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In this episode, Heather interviews Brooke Erol, Consultant, Author, Trainer, Chief Purpose Officer. Brooke is originally from Istanbul, Turkey, but has lived in San Diego for the past few years. She is the author of Create a Life You Love: Reflections on Living Life to the Fullest and From Hierarchy to High Performance: Unleashing the Hidden Superpowers of Ordinary People to Realize Extraordinary Results.
Heather chose Brooke Erol to be one of the Caring Leadership coaches because, as you will see from this episode, she is someone who naturally cares for her people. She believes Caring Leadership is what organizations are currently missing.
In this episode, Brooke shares her journey to finding her purpose and what she has learned along the way. Now she focuses on helping others to do the same.
Key Takeaways:
- People will always remember how you made them feel.
- Working for a good company, making good money doesn’t mean you will be happy.
- Your introverted team members may require more from you.
- Being a Caring Leader can be exhausting, but it is worth it.
I quit that company 22 years ago and I still remember two leaders because they were Caring Leaders. - Brooke Ozlem Erol #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Brooke Erol, Consultant, Author, Trainer, Chief Purpose Officer. Brooke is originally from Istanbul, Turkey, but has lived in San Diego for the past few years. She is the author of Create a Life You Love: Reflections on Living Life to the Fullest and From Hierarchy to High Performance: Unleashing the Hidden Superpowers of Ordinary People to Realize Extraordinary Results.
Brooke studied in Istanbul, Turkey and continued her education at the University of California – San Diego where she earned an extension in Business Management – Marketing. Additionally, she has worked to earn various titles in America through MIT, Udemy, Liautaud Institute, and The University of North Carolina.
She is currently working as an ambassador and founder of various organizations such as Your Best Life, Inc. and Purposeful Business. Furthermore, Brooke is also a Caring Leadership Coach in the Caring Leadership Community. You can learn more about her here.
More Than a Salary
In Istanbul I had a good job, at a good company, but I always felt that something was missing. I was told often to only bring my “professional self” to work and that was often conflicting for me. My professional self is someone who cares. I care about what’s going on in your life, how your family is doing, and knowing how my team members are. This idea of only bringing my “professional self” to work was counterproductive for me and eventually led to me leaving this company – even though my salary was great. It truly is about more than just money, and when organizations start to recognize this is when things will change.
I work with c-level executives that can’t understand why their employee retention is so low. They often argue that they “pay above average”, but more and more of the younger working class cares more about their well-being than their salary.
Caring Leadership can be exhausting, but at the end of the day, it is worth it. - Brooke Erol #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Finding Your Purpose
It took me a long time to find my purpose. I came to the U.S. and had a lot of my identity stripped from me because so much of who I was was tied to Turkey. Now that I was in America I had to think a lot about who I was without any titles. This really helped me understand that what I wanted to do was change the workplace. Because I’ve seen so much suffering in the workplace, my whole purpose became to help all human beings find purpose in what they do. Now I truly feel fulfilled in what I do and my goal is to help others feel this way as well.
So many CEOs are surprised that this new generation doesn’t stay even if you pay well. It’s about more than just a salary. - Brooke Erol #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Caring Leadership Is More Rewarding
I have always been a Caring Leader, even if it was referred to as that, I have always gravitated more to this type of leadership style. That is why showing up as my “professional self” was so conflicting for me. I wanted to do something that used my skills and gifts. I wanted to do the right thing, not for myself, but for the world. Looking back, I am so glad that I went this route. This leadership style is always going to be more rewarding for my team members and for myself because it promotes productivity and happiness within the workplace. Now I can help others become better leaders and help other organizations keep their employees happy. Caring Leadership takes time. It could be exhausting, but at the end of the day, it is worth it.
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