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LOVE: THE PRIME FACTOR OF LEADERSHIP

Do you know that leadership is a love affair in all ramifications? Do you also know that it is impossible to lead a people with the goal of causing a lasting change without love being the first point of reference? However, this week is a week of love emphasis for a lot of people and many are going to go really crazy all in the name of love and I expect that beyond showing love to people just in the name of Valentine's Day, it is important to turn to your leadership to see how you can celebrate love there. Because without love, it is impossible to have your leadership intact.

The question of love, in leadership, is non-negotiable such that it is the bedrock of every society and serves as the core of its operating system. Think of it that nations fight against themselves because of the love they have for their citizens. Leaders of organizations hire and fire their employees for the greater they have for what the organizations stand for. Parents discipline their children because of their love for them. All of those are the expression of love in leadership in one way or the other that not many have paid attention to consider deeply long enough. 

So, this entire essay and the subsequent ones, this week, will be a deliberate effort to discuss the dynamics of leadership love affair within the spectrum of leadership relationship boundaries. However, I shall begin to look at the concept of love in relation to leadership.

Over the years we have reduced love to be a confessional act, but the last time I checked, LOVE IS A VERB -- a doing word and an action word. Beyond the proclamation of love, there is the part of love that must be expressed for it's true meaning to be experienced, especially, in leadership.

First love begins as a thought, progresses into words of proclamation, and terminates with action or deeds. Transforming your followers will happen because in your show of love, there is a perfect align in the thought--word--action protocol that must be followed and completed. If it is thought alone, the love is not complete. If it is thought and confession alone, it is still not fully expressed.

Every complete transformation happens because the pioneer leader chose the path that allows him or her to show love beyond thought and word, but also with action. The only languague that stires up action in the direction of actualizing the leadership purpose in moving from point A to B is that of love.

In the many years that I have been in leadership, I have come to the realization that I can only change the people I lead when I love them deeply. And this is where a lot of leaders miss it. Beyond issuing commands, there is this part of your followers that responds to just love from you. Hence, it is true that love never fails.

You can never fail in leadership when you genuinely love your followers just the way you love yourself. Think of it as doing to your followers the exact same thing you would do to yourself. If you wish to buy yourself a bottle of Coke, also buy your followers some. That is the expression of genuine love.

Elvis C. Umez
Leadership Consultant
IDB Consult

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