In his latest book titled Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success, Ken Blanchard writes the following:
“Leadership is not about love – it is love. It’s loving your mission, it’s loving your customers, it’s loving your people, and it’s loving yourself enough to get out of the way so other people can be magnificent.”
Many leaders throughout business and industry are not comfortable using or embracing the word love in a business context or setting. Within the healthcare provider community, particularly faith-based hospitals and other faith-based healthcare organizations, most leaders openly use and embrace the word and power of love. In fact, the mission of virtually every faith-based healthcare organization is firmly and openly based on love.
What sane person would argue that we don’t need more love, in every sector of our economy and society throughout the entire world? We need far more people and leaders, even within healthcare, who love their mission, love their customers, love their people and just plain love life!
Even if this concept is a little uncomfortable for you, think about the how different and how much better this world, including our healthcare world would be if far more leaders loved their mission, loved their people and loved their customers. We need far more leaders with a sustained focus on creating and maintaining a healthy, loving culture and environment.
I believe the happiest, most content, most truly successful people and leaders are those who are all about love. They love life, love going to work, love serving others, love their friends and the people with whom they work. They love creating value… hopefully lasting value. Because leadership is a continual expression of their love, gratefulness and appreciation, they are successful in ways that matter most!
Is your leadership an expression of love or is it all about you and what you want?
I invite and encourage you to test me on this premise. Study the truly successful… those who love their work, love their life, love their people, love their jobs, love making a difference, love adding value and love achieving meaningful and worthwhile goals that serve and benefit others. Study and watch these truly successful leaders very carefully. Do will find that the premise of this article is absolutely correct! Again I encourage you… test me and test the premise.
“Leadership is not about love – it is love. It’s loving your mission, it’s loving your customers, it’s loving your people, and it’s loving yourself enough to get out of the way so other people can be magnificent.”
Read the book Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success. The book features a company and its leaders (they only hire leaders) who have consistently, for the past 39 years, been ‘hitting the ball way out of the park.’
For the 39 years of their existence, this company, its leaders, its people and their customers have been loving every minute of it!
