Leading with love: The secret to impactful leadership

Resilience, tenacity, courage, empathy. Just a few of the hallmarks of great leadership. But here’s one you might not have thought of: LOVE.

Consider the attributes of love – like patience, kindness, and compassion – and how they show up. They’re a core part of a strong business and productive, high-performing teams. And, as a leader who’s committed to DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion), I firmly believe that without love there is neither inclusion nor diversity, and these are crucial in today’s fast-moving world.

Why love matters in today’s workplace

Several studies confirm that compassionate behaviors by leaders result in lower turnover, greater job satisfaction, and lower levels of stress. Whereas fearful leadership can cause anxiety, poor work-life balance, resentment, and, ultimately, quiet quitting. It’s no wonder love is increasingly being seen as a core leadership capability.

Inspirations from industry leaders

I’ve long reflected on the power of love in the workplace and have been weaving it into my approach to leading teams. I’ve been inspired by organizations like Patagonia, well-known for its environmental activism and its genuine commitment to employee-centric policies. And Starbucks, whose founder Howard Schultz introduced operational and leadership strategies underpinned by love and compassion.

Then there’s Herb Kelleher, the legendary and much-admired cofounder of Southwest Airlines, and a great example of building love into leadership. Employees speak of his innate kindness, humility, and gratitude. His approach to leadership has paid off financially – Southwest Airlines is now worth several billion dollars – but also reputationally, with the business widely acknowledged for its motivated employees and exceptional customer service. 

Leading with love in action

So, what does leading with love look like at @Sandoz? As I shared at this week’s Solaris Executive Leadership Development Academy conference: Celebrating Black Futures, to me, it’s about being authentic, listening deeply to my colleagues, and treating everyone with respect and compassion. It’s about encouragement, guiding and mentoring. It’s also about remembering that while we’re all firmly focused on the same Purpose of pioneering access for patients, we’re human beings who don’t always get it right. And that’s okay. Leading with love means reminding our teams to be kind to ourselves and learning from our mistakes.

Working in the off-patent R&D industry, we have to be agile, think fast, and make smart decisions so that we can help deliver life-changing medicines to patients and healthcare systems ahead of the competition. We’ve worked hard to create a high-performing culture that ensures that our employees have an environment where they can thrive. This includes having the psychological safety they need to be bold and take smart risks, which requires our leaders to lead with love. Only by creating a high-performing culture can we create high-performing teams.    

I know that adopting a love leadership approach may not come easy for some. After all, as leaders we’re encouraged to be tough and authoritative. We may worry that if we show a softer side, our teams might not perform or that we may not be respected.  I’m convinced that the opposite holds true. I’d love to hear your experience of leading with love.

#SolarisLeadership #CelebratingBlackFutures #LeadwithLove

References

1. Margot Faraci, Love Leadership Survey, 2023

2.  Sigal Barsade and Olivia A. O’Neille, What’s Love Got to Do With It? A Longitudinal Study of the Culture of Companionate Love and Employee and Client Outcomes in a Long-Term Care Setting, Administrative Science Quarterly, 2014

3. Stephen Trzeciak, Anthony Mazzarelli, and Emma Seppälä, Leading with Compassion Has Research-Backed Benefits, Harvard Business Review, 2023