Love and Leadership

By Kathy Coffey

What is love?

Love is often said to be a noun. Most of us know that it is a verb – the verb that may just get us to the other side of all of this.

But what does love have to do with leadership?

I propose it has everything to do with leadership, particularly how we show up in this COVID world.

Love is not the vaccine that the world is seeking, but it is the medicine we need.

We have been brought to our knees globally by something that is 10,000 times smaller than a grain of salt. The foundation of the world as we knew it has been altered. The economic impact before us cannot be overlooked. But a choice between economic and biological survival is not an either-or.

We must engage both our minds and our hearts:

as we break apart and analyze systems to expose inequities.

as we work to define what we really need moving forward.

as we examine what it takes to create a sustainable future.

as we acknowledge the limits of our knowledge yet must face and make decisions anyway.

As we embark on redefining who we are as a community and how we educate, parent, access healthcare, run governments, train workforces, maintain economies, support small businesses, and fight to keep our cultures, art and music alive, I think the most important tool in our kit will be love.

I was to be married on August 15th. We’ve postponed our ceremony, but pre-COVID, as we prepared and reflected, I wondered what to say in my vows. The basic premise came to me that in order to know love, I had to let go of the notion that I knew what love is. Whoa. A blank canvas.

As leaders, can we take time to redefine what love is to us in our workplaces, neighborhoods, social groups, and community at large?

To assume positive intent in our interactions is to love.

To bring compassion – for ourselves and for others – as we examine our own bias is to love.

To listen openly with interest and curiosity is to love.

To admit a mistake, accept responsibility, and offer apology is to love.

To center our shared humanity is to love.

I suggest you visit, or revisit, all about love by bell hooks. It is a 2001 classic that our world needs today.

What examples do we have of this kind of love in the world? Who are your role models? Please share your thoughts and ideas. We can achieve so much together.