Improving employee engagement is a constant desire for leaders. But instead of looking to employees for answers, the key might be to look at themselves first. Leaders who develop emotional connections with employees often see better performance and engagement. This heart-centered leadership style is centered on the concept that ethical leadership must start from within; it’s based on principles that promote trust, authenticity, caring and transparency.

On today’s #WorkTrends show, we talked with Susan Steinbrecher, leadership expert and co-author of Heart-Centered Leadership, about the seven principles of heart-centered leadership and why this philosophy has proven successful.

Here are a few key points Susan shared:

• Leaders need to ask for feedback to know where to start
• Heart-centered leadership is a learned skill and takes practice
• Making an emotional connection with an employee will lead to increased loyalty, productivity and overall company success

You can listen to the #WorkTrends podcast on our BlogTalk Radio channel here.

You can also check out the highlights of the conversation from our Storify here:

Missed this week’s #WorkTrends show? Don’t worry, you can tune in and participate in the chat with us every Wednesday from 1-2pm ET (10-11am PT). Next Wednesday, May 25, we will be joined by the CEO of Worldwide ERC, Peggy Smith, to discuss how mobility is changing the workforce.

The TalentCulture #WorkTrends conversation continues every day across several social media channels. Stay up-to-date by following the #WorkTrends Twitter stream; pop into our LinkedIn group to interact with other members; or check out our Google+ community. Engage with us any time on our social networks, or stay current with trending World of Work topics on our website or through our weekly email newsletter.

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