Episode 064: Dr. Krish Kandiah and Jason Jaggard on Leading with Your Heart

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SUMMARY:

A decade ago, Dr. Krish Kandiah’s leadership bio would read like a typical academic—including titles like author, speaker, apologist and university professor. Then, his wife suggested they consider fostering and adoption. After that point, his personal experiences with foster children moved him to create the British foster care charity, Home for Good, and become an advocate for fostering and adoption throughout the United Kingdom. In this episode of the GLS Podcast, Jason Jaggard interviews Krish, exploring the leadership insights he has gained through his foster care experiences, including a deeper understanding of what it means to become a servant leader, the importance of proximity and how to approach leadership with both head and heart.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• My mother was rejected by her white family in India for being a half-caste and was sent to an orphanage. This was the start of our family’s journey to be involved in the care system.
• When my wife and I started a family of our own, she suggested we consider fostering and adoption. I felt God speaking to me as a read the Bible about His concern for vulnerable people.
• Currently, there are seven children living in our house: three birth kids and four through fostering and adoption.
• Serving kids in foster care is a solvable problem.
• In the UK, we need 4000 adopters and 8000 foster care families to cover all the care needs in the system. If one family in every church would step up and care for one child, we could place all of the children.
• Being a foster parent is similar to being a leader. We invest in people, who ultimately move on to better things.
• Even when we know someone may leave, we still have to be fully invested in that person.
• The proximate leader is the opposite of the distant leader.
• If you see leadership as service, you ask yourself, “How can I use my influence to help others thrive?”
• The different threads of my life have their roots in curiosity and constant pursuit of growth. God is the great tapestry-weaver, making the threads of our life come together in a beautiful way.
• Sometimes you can only understand your life when you look backward.
• At one point in my career, I was turned down for a job because I wasn’t a “bang-the-table” kind of leader. I realized that I want to be a “set-the-table” kind of leader. I want to make it safe for people to bring their best selves to work. I want to make room for them. I want to be hospitable.
• I approach politics by looking for places of common ground. Caring for children is politically neutral. We can work with every political party.
• Jesus chose a diverse team—zealot & tax collector—and turned them into brothers. If Christians can play that role in civil society and political life, we offer something really important.
• Integrated leaders lead from both head and heart. We need leaders who are passionate, and also leaders who do thoughtful work.
• Synergy happens in our leadership when head and heart are working together.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Dr. Krish Kandiah said that synergy happens in leadership when the head and the heart work together. Reflect on your own leadership. Do you tend to lead more from your head or your heart?

2. Kandiah suggested several ways we leaders can increase our heart leadership.

 Being fully invested, even though someone might leave for better things
 Practicing “proximity” by being vulnerable
 Asking the question, “How can I use my influence to help others thrive?”
 Becoming a “set-the-table” leader by creating safe spaces for people
 Looking for common ground with people from diverse perspectives
 Being both thoughtful and passionate

3. Now, look at all the boxes you checked. When you were listening to the podcast, which idea was most convicting to you? Follow that prompting and make a plan to implement this week.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

10 Downing Street

Home for Good UK

V.I.P. Leadership, Dr. Krish Kandiah’s 2019 GLS Talk

The Toyota Way

Kaizen

RELATED LINKS:

Dr. Krish Kandiah

Dr/ Krish Kandiah Website

Jason Jaggard

Novus Global

The Global Leadership Summit