We can invite love into our boardrooms

Last week, we looked at the concept of the emotional bank and how leaders can ensure that they constantly make positive deposits in the accounts of those they lead. This week, we dive into the seven attributes Joel Manby suggests we use as we become leaders who lead with love. They are patience, kindness, trusting, unselfishness, truthfulness, forgiveness, and dedication. He starts us off with a quote from Truett Cathy: “You do not have to make headlines to make a difference.”

The truth is that as leaders, we are mandated to hold others accountable especially if they are not living up to what is expected of them. However, in doing this, we must remember that no matter what mistake one makes, everyone needs to be treated with dignity. To this end, we are reminded to praise in public but reprimand in private. This shows those we lead that they are valued. In turn, unless otherwise, the result of the reprimand will be growth. 

I am reminded of the golden rule, “do unto others as you would want them to do to you”. Bear in mind that this is not a ticket for us to admonish in such a way that people think they can get away with sloppiness and not giving their best. Instead, it is a call for us to grow the fruit of patience so that we can enjoy its benefits.

The next trait of leading with love is kindness. Joel reminds us that “kindness means that both encouragement and leadership are two sides of the same coin”. We are called upon to become chief encouragement officers. You may have encountered leaders who believed that answering a greeting from a subordinate was beneath them. In my view this strategy may not present them with the results they crave as the subordinates tend to feel intimidated and this drains their creative juices. 

In the past, I have written a lot on the attribute of trust when I refer Simon Sneak’s work on trusting teams. What we need to recall is that trust is a decision for us to always assume the best about those in our fold. Therefore, when making decisions, people appreciate being involved in the decision-making process given the fact that the 21st Century employee is a knowledge worker.

Another component of leading with love is being unselfish. Whether or not one is a selfish leader, can be seen through the decisions they make in the boardroom because what is on the inside always comes to bear. I like what Joel says, “The key to developing an unselfish attitude is to give before you spend.” We dive into this more in next week’s article.

Truthfulness is also an attribute of leading with love. Joel does a great job outlining steps that can lead to us getting to the truth whether it relates to a decision about the organisation, or an individual employee. These steps are: Do not shoot the messenger, avoid confusing disagreement with conflict, do not assume that people see what you are seeing, speak up or forever hold your peace.

The final two attributes of leading with love are forgiveness and dedication. I am reminded that “to err is human to forgive is divine”. Joel shares Eric’s story. He was fired for violating company policy but his subsequent actions of asking for forgiveness and then being given a second chance saw him grab it with both hands. Although we are cautioned that not all second chances have happy endings, we are given a set of questions to help as us we decide whether to give someone a second chance. 

As I conclude with the attribute of dedication, we go around full circle and discover that there is indeed gain in being a values-based leader. 

Our reflection this week is a deep one as we answer the question how can I lead more with love in the coming years?

Rosette Wamambe is a transformational leadership coach with the Maxwell Certified Leadership Team    [email protected]