How to use LOVE as a leadership tool

Most of us have heard the quote attributed to Confucius:

"find a job you love and you never have to work a day in your life again"

Is that true ? What is this kind of LOVE? How does it impact Leaders ?

Well there is evidence to suggest that happy people are better performers, and someone that loves what they do is generally happy right ?

Working with my clients I see that those that love their work are significantly happier than those that don't. Those that love what they do often have the following things in common:

• They can deal with uncertainty better
• They are generally more innovative in their field
• They are passionate about what they do; and get feedback that their passion is infectious
• They are willing to pull out all the stops, and will do this all with a smile on their face                 

What is LOVE in this context ? I believe it’s the ability to connect with the work that one loves. When one loves what they do, there is often no separation between the self and work and the result is a feeling of true connection. 

As a leader, loving what you do is an incredibly important tool. It is at its most powerful when it helps you as a leader connect with others. If you can observe how you are when you love what you do and apply those observations to others, you can get a sense of how those you work with feel about their work.

If they too love what they do, they may well be synchronised with you, and willing to pull out all the stops in the same way that you may do. 

If they don’t love what they are doing, there is an opportunity for you as their leader to help them find at least an aspect of their work that they can love. Even if it’s a small part of their role, that one element could positively impact everything they do

I believe that leaders can use this powerful tool to properly understand the intentions of those they lead. 

So what if you don't love what you do ? How can you lead in that environment?

I have been trying out different techniques with my clients to bring Love to their work, they include:

·     Start every meeting with stating what you are grateful for and proud of

·     Spending some time everyday paying attention to how you feel when doing the different aspects of your role

·     Reviewing what energises you and what drains you of energy

·     Paying attention to something small like making a cup of coffee/tea, and noticing how you feel after that exercise

·     Writing out your achievements each week

Have a go at trying some of these out and see what happens!

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