When we are making a decision about an employee or policy, we often have to weigh the logical, policy based point of view with human considerations and make a fair call.

I often find that newly appointed managers who are new to leading a team of people sometimes rely heavily on the rules, the procedures and don't always factor in considerations like traditions.  We can't leave the organizational culture out of this reflection because it has a set of informal and formal rules of its own.    As a leader it is important to understand that once you add people to any formula, many dimensions of diversity are introduced so a standard response could be inappropriate in some cases.

Then you have managers who give in to whatever they are asked.  What I am talking about here is not an example of operating from the heart, what i am referring to here is cowardice.  In other words, a fear of not being liked because of an unpopular decision.  

An important distinction to be made here is that some people confuse with responding from the heart with an emotional response.  Emotional responses can lead to unfair, subjective solutions either in favor of or against the person in the situation because of undisciplined emotional decisions.   The best leaders work from their heart by  diffusing their emotions to speed up the decision making process and they explore all sides of the situation with the objective of coming to an objective, fair response.

Sometimes the heart decision will be unpopular and sometimes it will engender supreme popularity.  The Heart decision weighs intangibles and develops a new criteria for evaluation that includes:

1. Is this person taking ownership of the problem and taking action or are they relying solely on management or
    the company  to make it happen?
2. How do I respond to this appropriately while at the same time empowering the person?
3. Do the rules apply here or does an exception need to be made?  Is making an exception fair?
4. How do I integrate the diversity of the situation into the decision?
5. Is my decision congruent with the core values and objectives of the corporation?
6. Am I responding from emotion or am I being objective?
7. Is my decision aligned with my own core values?

Many times we feel more comfortable taking the more logical route and this is not always the optimal route when taken exclusively.   It is important to use critical thinking skills identified by Paul, Binker, Jensen and Keklau like:

1. Thinking independently
2. Questioning deeply: raising or pursuing root or significant questions
3. Suspending judgment and emotion
4. Exercising fair mindedness 
5. Making connections
6. Reading critically (Not taking everything stated as truth or as being correct - seeking the truth)
7. Comparing and contrasting ideals with actual practice
8. Evaluating assumptions and biases
9. Questioning beliefs, theories and perspectives
10. Distinguishing relevant from irrelevant facts

These tools can help you to resolve the tug-of-war between your head and heart.