Leadership and love are interwoven. Indeed, exceptional leaders generally come to understand that leading is more a matter of the heart than we might think.

Food for Thought ~

In their classic book, The Leadership Challenge, authors Kouzes and Posner end their 400 page treatise with this summary observation: “The best kept secret of successful leaders is love: staying in love with leading, with the people who do the work, with what their organizations produce, and with those who honor the organization by using its work.” I witnessed a beautiful example of this philosophy in an interview with British filmmaker, Anthony Minghella, the highly acclaimed director of operas and films, including the Oscar award-winning The English Patient. Minghella said: “I think the job is to love everybody, to give as much love as you can to everybody around you, to make them feel good about what they’re doing and proud of what they’re doing.” One of his actors, Jill Scott, commented: “Anthony Minghella expects the best and encourages it in the gentlest way.” I will add that I believe this applies to any leadership situation, whether you are leading a family, a neighborhood group, or a business. Leadership is about love.

Question for the day ~

Does this philosophy ring true for you? If so, how can you expand your expression of these principles?

In Closing ~

I am fortunate to be able to say quite sincerely, I love my clients! As Katherine Graham, former publisher of the Washington Post, once said: “To love what you do and feel that it matters – how could anything be more fun?”
Happy Valentine’s Day,

Mary