What if care mattered as much as performance? The Leadership We Long For

We often talk about care like it’s obvious. A value. A feeling. A given.

But care, like courage, like creativity, like leadership, is not an idea to hold. It’s a practice.

This week I facilitated a session on Care and Leadership: The Leadership We Long For and many asked “how” to show care when in conflict or under pressure.

We long for care.

We long to be listened to.

To be seen and appreciated.

To be led by presence, not pressure.

To matter more than our metrics.

And yet, we forget to practice care.

We reward urgency. We celebrate speed.

We confuse reactivity with responsiveness.

We consider care soft and in contrast with efficiency. So we end up running, chasing, rushing.

Exhausted.

Disconnected.

Wishing we could slow down enough to truly lead.

What if the most radical act of leadership today is to pause and pay attention, to listen with presence, to choose care?

What if care is the ground, the fertile soil for trust, for psychological safety, for innovation?

It starts with practice. Small, everyday acts of care. We cannot tap into care while under pressure if we haven’t practiced it long enough prior.

So, I am inviting you to do, right now, a simple act of care, do not postpone it. Care toward yourself, someone, the environment. One simple act of care, now!

What would shift if care mattered as much as performance?

Care is not just something we give to others. It’s how we honour our own humanity too.

Let’s stop admiring care from a distance. Let’s practice it, now.

We don’t think our way into a new kind of leadership. We live our way into it. Together. With care!

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