Some of you who are familiar with W. Edwards Deming, the American Statistician, may think of him as the "Father of Total Quality Management (TQM)". While it's true....he taught "systems thinking" to Japanese automakers, I think Deming was really about heartfelt leadership. 

Why? He focused on people as the key to quality, productivity and profitability. He truly cared about people and he was extremely concerned about what "the prevailing styling of management" was doing to people. I just wish I had met him before he left us at the age of 93 back in 1993. He absolutely gets my vote as a Heartfelt Leader. 

If you aren't familiar with Deming's fourteen Key Principles (from his book "Out of the Crisis"), you can see the "readers digest version" on wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming. 

I especially like #11 (Eliminate work standards [quotas] on the factory floor. Substitute with Leadership.) I'd like to know which of his 14 principals especially resonate with you.