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| My personal, permanent reminder |
Leaders are accustomed to using these words in the workplace:
Engagement
Humility
Transparency
Trust
But what about love?
Does love belong in the workplace?
(I'm talking about compassionate love, not romantic love.)
I've heard many say that the people they work with are like "extended family." Isn't that love? The US military and firefighters, alike, pride themselves on the trust and interdependence of brotherhood/sisterhood. Isn't that love?
This year, in response to the challenges of 2020, PG&E rolled out their "Lead with Love" campaign. They are committing to 2,021 acts of good and they're inviting consumers to join. (Check out their fantastic one-minute video about emotions.)
Southwest Airlines has love as their anchor, noted by their heart logo and their NYSE ticker code of LUV.
Whole Foods leads the charge by committing to love. Love guides their food selections and how they show up in the community.
Leadership gurus Barry Posner and James Kouzes (The Leadership Challenge) say that love is the "best kept secret" of great leadership.
Data company Integrate.ai lists "Love People" as their number one value.
"Love as a Business Strategy" is a compelling newly-published book that I am reading about a company, Softway Solutions, that was transformed by their leadership commitment to love. (M. Anwar, F. Danna, J. Ma., C. Pitre, 2021).
Extensive research reviewed in the Harvard Business Review concludes that "a culture of love corresponded to increased levels of job satisfaction, teamwork and improved customer outcomes' (Coombe, 2016). Studies also show that people in loving work environments are more committed, satisfied, and accountable (S. Barasde and O. O'Neill, 2014).
The examples and research have a strong, steady heartbeat.
But what does love look like at work?
Love looks like compassion.
Love looks like extending trust.
Love looks like assuming positive intent.
Love looks like respect.
Love looks like listening fully.
Love looks like addressing conflict effectively.
Love looks like having difficult conversations.
Love looks like appreciating differences.
Love looks like nurturing a positive culture where cooperation wins over competition every single time.
Love looks like going above and beyond for internal and external customers.
Love means seeing the entirety of your employees and co-workers.
What's that? You say you are already doing these things?
Then you are leading with love, even without announcing it.
Whether you say the L-word or not, Memento Amare. In Latin that translates to remember to love. Today more than ever, it is not just recommended, it's required. ❤️