Heart Work, with Rena DeLevie

Money Tales

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Rena DeLevie. As Rena looks back on the early days of her career, she regrets her harsh leadership style at the time, which she attributes to learning from those around her. To quote Rena, “I was an asshole. I learned from the best and I really threatened and intimidated. It did not feel good.” By the time she hit her mid-thirties, Rena was done. The asshole persona was a ruse that took too much energy to keep up. Rena realized that, at her core, she’s sensitive, empathetic, and intense. She couldn’t keep herself bottled up any longer. She needed to be herself. Making a move likely meant stepping away from the corporate ladder that was paying her handsomely. However, Rena knew in hear heart, at that moment, she needed authenticity more than money.

Rena is dedicated to using compassion and accountability to help humans increase their connection within, and with others, to radically change leadership culture and how we treat one another. In 2001, she had a post-9/11 epiphany and created Compassionate Management, a management methodology that connects compassion and accountability to help leaders deliver the bottom line with integrity.

Rena combines over 25 years with Fortune 500 companies and 22 years as a practitioner of mindfulness/meditation to show us the path to eliminate the fear-based culture so prevalent in corporate America. Her book, Compassionate Management, How Ambitious Creatives Become Kick-Ass Leaders, and her TEDxTalk, Compassionate Management — using compassion as a business tool, have been used in businesses around the globe as a model to radically change leadership culture and how we treat one another.