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With Valentine’s Day around the corner, your brain (not to mention your social media feed) is probably filled with hearts, chocolate, and advertisements for extremely overpriced roses. Of course, this holiday is about showing your family and friends that you love them… but what about your employees and your band members? If you’re a leader, the thought of using the word “love” in a professional context may bring up fears of conversations with Human Resources and potential lawsuits. Don’t worry; we’re not talking about that today. We’re talking about “Agape,” the Greek word for selfless, unconditional love. How do you turn up the volume of the love in your leadership? Love on the Front Lines After leading thousands of soldiers in Afghanistan, Army Colonel Joe Ricciardi sought to answer one important question through his doctoral research with the Center for Values-Driven Leadership: How does love influence leadership? He found that “A team member who feels ‘loved’ by his boss is significantly more likely to see his boss as a good leader.” Ricciardi discovered that there were three factors of love (intimacy, passion, and commitment) that correlated strongly with leadership. However, intimacy was, by far, the most important. Why? Because investing the time to create a strong relationship with a team member proves you are committed to leading them. Love as a Leadership Style Leadership isn’t about holding power over others; it’s about supporting them and guiding them toward a common goal. As Jimi Hendrix once said, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. So, what does Love-Centered leadership look like? Leading with love means having compassion, empathy, and a genuine concern for your employees. This creates a culture where team members feel supported, respected, valued, and heard. This leads to increased loyalty, decreased turnover, and a highly productive work environment. How to Lead with Love There are many ways to lead with love. Begin incorporating these concepts into your day-to-day, and you will see your organization’s culture change right before your very eyes. 1. Get to Know Your Employees, your band mates. A love-centered boss cares about their team members as people, not just employees. Take the time to get to know who works for you. Do they have a family? Hobbies? Are they passionate about a cause? Make a note of the special dates in their lives so you can wish them a happy birthday, anniversary, etc. Ask them (in an appropriate way) about what’s happening outside of work and show genuine interest in who they are. 2. Develop Trust Developing trust goes in two directions. First, you’ll want to lead by example, demonstrating honesty and integrity in everything you do. When you commit to doing something, do it. Show your team members that you are someone worth trusting. Second, trust them. Empower your employees to make decisions, take initiative, and work independently. 3. Encourage Collaboration It’s hard to lead with love if you foster an environment where employees have to step on one another to earn your attention. Rather than forcing team members to compete with one another, reinforce and reward collaboration. 4. Nurture Open Communication If employees are not coming to you with problems, rest assured they are going somewhere. Maybe it’s to coworkers, maybe it’s to customers, but their concerns will be heard. Maintain open lines of communication where team members feel safe to voice their concerns, make suggestions for improvements, and come to you with questions. 5. Support Personal Development If you see employees or band members are moving on to bigger opportunities as a threat to your business, it’s time for a mindset shift. Team members need to grow. They need to develop new skills, face and overcome new challenges, and move into higher positions as they develop. Offer personal and professional development opportunities for your team members and help them develop into the best possible version of themselves. If there are no opportunities for advancement within your organization, support them as they look elsewhere. It’s time to turn up the love in your leadership and create a safe, welcoming, supportive environment for your team members to shine. These simple five notes will build a better band culture, increase band member engagement, and open the door or larger stages for your business to conquer as a band as a team. For more tips on how to turn up your leadership, visit https://marvellessmark.com.

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