Leading with Love in Everyday Moments
In the spirit of celebrating Valentine’s Day, here are a few tactical ideas for Leading with Love in Everyday Moments.
Drop a hand-written note to a team member, colleague, friend, or loved one. Share one thing you appreciate about the person, or one specific way that this person had a positive impact recently.
Be present. This can be easier said than done, of course. In a study published by Bain and Company, it found that “a leader's ability to be mindfully present” was the most important leadership quality of all. As leaders, this might mean closing our email during 1:1s, having an important conversation during a walking meeting rather than in an office, or simply taking a pause and a deep breath before we enter a conversation.
Plan and schedule work-related travel in advance, and consider publishing a company-wide or team-wide calendar of upcoming trips. This prevents team members from needing to do acrobatics to find last minute childcare or pet care, it reduces avoidable tension within families and partnerships, and it allows team members to more easily plan out their schedules and commitments in advance.
Say Good Morning. This simple act of connection can create significant positive ripples. It also helps to create an environment where our team members feel cared for as human beings —which is strongly tied to both engagement, and culture.
Send Friday Feedback (perhaps, today!). This means: taking a moment before winding down for the week to share direct feedback about a job well-done. This could be an email, a text, a phone call, or a hand-written note —and is a great way to end our own week, and someone else's week, on a positive note.
What else would you add to the list? Feel free to leave a comment to me know.
Questions to Consider
What could it look like to drop a hand-written note to a team member, friend, or loved one today, or next week?
What is one thing that helps me to be more present?
What travel are we considering for our team, our company, or our department? Have we communicated this to everyone who will be impacted?
What could it look like to say good morning, and to find small opportunities to connect in the moments?
Who is someone who has impressed me this week, or who has had a positive impact in some way? Have I told them?
RELATED RESOURCES
The 6 Invitations of Expansive Impact – an overview of the 6 invitations from my book:
Be Compassionate: Lead with Love
Be Conscious: Lead from Within
Be Clear: Lead in Relationship to Reality
Be Curious: Lead by Looking for Clues
Be Courageous: Lead with Truth from the Heart
Be Creative: Lead with Agility
On The Presence of Love in the Workplace – "Per one study, “employees who felt they worked in a loving, caring culture reported higher levels of satisfaction and teamwork. They showed up to work more often. Our research also demonstrated that this type of culture related directly to client outcomes, including improved patient mood, quality of life, satisfaction, and fewer trips to the ER.”
