The Heart Leader Manifesto presents a bold, holistic vision for a new paradigm of leadership – one that places the wisdom and intelligence of the heart at the center. Blending cutting-edge research with ancient spiritual wisdom, this manifesto outlines the key distinctions, core principles, and essential skills required to embody “Heart Leadership.” In a world plagued by disconnection and dysfunction, the manifesto is a clarion call for leaders to move beyond the limitations of intellect and logic, and instead tap into the transformative power of the heart. Filled with practical guidance and inspiring examples, this manifesto is for anyone seeking to lead with authenticity, compassion, and a deep commitment to personal and collective evolution.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Call of the Heart
In a world increasingly driven by digital connection yet marked by profound human disconnection, we stand at a critical threshold. This disconnect manifests as a lack of purpose, toxic lifestyles, increased rates of depression, estranged relationships, social and organizational dysfunction, widespread burnout, and political and global polarization.
This problem arises from an over-reliance on intellect and logic at the expense of the wisdom of the heart. Neuroscience and ancient spiritual traditions affirm that heart intelligence is essential for navigating life’s complexity, fostering meaningful relationships, and building a more coherent society.The solution lies in re-integrating this deeper level of intelligence into all areas of life, especially in the area of leadership.
To address this disconnect, in this manifesto, we distinguish between two fundamental approaches to leadership: “Thought Leadership”, where authority figures take a “I know better, follow me” approach. The second is “Heart Leadership”, where leaders act as trusted guides, encouraging individuals to trust their own intuition and inner wisdom.
Heart Leadership is an integrated approach to personal mastery, leadership development, and spiritual growth that places the intelligence of the heart at the center. It’s based on the understanding that true power comes not from dominance or control, but from authentic connection with yourself, others, the planet, and something bigger than you.
This approach recognizes that when you live and lead from the wisdom of your heart, you become the best, most alive version of yourself, and from that place, inspiring others to do the same. As Dr. Howard Thurman wisely observed: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Yet, let’s be clear: Heart Leadership isn’t a soft or naïve approach. It requires walking the path of Heart Mastery – confronting personal shadows, healing emotional wounds, and dissolving habitual patterns that prevent authentic connection and clear discernment. It requires courage, resilience, sincerity, and sustained practice—qualities developed only through real-life experiences and challenges faced honestly.
This manifesto is for those who envision a world where people live and lead from the integrated wisdom of their heart. Whether you come to this work as an individual seeking healing, a professional developing your practice, a leader transforming your organization, or a seeker exploring deeper meaning, you are welcome here. The heart speaks a universal language that transcends cultural boundaries, professional domains, and personal backgrounds.
This is your invitation to remember, reclaim, and realize the wisdom of your heart—and to become a beacon of that wisdom in a world that desperately needs it.
The time for Heart Leadership has come. Will you answer the call?
1) Key Distinctions Of Heart Leadership
Heart Leadership represents a shift from traditional models:
- From Followers to Leaders: Heart Leaders don’t create more followers; they empower others to become leaders in their personal and professional lives.
- From Brain to Heartbeat: Instead of being the brain behind an organization, Heart Leaders are the heartbeat. Their way of being becomes an example to others and sets the tone for the rest of their community or organization.
- From Control to Alignment: Instead of directing through authority, Heart Leaders inspire through authenticity and personal alignment with higher values.
- From “Sage on the Stage” to “Guide on the Side”: Rather than positioning themselves as all-knowing experts, Heart Leaders serve as wisdom guides walking their own path while supporting others along the way.
- From “I Know Best” to “You Know Best”: Heart Leaders trust that when people are connected to their hearts, they can discern their own truth and path.
- From External Success to Inner Fulfillment: Heart Leaders recognize that true achievement includes not just what we accomplish, but how we feel about our lives.
- From Goals to Intention and Direction: Heart Leaders start with “why.” They are guided by their inner intention and a sense of direction aligned with their values, rather than being driven solely by external goals and metrics.
2) What Makes You A Heart Leader
Heart Leadership is an integrated approach to personal mastery, leadership development, and spiritual growth that places the intelligence of the heart at the center. It’s based on the understanding that true power comes not from dominance or control, but from authentic connection with yourself, others, the planet, and something bigger than you.
Most Heart Leaders don’t initially set out to become leaders. In fact, many refuse the call at first. What makes you a Heart Leader isn’t a job title. Rather, it’s your commitment to embodying the Five Ways of Being, cultivating the 12 heart virtues, following your heart’s vision, and leading by example. You inspire others through your presence and direction.
Becoming a Heart Leader begins by making three fundamental decisions:
- The decision to follow your heart’s direction, confronting both inner and outer dragons with courage to walk the path toward your highest potential.
- The decision to help others follow their heart’s direction, supporting them in overcoming obstacles so they too can embark on their journey of transformation.
- The decision to master the nine skills of Heart Leadership, developing the capacities needed to follow your heart and help others do the same.
Heart Leaders don’t create followers—they create more leaders by empowering others to align with their inner wisdom, follow their heart’s direction, and lead from their hearts.
3) The Law of the Heart: Our Foundation
At the core of Heart Leadership lies the fundamental “Law of the Heart”:
“Within your heart, there is a treasure, or seed, containing the destiny you’re here to manifest. This treasure lies dormant within you, already accomplished; only awaiting expression in the physical realm by virtue of your perception of it, the choices you make, and the actions you take from a united state of heart and mind.”
Your heart is not merely an organ but a multidimensional center encompassing the physical, emotional, energetic, and spiritual. Each dimension holds unique wisdom crucial for manifesting your authentic purpose. Your journey isn’t about creating something from nothing, but bringing into physical expression what already exists within you across all these dimensions.
The manifestation of this inner treasure depends on three essential elements:
- Your perception – Recognizing and embracing the treasure within your heart and holding a vision of its expression in the world.
- Your choices – Making decisions aligned with your heart’s deepest knowing and values, even when these choices contradict conventional wisdom or external expectations.
- Your actions – Taking inspired steps that bridge your inner wisdom with outer expression, bringing your heart’s vision into tangible reality.
All of this must occur from a united state of heart and mind—what neurocadiology now recognizes as “heart coherence,” where your physical, emotional, mental, and even the spiritual dimensions work in harmonious alignment.
4) Core Principles Of Heart Leadership
Derived from the Law of the Heart, these twelve core beliefs guide our understanding and practice of Heart Leadership:
- Heart Coherence is Essential: Your heart possesses its own intelligence and neural network, which complements your mind. When heart and mind work together in coherence, we access a deeper level of wisdom and discernment.
- Heart Wisdom is Universal: While cultural expressions are diverse, the language of the heart connects us all across languages, traditions, and geographies.
- Leadership Begins Within: True leadership starts with inner work. Healing unhealed wounds and suppressed emotions is essential for creating a foundation for genuine leadership from wholeness and authenticity.
- Everything is Connected: We see life as integrated, not fragmented. Spirit, work, and personal life are all interconnected, and we bring our whole selves to every context.
- Real Presence Transforms: Genuine presence and connection, through vulnerable communication and deep listening, creates spaces where healing, growth, and transformation naturally occur.
- Science and Ancient Wisdom Work Together: We value both scientific research and the wisdom of our ancestral spiritual traditions, recognizing that both offer valuable paths to understanding and create a holistic approach.
- Your Inner State Shapes Your Outer Reality: Your internal coherence—the alignment of your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions—directly shapes your external experiences and influence. What you feel and cultivate within manifests in your relationships, work, and the world around you.
- Creativity Opens the Heart’s Door: Art, music, and creative expression offer pathways to insights and healing beyond cognitive understanding, engaging multiple intelligences.
- Community Helps Us Heal and Grow: Intentional community fosters collective wisdom and mutual support, accelerating individual growth beyond what’s possible alone.
- A Change of Heart Changes Everything: True transformation occurs when we shift our awareness, embodying a new way of being that naturally leads to sustainable shifts in perspective and habits.
- Intentional Spaces Facilitate Transformation: Carefully designed spaces, whether ceremonies, seminars, workshops, or retreats, combined with reverent presence, create conditions for profound shifts in consciousness and accelerated personal evolution.
- The Way to the Heart is Through the Body: The heart encompasses a physical, emotional, energetic, and spiritual dimension. It communicates through feelings, bodily sensations, intuitive guidance, and a deep sense of knowing. This requires being fully present in the body, listening deeply to its signals, and honoring the wisdom it holds in each of its dimensions.
These principles guide our methods, inform our decisions, and shape our community culture.
5) The Way Of The Heart Leader
At the core, a Heart Leader is someone who fully embodies Tej Steiner’s Five Ways of Being: being clear, present, real, connected, and heart-directed in both their personal and professional lives.
Being Clear – Heart Leaders actively cultivate clarity about who they are and why they are here. Instead of drifting through life, waiting for external answers or signs, they consciously and regularly reflect on their deeper purpose and unique gifts. Clarity provides an internal compass, guiding every decision and action toward genuine meaning and impact.
Being Present – Presence means choosing to remain consciously aware and grounded in the moment. Heart Leaders develop the skill to pause, observe their experiences, and intentionally respond rather than react impulsively. Presence creates emotional coherence, reduces stress, and allows better decision-making and deeper relationships.
Being Real – Authenticity characterizes every meaningful relationship and interaction for Heart Leaders. Rather than suppressing vulnerability or hiding imperfections, they practice transparency, vulnerability, and honesty. Genuine authenticity builds trust, connection, and mutual respect.
Being Connected – Heart Leaders consciously cultivate their sense of connection—to others, to communities, to something greater than themselves. Rather than believing in isolation or independence, they actively foster empathy, collaboration, and unity. Connectedness generates deeper understanding, emotional resilience, and collective empowerment.
Being Heart-Directed – A Heart Leader’s essential guidance system is internal, rooted in their heart intelligence. Rather than operating solely from external expectations or social conditioning, they courageously follow the intuitive clarity and wisdom of the heart. Operating from heart intelligence naturally expresses the 12 core virtues of the heart.
6) The 12 Core Virtues Of The Heart
The essence of being “Heart-Directed” naturally expresses itself practically through twelve core virtues. These virtues are authentic expressions that naturally arise from cultivating heart intelligence and coherence, rather than ideals to be forced or strived for:
Appreciation – Seeing and valuing others deeply, consistently choosing gratitude over complaint or criticism.
Compassion – Understanding and embracing your emotional experiences enables compassion toward others’ struggles and pain.
Forgiveness – Regularly practicing release of past grievances or misunderstandings to restore emotional freedom and authentic connection.
Humility – Maintaining a balanced view of yourself—neither superior nor inferior—recognizing shared humanity instead of ego hierarchy.
Understanding – Seeking deeper meaning, insights, and emotional intelligence beyond surface appearances or reactive judgments.
Valor – Embracing the courage to act authentically, speak the truth, and stand for what truly matters even amidst uncertainty or risk.
Love – Choosing supportive, nurturing, caring presence rather than fearful or judgmental distance, creating deeper interpersonal trust.
Kindness – Actively choosing positive regard and care toward others, transcending transactional engagement into authentic human connection.
Freedom – Recognizing and honoring your sovereignty to make empowering choices, maintaining healthy boundaries, free from others’ expectations or pressures.
Truth – Commitment to genuine, courageous honesty—first within yourself and then transparently communicated with compassion toward others.
Harmony – Integrating and balancing all aspects of yourself—emotional, physical, mental, spiritual—to maintain coherence, peace, and effective action.
Honor – Prioritizing the complete well-being and value of yourself and others, and having the courage to remove yourself from spaces or relationships that diminish respect or appreciation.
7) Heart Mastery: The Path To Leadership
Heart Leadership is the final stage of the Heart Mastery journey, the journey from following your heart to leading from the heart. It unfolds through four transformative stages:
1. The Hermit Stage: Awakening to the Heart’s Call (Waking Up)
- First recognition that living from the mind alone is limited
- Growing awareness that something essential is missing
- Hearts typically heavily guarded due to past hurts
- Beginning to question the walls built around the heart
2. The Initiate Stage: Learning the Heart’s Language (Growing Up)
- Starting to actively develop heart intelligence
- Establishing daily heart practices
- Seeing emotions as valuable information, not disruptions
- Building consistency in heart connection
3. The Warrior Stage: Healing the Heart’s Wounds (Cleaning Up)
- Facing your shadows and other aspects of ourselves previously disowned
- Transforming past trauma and emotional wounds into wisdom
- Developing the ability to stay heart-connected and coherent during challenges
- Creating emotional resilience that neither hardens nor collapses
4. The Leader Stage: Sharing the Heart’s Wisdom (Showing Up)
- Integrating everything learned and healed along the journey
- Naturally expressing heart wisdom in service to others
- Empowering others to discover and follow their heart’s wisdom
- Continuing personal evolution while contributing to collective growth
8) The Heart Leader Operating System
While Heart Mastery provides a developmental map, the Heart Leader Operating System offers tools to help us develop Nine Fundamental Skills necessary for the journey. These nine skills also correspond with the nine fundamental Laws of Heart Leadership.
The Nine Skills Of Heart Leadership
1. Follow Your Heart: Learn to listen to and trust your heart’s wisdom. Discover the foundational principles of heart-centered living, understand the intelligence of your heart, and develop practices that strengthen your connection to your deepest truth.
2. Create a Life You Love: Align your daily choices with your core values, life purpose, and genuine heart desires. Master the art of heart-centered vision creation and develop the mindset, strategies, and habits that manifest a life of meaning, joy, and fulfillment.
3. Master Your Emotions: Transform your relationship with difficult emotions and develop emotional resilience. Learn to remain calm, centered, and clear even during challenging times by healing core wounds, integrating shadows, and choosing compassionate responses.
4. Communicate with Compassion: Build deeper, more authentic connections through conscious, heart-centered communication. Develop skills for compassionate listening, authentic expression, healthy boundaries, and the ability to repair relationships.
5. Coach Deeply and Powerfully: Acquire the transformative skills of heart-centered coaching and facilitation. Learn to create safe spaces for others’ growth, ask powerful questions, and guide people through their own process of awakening and transformation.
6. Enroll Without Selling: Master the art of inspiring others to join your vision without manipulation or pressure. Learn to have authentic conversations that naturally lead to creating clients, building partnerships, and gathering the support needed to fulfill your mission.
7. Transform People’s Lives: Build a heart-centered business, organization, or practice that allows you to express your purpose while helping others. Develop clarity about whom you serve, how you serve them, and the unique contribution you’re here to make in the world.
8. Transcend Your Limitations: Move beyond self-imposed barriers and manifest your highest potential. Learn to recognize and release limiting beliefs, heal addictive patterns, strengthen your connection to spiritual guidance, and embrace the full power of who you truly are.
9. Lead from the Heart: Embody authentic leadership that inspires and uplifts others. Discover your unique leadership style, develop your voice and presence, and learn to lead from a place of courage, compassion, and love—becoming the change you wish to see in the world.
The Nine Laws Of Heart Leadership
These universal principles, each one associated with the 9 skills above, guide how we embody heart-centered leadership:
1. The Law of Following: A true leader must first learn to follow before being ready to lead. Leadership begins not with authority but with surrender—to our heart’s wisdom, to mentors who have walked the path before us, and to something greater than ourselves. Through following well, we learn humility, discernment, and the essence of what truly inspires others. Those who have never learned to follow rarely become leaders worth following.
2. The Law of Creation: Our physical realities are a reflection of what we hold in our minds, feel in our hearts, speak into our world, and act upon. Creation flows from the inside out, with our outer circumstances mirroring our inner state. As Heart Leaders, we take responsibility for our creative power, recognizing that transformation begins with our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. By aligning these dimensions, we become conscious creators rather than unconscious reactors.
3. The Law of Mastery: Every Master was first a disaster, teaching others what they most need to learn. The path to mastery runs directly through our areas of greatest challenge and growth. By embracing our learning journey with humility and courage, we transform our wounds into wisdom and our struggles into strengths. True mastery isn’t about perfection but about turning our personal lessons into service to others.
4. The Law of Communication: The more clear, conscious, congruent, courageous, and compassionate our communication, the deeper and more loving our relationships. Heart Leaders understand that communication is the bridge between separate realities. By speaking our truth with both courage and care, by listening with genuine presence, and by aligning our words with our actions, we create authentic connection that transcends misunderstanding and conflict.
5. The Law of Coaching: Deep, meaningful, transformative change occurs in a person when you connect with them regularly through conversations that create ongoing awareness through courage and humility. Heart Leaders recognize that sustainable transformation happens not through instruction, but through evocation—drawing out the wisdom that already lies within. This coaching approach honors each person’s unique journey while providing the structure and support for lasting change.
6. The Law of Enrollment: All sales happen inside a conversation or series of conversations where trust and connection are built over time, eventually leading to a mutually beneficial agreement. Heart Leaders understand that meaningful engagement—whether in business, relationships, or social change—flows from authentic connection rather than manipulation. By creating relationships based on genuine care and shared purpose, natural opportunities for deeper collaboration emerge.
7. The Law of Transformation: You can’t change in others what you’re unwilling to change in yourself. You can’t take others deeper than you’ve ever been. Heart Leaders embody the change they wish to see, recognizing that their own transformation is the foundation for their impact on others. The depth of our personal healing, growth, and evolution directly correlates with the depth of transformation we can facilitate in others.
8. The Law of Transcendence: Our human egos, past trauma, and personal limitations can only be transcended by a power greater than that which created them. Heart Leaders acknowledge that genuine transformation often requires connection to something beyond our individual selves—whether understood as higher consciousness, divine presence, or collective wisdom. By surrendering to this greater power, we transcend the very limitations that our smaller self cannot overcome alone.
9. The Law of Leadership: A Heart Leader exists not to create more followers, but to create more leaders who are following their heart’s direction. The ultimate measure of our leadership is not how many people follow us, but how many people discover their own wisdom, power, and purpose through their connection with us. Heart Leaders cultivate interdependence rather than dependency, empowering others to lead from their own authentic center.
These Nine Laws provide a practical framework for applying the Core Beliefs of Heart Leadership in daily life, relationships, and organizational contexts. They represent not just principles to understand but practices for becoming a Heart Leader.
9) The Heart Leader In Action
Heart Leaders express their journey through:
In Personal Life:
- Following their own heart’s guidance in daily decisions
- Practicing heart coherence, especially during challenging times
- Taking responsibility for their emotions rather than projecting them
- Creating balance between action and renewal
In Relationships:
- Creating spaces of genuine presence and deep listening
- Speaking truth with both courage and care
- Recognizing others’ inherent worth and potential
- Approaching conflicts as opportunities for deeper connection
In Parenting:
- Leading by example with empathy, kindness, and understanding
- Fostering safety, authenticity, and vulnerability
- Inspiring children to listen to their heart’s wisdom
- Empowering children to follow their unique path
In Work Context:
- Bringing their full authentic self to professional settings
- Making decisions that balance data with heart wisdom
- Creating psychologically safe environments for authentic expression
- Connecting tasks with meaningful purpose
In Community:
- Creating spaces where people can connect authentically
- Honoring diversity while unifying through shared values
- Building bridges between different approaches
- Balancing purposeful action with celebration
In Social Service and Politics:
- Advocating for policies that promote well-being, justice, and equity
- Engaging in dialogue with empathy and active listening, seeking common ground
- Leading with integrity, ethical principles, and collaboration
- Creating systems that add the heart back and prioritize human needs and values
10) The Heart Leader’s Code Of Ethics
As Heart Leaders, we recognize that leadership puts us in a position of power over others, and therefore carries responsibility. This code represents our shared commitment to practice and promote Heart Leadership with integrity, respect, and care for all beings. These principles guide our decisions and actions.
Honoring Individual Sovereignty – We respect each person’s right to self-determination and their journey. We commit to:
- Recognizing each person as the ultimate authority on their experience.
- Obtaining informed consent before engaging in transformative practices.
- Honoring boundaries expressed by those we serve.
Ensuring Safety and Wellbeing – We prioritize the safety and wellbeing of those we serve. We commit to:
- Creating physically, emotionally, and psychologically safe environments.
- Making responsible referrals when specialized help is needed.
- Taking reasonable precautions to prevent harm.
Maintaining Integrity in Relationships – We practice integrity in all relationships. We commit to:
- Avoiding dual relationships that could create conflicts of interest.
- Maintaining professional boundaries with clients, students, and community members.
- Refraining from exploitation of any kind (physical, emotional, sexual, financial).
Practicing Cultural Respect and Inclusion – We honor diversity and create inclusive environments. We commit to:
- Respecting cultural contexts while avoiding appropriation.
- Examining our own biases and blind spots.
- Amplifying marginalized voices.
Ensuring Financial Transparency – We approach financial exchanges with clarity and fairness. We commit to:
- Being transparent about costs.
- Creating equitable access where possible.
- Managing financial resources with integrity.
Continuing Education and Growth – We recognize the need for ongoing learning and development. We commit to:
- Maintaining current knowledge in our areas of practice.
- Seeking feedback and using it for improvement.
- Acknowledging mistakes and making amends.
Environmental Stewardship – We recognize our responsibility to the planet. We commit to:
- Considering environmental impact in our decisions.
- Supporting regenerative practices where possible.
- Acknowledging the connection between planetary and human wellbeing.
Addressing Misconduct and Ethical Concerns – We take ethical concerns seriously and have clear processes for addressing them. We commit to:
- Providing accessible channels for reporting concerns confidentially.
- Responding to reports promptly, thoroughly, and impartially.
- Protecting those who report concerns from retaliation.
This code represents our commitment to practicing Heart Leadership with integrity. We hold ourselves accountable and invite others to do the same. When we fall short, we commit to acknowledging our mistakes, making amends, and learning.
By adhering to these principles, we ensure that Heart Leadership remains a force for genuine transformation and honors the sacred trust placed in us as Heart Leaders.
11) Our Legacy: The Ripple Effect
History shows Heart Leadership’s transformative power, as seen in figures like Mandela, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, and so many others who have lived and led from the heart. But our true legacy goes beyond individual achievements. It’s the tangible ripples of transformation we create, impacting lives unseen. As Maya Angelou said, “People will never forget how you made them feel.”
This emotional impact is central to Heart Leadership. Research shows a coherent leader can profoundly improve culture and wellbeing. Our legacy is practical: each choice toward coherence, authenticity, and compassion creates a shift. Your emotional coherence transforms relationships, your courage deepens wisdom, and your authenticity inspires.
Consider the countless stories of individuals who have been touched by a single act of kindness, a word of encouragement, or a moment of genuine presence. These seemingly small gestures create a chain reaction, inspiring others to act with greater compassion and integrity. Your commitment to Heart Leadership adds to this chain, amplifying the positive impact in the world through what scientists now call a unified field of consciousness. .
While you may not always see the full extent of your impact, as a Heart Leader, you change the world not only by what you do, but by virtue of who you become. Your transformation matters deeply, both for yourself and all those whose lives you touch.
When you commit to this path, you create effects far beyond what you can see:
- Your presence becomes a field that influences others without effort
- Your relationships become containers for others’ growth and healing
- Your work becomes infused with purpose and heart intelligence
- Your challenges become opportunities for demonstrating a different way
- Your voice becomes an expression of both courage and compassion
As more people awaken the Heart Leader within, these individual ripples combine into powerful waves of change—transforming our collective consciousness and creating new possibilities for how we live, work, and relate to each other and our planet.
12) The Invitation
If you’ve read this far, perhaps it’s because something in these words has resonated deeply. Maybe you’re a coach, healer, or therapist seeking ways to integrate heart-centered practices into your work. Perhaps you’re a parent longing to guide your children with more empathy and understanding. Or maybe you’re an organizational leader or entrepreneur looking to align your career goals with a higher purpose. Or perhaps, quite simply, you’re someone who desires to feel more connected to others, and live a life truly worth living, filled with meaning, connection, and joy. Whatever your reason, we welcome you.
The world doesn’t need more experts telling others how to live their lives; it needs more people living and leading from their hearts. It needs more leaders who operate with integrity and authenticity, willing to follow the wisdom of their hearts, and inspire others to do the same. The world needs more Heart Leaders to inspire and guide us through the challenges our technically advanced yet emotionally disconnected humanity now faces.
With this in mind, we invite you to embrace this new paradigm by developing the consciousness of a Heart Leader. Here’s how:
- Begin Your Practice: Start or deepen your personal heart coherence practices that build your foundation.
- Develop Your Skills: Embody the nine essential skills of Heart Leadership through consistent practice.
- Apply the Principles: Start applying your heart’s wisdom in your personal life, relationships, and work.
- Connect with Others: Join with fellow Heart Leaders for mutual support, emotional connection, and collective wisdom.
- Contribute Your Gifts: Bring your unique talents and perspective to this growing movement.
- Join Our Community: Enroll in one of our courses or programs and subscribe to our monthly newsletter, “The Heart Leader,” to stay connected, learn more, and be part of a thriving community of heart-centered individuals.
- Share the Manifesto: Share this manifesto with others who you believe would resonate with the message and benefit from Heart Leadership.
Your personal transformation creates ripple effects far beyond what you can see. As a Heart Leader, you impact others not only by what you do, but by virtue of who you become. Becoming the best, most alive, and loving version of yourself is the best gift you can give yourself, your friends and family, and the world. Our individual and collective evolution depend on it.
The time for Heart Leadership has come. Will you answer the call?
Gabriel Gonsalves
Founder of the Heart Leader Community
Granada, Spain
Apr 12, 2025
Recommended Reading
Core Heart Leadership Foundations
- “Waking Up with Everyone Around Us” by Tej Steiner – Explores the Five Ways of Being (being clear, present, real, connected, and heart-directed) mentioned directly in the manifesto.
- “The HeartMath Solution” by Doc Childre and Howard Martin – Foundational work on heart coherence and heart intelligence based on scientific research.
- “Heart Intelligence: Connecting with the Intuitive Guidance of the Heart” by Doc Childre, Howard Martin, and Deborah Rozman – Deepens understanding of how to access and apply heart intelligence in leadership contexts.
Leadership Coherence & Performance
- “Coherence: The Secret Science of Brilliant Leadership” by Alan Watkins – Directly addresses coherence in leadership, integrating biological, psychological, and social dimensions of leadership performance.
- “The HeartMath Solution for Meeting Today’s Leadership Challenges” by Doc Childre and Bruce Cryer – Specifically addresses how leaders can use heart coherence techniques to enhance their effectiveness and team performance.
- “Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others Through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion” by Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee – Explores how emotional resonance creates high-performing leadership.
Authentic Leadership & Presence
- “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown – Explores vulnerability, courage, and authenticity in leadership contexts.
- “True North” by Bill George – Discusses authentic leadership and finding your inner compass.
- “Presence-Based Leadership: Complexity Practices for Clarity, Resilience, and Results That Matter” by Doug Silsbee – Discusses how leadership presence affects outcomes and relationships.
Emotional Intelligence & Growth
- “Permission to Feel” by Marc Brackett – Explores emotional intelligence and how recognizing emotions leads to better decision-making.
- “The Language of Emotions” by Karla McLaren – Delves into understanding emotions as messengers rather than problems to be solved.
- “The Untethered Soul” by Michael Singer – Explores inner freedom and transcending limitations.
Communication & Connection
- “Nonviolent Communication” by Marshall Rosenberg – Essential for the “Communicate with Compassion” skill, offering practical tools for heart-centered communication.
- “Leadership and Self-Deception” by The Arbinger Institute – Examines how internal coherence (alignment between thoughts, feelings, and actions) impacts leadership effectiveness.
Coaching & Transformation
- “Co-Active Coaching” by Henry Kimsey-House, Karen Kimsey-House, et al. – Aligns with the “Coach Deeply and Powerfully” skill, offering heart-centered coaching approaches.
- “mBraining: Using your multiple brains to do cool stuff” by Grant Soosalu and Marvin Oka – In this book, you’ll learn the process of aligning and harnessing the power of your multiple brains: brain, heart, and gutt.
- “Mastering Leadership: An Integrated Framework for Breakthrough Performance” by Robert Anderson and William Adams – Presents a comprehensive model that includes coherence as a critical dimension of leadership development.
Purpose & Organizational Application
- “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek – Aligns with the manifesto’s emphasis on intention and direction.
- “Reinventing Organizations” by Frederic Laloux – Explores how organizations can evolve toward more heart-centered, purpose-driven models.
Scientific Foundations
- “The Heart’s Code” by Paul Pearsall – Explores the science behind heart intelligence and cellular memory.
- “The Leading Brain: Powerful Science-Based Strategies for Achieving Peak Performance” by Friederike Fabritius and Hans Hagemann – Explores the neuroscience behind peak performance states that align with coherence.
