Love? In the workplace? Yes!
Love as in “I’m here to serve you.” Love as in “I care about who you are, I care about what you do, I care about where you are going, and I care enough to be available for you when you need me and I will acknowledge, support, and encourage you.”
Steve Farber, author of Extreme Leadership, talks about cultivating love at work. On his website, he wrote:
The emotion of love is considered to be out of place or simply inappropriate in the world of business. Many believe that good business people keep their hearts out of their work. The opposite is true. It’s the heart that brings the fire of creativity to bear on the day-to-day. It’s the heart that inspires drive, loyalty, and leaps of innovative brilliance.
There is a term in the Bible known as agape love. Agape is a Greek word that is most often translated as love. However, it is not a romantic or sexual love. It is the love revealed in self-sacrifice. It is love as a way of being. It is the love of a servant leader. In describing Sir John Templeton’s book, Agape Love, the Templeton Foundation website says:
While each religion is vastly different in its belief system and traditions, it becomes clear in Agape Love that all religions share common values of good will, kindness, forgiveness, and compassion toward others – in other words, agape love. When we as individuals embrace agape love, as each distinctive religion does, we open ourselves to transcending our differences and to sharing a commitment to unconditional, unlimited love for all people.
Isn’t that the way we, as leaders, should treat the people around us? With goodwill, kindness, forgiveness, and compassion? Isn’t that the commitment we want to share in the workplace? What’s love go to do with it? Everything!
In what ways do you bring love to your role as a servant leader?
The “real” servant leader will be able to put “self-interest” in the proper place. The servant leader leads with compassion, understanding, truth, hope, humility and encouragement.
The servant serves and does it in a way that is genuine and authentic, there are no threats, and there are no hidden agendas.
The true servant leader is rare. How many “true” servant leaders have you dealt with or experienced in life?
Thank you for visiting L2L and for commenting on my post. If servant leadership is not authentic, then it really isn’t servant leadership. Any motivation other than to serve out of love negates the concept. I agree with you; it is rare.