremental changes.

A big change involves adding small changes. Multiple big changes recreate the entire organization and take it to the next level. Start by changing to mental levels and philosophy, which must be established before external changes can occur together. The employees of Banco Umpqua started answering the phone with “Thanks for calling the best bank in the world”, which is the first small change necessary for the changes to be made one after another.

2. Second, treat humans humanely.

The clients of the bank are human, and so are bank employees. So, create an environment where people can be themselves while they enjoy and have fun. Davis believed that bank culture was modifiable and proved it simply by being human. When people are happy, they are happier to spend or, at least in this case, trust enough in Umpqua to deposit their money in it.

3. Third, it is not about what you are doing, but about who you are being.

In dealing with both clients and employees, as living human beings, business activities flow more easily through other activities. Remember, happy customers are frequent customers.

In conclusion, despite not having any formula for leadership change, leading with the heart may be the closest. In the end we are all human beings who care about happiness and being ourselves.