It’s again the time of year when we celebrate the achievements of our gender around the world. International Women’s Day reminds us to value what makes us uniquely female. As entrepreneurs, we women run our businesses differently (and many would say better) than our male counterparts. The big difference I see in female-run businesses is that we are able to lead from a place of love. Yes, I said the ‘L word’ in the same sentence as ‘business’. The two absolutely belong there together. Let me explain how leading with love is necessary and natural in the business world.
Leading with the ‘L word’ means leading your business and your people from a place of consciousness. It’s about choosing to be compassionate, kind and authentic in everything you do. We know that our business is nothing without the people in it: our employees, our customers, our suppliers and our community. So it should be a no-brainer to recognise that business is essentially a collection of relationships. In my experience, successful businesses are those that focus on building personal connections with the people inside and outside the office.
The opposite of leading with love is leading from a place of fear: fear that everyone is against you, that you have to win at all costs, and that you are alone in your endeavours. Even for solopreneurs, this is far from the truth. Leading with love is what is necessary to bring together a collective of passionate human beings, connected to the spirit of your business, who believe in your cause and want in. It also means being kind to yourself as the one at the helm, prioritising self care and not beating yourself up when things don’t go according to plan (and we all know how often that happens!). Harvard Business School is one of the many affirming the real results of developing relationships in the workplace.
It’s not just a nice idea, the proof is in the research: love gets better results than fear. [Check out the great article about leading with the heart rather than the head here] Leading with love is about authentically connecting to your people, understanding them and their dreams, and supporting them through the good times and bad. That said, tough love exists in business as it does elsewhere in life. Sometimes leading with love is letting someone go to grow elsewhere.
Not everyone will align with your business and your values. That’s ok. That’s the time to let go (with love) and let everyone move onward. For the others, the time invested in building relationships will pay off in the long run when the storms hit and you need your people behind you during the tough times or times of change. As we celebrate the great female achievers this month, let’s also embrace our natural leadership skills as women in business. Let’s acknowledge the very real benefits of compassion and kindness in the work world.
It is this kind of love that builds trust and success. Then go further than appreciating your own loving leadership. Teach empathy to others in your business and everyone will start working differently and leading with love. What’s the return on investment? A collective of passionate people who will follow you and your business to the ends of the earth, and back.
