Once upon a time there was a manager who inherited an employee who was clearly not a fit for her position. She had been shoe-horned into it. The employee knew it. Her manager, my
client, knew it. The employee needed to find another position with the company or move on. It was an increasingly painful experience. They both continued to suffer from her non-performance and insecurity.
The hold-up was that “the powers to be” had to finalize a letter about her options in the appropriate language. I can only assume this was needed to limit liability. They had been working, or should I say, not working on this for four months. My client and her employee couldn’t proceed without
it.
Every time my client called about it they acknowledged it was not a difficult or time-consuming activity. There were just more pressing issues.
Not for my client and her employee.
As a former HR Manager, I found out by accident that I tend to have a different perspective. Instead of leaving those I served hanging, I deliberately chose to relieve my constituents, even if I had bad news to deliver. I didn't want them leaving work with a knots in their stomachs or suffering great heaviness in their hearts and possibly losing sleep that night because of uncertainty. When it was the right thing to do, I
would challenge myself to do something about it, for them, not just to get it off my to-do list.
Unfortunately, all leaders aren’t built the same way. They allow their challenges and choices to result in unnecessary discomfort for the people they serve. This has a bottom-line impact.*
What do your choices at work say about you?
More and more companies these days, like PepsiCo, Zappos and Whole Food Market, are embracing the words "love" and "caring" in their corporate values. Wrap your head around that. Love and business don't have to be mutually exclusive. Business can even include the noble
aspiration to be "like family," though this phrasing must be used thoughtfully.
True leadership is love.
You can
say I’m really talking about compassion, empathy or thoughtfulness, but I say “love.” I don't mean the emotion, but the word "love" used as a verb.
The Greeks called this type of love, “agape,” i.e. choosing what is right and best for the other person, rather than what you want or feel like doing. It is about behavior, not
feelings. Yes, it requires open-heartedness. You can call that feeling, but I suggest that to open your heart is a choice too. The study I reference below suggests leaders attend to the emotional culture of their organization as well as the cognitive culture. Ready yourself.
Whether you consider Valentine’s Day personal, about romantic love,
or a holiday contrived to make money… in this “season of love,” I ask you to consider, what will it take for you to make the choice to lead with love?
Image: Bigstockphoto contributor Zibedik 
