I'm Dr. Liz Bywater, Strategic Advisor to the C-Suite and Team Performance Accelerator. I'm also the author of “Slow Down to Speed Up: Lead, Succeed and Thrive in a 24/7 World”.

Much of the work that I do with senior leaders in large organizations is about striking the balance of making difficult business decisions, sometimes painful business decisions, in ways that still feel true to who they are as thoughtful, compassionate, kind human beings and good leaders. You wouldn't think that this would necessarily be such a conflict but if you're in a situation where your MO is to be connected with the people who work for you, and to care about them, and to make sure that you are doing good and not harm, it can be awfully difficult to do things like; take some responsibilities away from somebody who is not meeting the task, or perhaps even exit somebody from the organization. These can be really difficult business decisions. They can also be things like taking funding away from a project that somebody has really put his or her heart and soul into and has had a team rally around. Lots of business decisions that can pull on your heartstrings if you are that thoughtful, compassionate leader.