I was never a massive Tina Turner fan but I found myself reflecting on her lyrics when writing this piece- “What’s love but a second-hand emotion?”- Miss Turner I beg to differ.
So let’s talk about love, emotions and leadership; I think love most definitely has its place. I’m talking about compassionate love rather than the passionate type; as we all know that’s not going to end well……
Lance Secretan Ph.D. whose ideas I like says “Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Leadership is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others” which to me sounds a lot like love.
For the head vs hearts sceptics what is the impact of leading with love at work?
There have been various studies over the years about EQ (emotional intelligence) and that displaying vulnerability, authenticity and kindness lead to a more productive workforce and right now after a year of lockdown, disparate teams and two-dimensional meetings we need it more than ever. In an HBR survey of over 3,000 people across seven industries they discovered that “people who worked in a culture where they felt free to express affection, tenderness, caring, and compassion for one another were more satisfied with their jobs, committed to the organization, and accountable for their performance.”
So love leads to engagement.
At a time where we are promoting more diversity leaders need to demonstrate a genuine effort to understand others, role-model compassion and foster those traits in their teams. Human emotions are used to facilitate thinking, make decisions and help us communicate – look at any song with a positive take on love and you will find the artist singing about togetherness.
Joy , Responsibility, Warmth, Sharing- all the behaviours of an effective team, so as leaders lets encourage and show the love!
So how can we do this and make it feel practical, appropriate and real, here are my three tips:
- Show you LOVE the company through demonstrating the connection between the vision and your people.
- Demonstrate the LOVE to your clients through listening and connecting with their values
- Act with LOVE towards your team and employees by sharing, being open and being kind
*** Valentines may be over and the chocolates on sale but this week give a little love ***
