A Compassionate Approach to Leadership with Wade Thomas

We’re all leaders.

Even if you don’t own a business, many people lead families, Little League teams, volunteer organizations, and all sorts of other groups–and leadership has changed drastically in the last 40 years. Unfortunately, leadership isn’t something they teach in school, and the consequences are enormous.

Today’s guest, Wade Thomas, has spent 20 years in the corporate world as the head of human resources for a large company–and he says 70% of American employees are unhappy in their jobs because of negative management. This is why Wade launched Aim to Win, where he focuses on helping others lead with compassion and empathy.

In this episode, Wade returns to the podcast to talk about how we can be better leaders in the post-COVID world. We discuss how to listen to people and turn a profit, some of the powerful lessons Wade learned over the course of his 20 years in corporate America, and how to take an empathetic and compassionate approach to leadership roles.

‍In this podcast interview, you’ll learn:

• Why winning at all costs and being empathetic are not mutually exclusive.
• The main reasons employees dislike the people they’re working for–and what makes it so hard for leaders to show that they care.
• While there isn’t a class on compassion and empathy–it can be taught alongside time management, strategy, accountability, and other aspects of management.
• How to help develop younger employees into the leaders they have the potential to become.
• Three things you can do right now to improve your relationships with the people you manage.

Interview Resources

• Aim to Win
• From the Heart: Achieve Epic Results with an Approach That Works by Wade Thomas
• Feed My Starving Children

If you enjoyed this episode of our podcast, be sure to check out another favorite episode on leadership and helping your team through difficult times: 048: How to Lead your Team through Difficult Times with Gina Rainey