I've been doing a lot of Loving Leader Assessments recently. I'm seeing an important pattern I want to share with you because it probably applies to you too! One crucial component consistently ranks the lower than the other three when leaders take our Loving Leader Assessment: loving yourself!

If ever there was a time to turn to the wisdom of those who have gone before through their own trials and fires, who sought guidance from those who went before them, and then left us their example and insights, this is the time. 

I grew to appreciate that this incident happened to remind me of the opportunity we have as Loving Leaders to make a difference for people trying to find their way. 

Acknowledge that you all may be having different experiences and that you can support each other in whatever is true for each one. This openness doesn’t in any way diminish joy or gloss over sorrow.

Enough with “inciting violence” and “inciting hatred.” Let's take it back from “inciting riots” or “inciting lawbreaking.” No!  Let us instead lay claim to this word and “incite Love.” 

My observation here is really about the difference tenderness can make across society. Words matter. And how we speak to each other as adults matters and has ripples into lives.

Every single human just wants to be seen, to matter, to belong. It is traumatizing to be invisible. And as I ponder this, I remember there IS a change that I can bring, that you can bring too, Loving Leader. 

We have a saying in the South Puget Sound, “Live like the Mountain is out.” This means that even if the Mountain is covered in clouds, and we can't see it, we know it’s there. We can live with the same vigor as we would on a clear day. We need that in our work too! 

'Tis the season to plan for love in the face of fear. With rising uncertainties, with holiday stress mounting, with anxiety from anticipated changes and threats, many people we work with or see each day are moving through the world in fear.

Today a friend called. At just the right moment, she dialed my number. I kept coming to her mind. She didn't text me. She didn't reach out to set up a time.

Jim and I found our seats in the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago. With a friendly greeting to our aisle mates, an older woman and a younger man stood so we could slip by. We quickly took our seats and soon the show began.

Can you imagine meeting THE “World Champion” in your field?

This week I did!

I met Craig Valentine, the World Champion of Public Speaking 1999!

All Loving Leadership begins with empathy and proceeds to compassionate actions that create love.

Connection! We thrive on it. Some of us in small, occasional doses; others with high volume and frequency. But we all need human connection to be safe and healthy.

Who doesn't like to experience the energy that uplifts? I sure do!  We all need wind in our wings to elevate us from our doubts and struggles!

I stood at the front of the room at DECA’s Western Region Leadership Conference in Bellevue. The deep, cavernous room quickly filled with 50+ students at round tables. I had no mic, and it was after lunch.

I flew to Chicago last week, and my hardshell bag came out on the carousel cracked in half from top to bottom. While this was disappointing, the airline team member who assisted me was caring, kind, quick, and helpful.

We grow dahlias inspired by our neighbor's beautiful garden. They burst with shades of red, pink, and yellow blooming all summer and late into the fall. It's a delight to enjoy them sitting in the garden, to cut them to share bouquets with friends and to gently tend them so they continue to bloom. 

As Loving Leaders, we can express our love and care by getting to know them as people, taking time to help them learn and grow…But it will all be negated if their organizational experiences are dehumanizing.