It’s About Influence

Today’s post is one last general overview of why you should consider love-centered leadership. After this we will discuss the specifics of what you should do and how you can do it if you truly want to tap into the best your team has to offer. I thought I should mention the title of this blog comes from the Bible. Specifically its source is the book of Exodus which describes this interaction between Moses (leader of Jewish slaves) and Pharaoh (leader of Egyptian slave masters). Moses has come to free the slaves and says to Pharaoh, “let my people go.” Pharaoh responds that not only will he not let the slaves go but he will reduce their supply of straw (needed resource for brick making) without reducing their daily brick quotas. The analogy to this ancient story cannot be lost on any of us in business today. We are constantly being asked to do more with less. The competition and the current economy demands that we maintain or expand our quota of “bricks” while at the same time demanding that we do it faster, better and cheaper. Increasing your output without adding additional time, additional cost or loss of quality is the challenge you face. The only way to achieve your business goals both now and in the future is to continually satisfy and effectively serve your organization/shareholders, your customers and your team members. It’s a balancing act that can cause sleepless nights. It may be counterintuitive (it was to me), but I believe service is the key to effective leadership. Maybe that is what is meant when we hear “the meek will inherit the earth.” Service is good for your organization, your customer and your team and it is the key to the acquisition of real influence and impact. Serving the organization, serving the customer and serving the team not only generates enormous personal power but it also generates greater personal fulfillment than serving yourself. Love-centered leaders understand this and thrive on unlocking the potential of others. The techniques of love-centered leadership we will begin discussing are not really new or particularly clever, however they are very effective. Until next time….