Lead Like a Human, Not a Machine

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to the Happy Stack Podcast, where we explore the science and strategies behind creating a happier, more fulfilling life. I'm Terianne Richards and I partner with organizations to address the root causes of burnout, disengagement, and stress, equipping leaders and teams with the tools they need to thrive, both organizationally and personally. Each episode we dive into practical habits, insights, and strategies to help high performers like you level up from the inside out. Let's get stacking. [00:00:34] Speaker B: Welcome back to the Happy Stack, the show where leaders, entrepreneurs, and high performers come to level up their lives from the inside out. Today's episode is going to hit close to home for a lot of you, especially if you're used to being the one with all the answers, the one who sets the tone, the one everyone else looks to for advice. We're going to talk about what it means to lead like a human, not a machine. I want to talk about the pressure to be perfect, polished, and on all the time, and how that performative version of leadership is quietly burning people out. We're also going to talk about what's on the other side of that performance. Presence and real presence, the kind that creates trust, the kind that opens up space for other people to lead to. So high achievers, especially leaders, are often trained, whether directly or not, to believe that being vulnerable makes you look weak, that showing emotion makes you look less credible, that perfection is the benchmark and anything less is a liability. But let me tell you what I've learned the hard way. Perfection isn't leadership. It's just armor. And it's really thick armor. And what people actually want, especially in today's teams, in today's workplaces, they're not looking for a perfect leader. They're looking for a present leader. And you've probably heard this static. It certainly gets shared around on LinkedIn. But according to a study in 2022 from McKinsey, the number one factor that makes employees feel supported and engaged isn't money or perks. It's trust. And trust is built through humanity, through showing up consistently, but also honestly, authentically by saying things like, I don't know, I'll find out, or that did not land the way I had intended it to. Can we talk about it? Or hey, I'm not my best today, but I am here. Those do not signal weaknesses. They signal safety and safety. Well, that's what unlocks productivity and performance and loyalty. I used to believe that I always had to be composed, that I always needed to have a strategy, always show up at a hundred percent but what I've come to see in myself and in the leaders that I coach is that perfection distances you from the people you're with. Presence is what connects you to them. The moment that I stopped leading to impress and started leading to connect, everything shifted. The teams that I was leading, well, we got more honest. The relationships I had with my clients, they went deeper and I stopped walking around with this crushing pressure of always having to get it right. Now, I want to be clear. This isn't a call to trauma, dump in team meetings or overshare under the guise of authenticity. Leading like a human, it's not about unloading. It's about showing up in your real self with eq, emotional intelligence, with boundaries, with borders, but also with enough self awareness to know when your vulnerability is in service of the team to the people you're around, not just in search of validation. So how do you make this shift? How do you go from performative leadership to present grounded human leadership? Here are three perspective shifts that will help you lead more fully and breathe more freely. Number one, stop managing perception and start modeling presence. You do not need to curate how people see you. You need to model what real leadership feels like. I want you to ask yourself, are you leading? Am I leading to prove something or to create something? Connection, trust, rapport. Is my performance helping me or is it hiding me? Real leadership, it's felt, it's tangible. And people do not follow perfect leaders. They follow honest ones. They follow present ones. Number two, replace pressure with curiosity. When you are trying to get it all right, you are shutting down creativity, innovation, possibility. Instead of, I need to have all the answers, try. Well, what could we try here? And bring in the people around you. And this works in relationships too. This works with your kids. Instead of, this has to go perfectly, try. What will we learn either way? If this goes right or wrong, what are we going to learn? See, curiosity. It creates psychological safety. Psychological safety gives people a place to start building trust. When people have trust, they're going to be more productive, they're going to perform better, they're going to have stronger loyalty. And I look at psychological safety as sort of this. You know, we've all heard the term 10x. It's a performance multiplier, right? It's not just about the woo woos and the feel goods, okay? It actually helps to improve your bottom line. Number three, lead from compassion, not just control. See, control says, if I hold it all tightly enough, nothing's gonna go wrong. Compassion says, even if it's messy, I trust myself. To lead through it. Your team doesn't need you to be flawless. You've probably heard me say the word flawsome flaws and all. They need you to be clear. They need you to be honest. They need you to be available. They need to be present. They need you to be honest about making those mistakes. Hey, I don't know what the heck I'm doing. Hey, I made a mistake. Hey, I got it wrong. Because the more human you are, the more human they're allowed to be. And that's where the real growth lives, right? So your invitation this week. If you're not already doing it. If you are, virtual high five. But if you're not already doing it just because of conditioning, just show up real just once this week. Maybe you tell your team something did not go as planned. Maybe it's admitting that you're not at capacity and you need to hit reset. Maybe it's modeling a boundary or asking a better question. Staying curious. Lead like a human and watch how others are going to start rising around you. That's it for this episode. Thank you for being here if this landed. I hope you take a moment to reflect and share this with someone who's tired of leading like a robot and ready to lead from the heart. Peace. [00:07:32] Speaker A: Hey, thanks for listening to the Happy Stack podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who could use a little extra happiness in their life. Let's keep stacking those wins together. See you next time.