Why Love is Critical in Leadership Today

Love of Self, Love of Source, and Love of Others (the Love-Based Leadership model) all require love, trust, and commitment to growth and development in the workplace. If trust and love are not ever-present, then fear-based decisions will result.

“For centuries the human species has been discovering that it is the creator of its own reality, making the discovery, and retreating from it in disappointment (because the wizard [referring to the Wizard of Oz story] is not what we expected) and in fear (because the freedom the discovery brings is unknown and terrifying).”1.

Fear is powerful; so powerful that it alone creates a false reality of that which is feared in the first place. Victor Frankl illustrates, “It is characteristic of this fear that it produces precisely that of which the patient is afraid…the wish is father to the thought…the fear is mother to the event.”2.

Once again, choice is everywhere, calling for a decision between choosing love to guide us or fear to guide us.

“Man is not born slave or free, but creates himself as one or the other through free or voluntary action.”3.

Fear, again, holds us back from achieving so much. We are afraid to show that we care, afraid to open our hearts, and afraid that we may appear vulnerable. The irony in this is that when we really care about the individuals we lead, love multiplies. When people know, see, and feel that you care—they do the same.

“Love really does keep on giving.”4.

How do you give your love?

With love,

Maria

1. Walter Truett Anderson, Reality Isn’t What it Used to Be (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1990), p. 29.

2. Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, p. 125

3. Madan Sarup, An Introduction Guide to Post-structuralism and Postmodernism (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1993), p. 18.

4. Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal, Leading with Soul, p. 88.

4 Aspects of a Love Based Leadership Zone

In an LBL zone, love of Self, Source, and Others are present. We live the words so the words may live.People want to go to work, meaningful work in an LBL zone. A paradigm shift occurs in an LBL zone, where we discover a new way to do business based in part on ancient and traditional wisdom.

In The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran described work in what could be an LBL zone: It is to weave the cloth with threads from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit, And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching. Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

When LBL is practiced in organizations, several characteristics are present:

• The organization is fertile ground for knowledge creation, a learning organization.

• Power is shared, as is ownership of the work.

• Significance and celebration of others is ever-present in an LBL organization, adding to a meaningful work experience.

• A holistic approach to life, work, and spirituality is a way of life for those leaders practicing LBL, because LBL leaders honor themselves, their Source, and those with whom they work.

How would you describe a Love-Based Leadership organization?

With love,

Maria