There is ample information written about how to lead. This spans the full gamut from leading a family, to leading a team, to leading a Fortune 500 company. Leadership, while diverse, has certain competencies that are universal. Leading from the heart has distinct elements that need to be practiced and refined in order to fulfill.

Leading from the heart first requires an awareness of your character. Character is that pattern of behavior or moral constitution that coincides with your true nature. It is reflected in your disposition and temperament. Attentive parents can identify character even in their newborns—how much she laughs or cries, how easily he is comforted, what moods she displays. Character is somewhat influenced by what we learn, but there is a substantive element of character that we are born with—reflecting that which comes naturally.

Once leaders recognize and acknowledge their character, they can see the connection between it and the values they choose to adopt. We all 'select' values to live by. As children we learn values from the prominent and important adults in our lives, but as we grow, we re-appraise our values and choose those that have intrinsic meaning to us. Authentic leaders realize that values are something we need to practice and shape for our entire lives.

What's true for most leaders is at one time or another, they find themselves in situations where they are not living according to their character and values. They get lost along the way, caught up in a momentum that veers them away from that which they hold deeply valuable. It's at this point that leading from the heart becomes crucial. Leading from the heart allows us to 'admit' we are off track and guides us to realign with our character and re-choose the values that are at our core.

Admitting and realigning with our core values is not necessarily an easy process. It demands brutal honesty. It reveals behavior that is sure to make us uncomfortable both emotionally and physically. The re-choosing of our values means that we must empty out the metaphorical vessel that we hold our values in and start anew. This is a time to choose to be vulnerable. Since we are using the intelligence of the heart, vulnerability becomes the doorway to wisdom and intuitive strength that gives us potency and courage. Leading from the heart in this way removes the imagined threat of being vulnerable and exhibits it as a tool of dynamism. This strength of vulnerability gives the leader a new connection to the self, stronger, more powerful, and with the clarity of thought to make astute decisions.