The Way and Wisdom of Leading As Love

Leadership is about one life influencing another for the betterment of all. We influence others when interpersonal engagement meets our shared human needs. As each of us lead by focusing intention and action on significance, making a positive difference in everyone’s lives, “success” follows.

The facets of Leading as Love below are the footing and foundation that underlie the practices and tasks found in prevalent leadership models. They give each of us our reason for being: our purpose and meaning, our place of belonging and contribution, our catalyst and guidance for choices, and our center for growth and mastery. In taking action to meet our own human needs, we invite and enable others to meet theirs.

Through who we are, what we stand for, and the clarity of our intention through consistent actions, as leaders we:

Serve the greater good, everyone’s shared human needs, well-being and fulfillment.

Establish common ground, the unity in diversity of co-creative collaboration and cooperation.

Care about everyone equally and enhancing dignity and life for all.

Understand all perspectives and motivations without judgment.

Respect everyone has the freedom to choose without imposing conditions, conformity or control.

Respond fully with presence, discipline, patience and humility with all people and in all situations.

Through care we acknowledge one another’s connection and interdependence and our need for belonging and contribution. In doing so, we help eliminate feelings of anxiety from fear of lack of security and support and rejection.

Through understanding we acknowledge one another’s uniqueness and our need for purpose and meaning. In doing so, we help eliminate feelings of shame from fear of inadequacy, of not being good enough.

Through respect we acknowledge one another’s free-will and our need for self-determination and choice. In doing so, we help eliminate feelings of anger from fear of not having control and not reaching our potential.

Through responsiveness we actively engage with one another as human beings with mutual understanding and shared respect. In doing so, we consciously invite and enable what’s on the inside, our inspiration, intentions and talents, to be expressed fully and completely. Responsiveness is acting in the present moment and the current context, empowering ourselves to be free from fear and the dictates of limiting beliefs of family, societal and cultural conditioning.

It is only when we fully accept ourselves and one another and our universal human needs can we free ourselves from fear. We can then willingly take responsibility for what has gone before without blame and readily engage in collective actions with cooperation and collaboration to solve both societal and organizational issues. Freedom from fear brings freedom to make all things possible.

Leading as Love both generates and focuses limitless possibilities and potential enabling us to create the future of our choosing. Leading as Love is the essential catalyst for both breakthrough and sustained results in every form we seek and can imagine, including engagement, innovation and prosperity; it generates the ultimate ROI.

So, what does this mean for each of us? How can each of us contribute? We belong to the community of humanity. Our purpose is to create and to grow and evolve life as we know it. Each of us does this through conscious choice and action. Leading is not just a role or position. When we love, we lead: We bring forth the greatness that is in all of us.

The first step is honest and truthful self-examination and awareness of our own intentions and actions. What do we stand for? What are we up to? What are we contributing by our actions? It’s a personal choice for how we lead and who we follow.

Leaders initiate action, set the example and show the way by being the “first ones in.” How are we:

Serving the greater good? Who benefits? How?

Establishing common ground? How can we work with one another?

Caring about one another’s dignity and well-being?

Understanding without judgment?

Respecting without control?

Responding fully to the current context as life unfolds?

By our actions we are known. When all these facets are present and integrated, it is Leading as Love. Love is acting with care, understanding, respect and responsiveness, the sensitivity to the experience of being human. What this means is that where we work and how we contribute, where and what we buy, who we vote for or otherwise “follow”, what and how we teach our children, and where and how we worship all reflect care, understanding, respect and responsiveness.

So why is everything a “mess”? Look in the mirror. We’ve all contributed.

Leading as Love is about discernment and personal choice. It means living free from blind personal, societal and cultural conditioning and conformity. I means living without the prevailing divisive polarities. It is a tolerant and open, non-partisan and non-denominational view that takes action to make the world a better place for everyone. Love makes a leader a leader.