What Great Leaders Must Love

It’s the season of love – the week of Valentine’s Day when everyone who sells anything is trying to tie their product to romance.

I’m not trying to sell you a bouquet or a bottle of wine. I’m trying to sell you an idea.

And admittedly, the love I am speaking of isn’t the sort that takes place in front of a roaring fire or across from a flickering flame of a candle. But make no mistake; it is love we are talking about.

To be a great leader, there are things you must care about deeply, embrace, and even love. A simple understanding of, awareness of, and resignation for these things won’t do if you want to lead in transformational and powerful ways.

I love my wife; she has a list of wonderful traits, attributes and abilities longer than I could list. And yet, if I am honest with you, there are things about her that frustrate and challenge me. For my love to be full though, I must recognize and embrace those things as a part of the total package of who she is.

In a similar way, the list of things leaders must love comes with a dark side too. In general, the five ideas I am about to share with you will make sense and you will nod your head, but the items on the flipside might be harder to swallow. Yet, like those “other” things about my wife, to embrace one side requires compassion for the other side as well.

Let’s get started.

Leaders must love their purpose and their goal; and so leaders must embrace mistakes.

You can’t be dedicated to the work of leadership without a passion for the reason the work matters. When there is passion for the purpose and a strong belief in the goals you are trying to achieve, you will be more focused, more diligent, more energetic – and all of those traits will be noticed and emulated by the team you lead. Leaders must love the pursuit of meaningful goals.