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Preface

The purpose of this article is to present an integrated model of leadership. I call this Holistic Leadership, one founded upon the premise that each of us must strive throughout our lifetime to become a centered individual who is able to effectively use the four principal components of leadership. Of particular significance is to understand the importance of the whole and the inter-relationships among the components and their elements.

My approach is not to focus on leadership equals position in an organization (i.e., management), but rather to talk about it as being resident in each and every one of us. It’s important that any discussion on leadership be integrated with individual, team and organizational learning. Although an effective leader must be able to adjust her style to the circumstances and people she leads, this must also be done in the larger context of a learning culture.

So what is a learning culture? To paraphrase Peter Senge (The Fifth Discipline), a learning culture exists when people collaborate to create their own future.

From my perspective, this means that leadership must be shared if this is to indeed happen, and that people must work continually towards becoming holistic leaders.

Why All the Fuss?

The roles that people (managers and staff) play in today’s organizations have become much more dynamic. They face greater complexity in their work environments as a result of the evolving and more sophisticated needs of clients; growing interdependency in the global economy; technological change; changing organizational structures and work processes; an aging population, and fiscal pressures. For those in managerial positions, these individuals must not only be able to respond to the needs, values and aspirations of their staff, they must also anticipate changes in the future.

To help their organizations thrive in a rapidly changing economy and society, everyone must practice some form of leadership.

While working in a collaborative manner with co-workers is key to helping their organizations succeed in the 21st Century, enhancing one’s personal leadership is critical, and this requires self-discovery and self-awareness.

In his book Principle Centered Leadership, Stephen Covey stresses the importance of people achieving balance and greater fulfillment in their lives by following correct principles. Doing so gives people a base for all of their daily decisions. From a leadership perspective, this is especially important because it instills a sense of stewardship, an essential element in effective leadership. As Covey states:

When people align their personal values with correct principles, they are liberated from old perceptions. One of the characteristics of authentic leaders is their humility, evident in their ability to take off their glasses and examine the lens objectively, analyzing how well their values, perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors align with “true north” principles.

The need has never been greater for leaders – at all levels – who are capable of functioning effectively in organizations in which diversity and interdependence have become two major yet opposing forces. This requires new behaviors for leaders if they are to succeed in this new and complex environment. Let’s now look at a model I’ve called The Holistic Leader: The Four Components & Their Principal Elements.

The Holistic Leadership Model

Note: Please visit my website (see the resource box at the end of this article) to view a diagram of the model. Click the button ‘Holistic Leadership’

At the core is the Centred Individual, representing the person who has attained a high level of comfort and competency with the four primary leadership components. One may prefer to see the centred individual as having achieved balance. That’s fine, as long as it’s understood that balance does not mean using the four components in equal measures. Instead, the centred individual is able to seamlessly alter her leadership behaviour to meet the needs of her followers and co-workers under a given set of circumstances.

Because leadership does not exist unless there are followers, it stands to reason that at the core of the issues that demand the attention of leaders is people. This model was created with people as the cornerstone. Moreover, it respects the need for formal, managerial leadership and informal, shared leadership. Both are needed to support one another in an age of uncertainty, paradox, and speed.

Teaching

Much has been written on the need for leaders to be coaches and mentors. This is indeed essential to their effectiveness. But Teaching, as a key leadership component, is broader, encompassing the learning organization concept. Some writers have used the expression The Teaching Organization in place of the learning organization. Teaching becomes the responsibility of everyone in the organization. It begins from the inside. This is the quest for personal mastery: to continually strive to improve oneself, and in turn to share with others. In essence, we become stewards for teaching, because it is seen in the organization as highly valued and necessary to its long-term success.

To be a “teacher” means being open, both to self-discovery and to the views and feedback from others. Reflection and inquiry are critical if this is to occur, for without them we are not able to slow ourselves sufficiently to explore new meanings and possibilities. Teaching is fundamental to effective formal and informal leadership.

Directing

This component is critical to those in management, especially at the senior level. We read in the management literature how managers must posses certain key elements. They need to be visionary and strategic, yet also have a burning sense of urgency to move forward. Furthermore, they must be results-oriented, and to achieve this means that they must be capable of mobilizing people.

That these five elements are essential for effective formal leadership is not in dispute. But what about those people in middle managerial positions, not to mention staff? Little has been written on the need for people at the middle and lower levels in organizations to develop their skills for these five elements. However, they are critical skills to acquire if we wish to see a change in the culture of leadership in organizations.

Peter Senge explains that there are three main types of leaders in organizations. Senior managers are one category. A great deal has been written on this group. The second category of leaders is front-line managers, who Senge says are the most critical in an organization because they connect daily with staff. And the third is what he calls Network Leaders, or what others call Thought Leaders.

All three categories of leaders must interact because they each possess certain strengths. Front-line managers, unfortunately, have not been paid sufficient attention in organizations, with respect to improving their leadership abilities. In terms of the Holistic Leadership model, front-line managers need to ensure that they develop the directing component, because they are the ones who are best positioned to mobilize their staff. But this means that they need to be visionary and strategic, as well as results-oriented.

Network leaders are the seed planters, sowing ideas in their organizations and bringing people together. Their interaction with front-line managers is vital, in terms of reciprocal sharing of knowledge and ideas. And they play a key role in influencing senior management. Network leaders must also develop the elements contained in the directing component if they wish to increase their effectiveness.

Consequently, it’s important that we rethink our assumptions on the directing component of leadership. These assumptions are oriented around power and authority and where they are housed in organizations. If we really wish to see our organizations evolve to embrace collaborative learning and shared leadership, then we need to shed some of our traditional beliefs on leadership.

Participating

This brings us to the participatory aspect of leadership. It doesn’t matter what expression is used: shared leadership, participatory leadership, post-heroic leadership, roving leadership, etc. The point is that this component of leadership is critical to helping organizations create learning cultures that are based on power-sharing, inclusion, enrollment, alignment, collaboration, and commitment.

Much has been written on participatory leadership. In both the private and public sectors, it is espoused by senior management as being the new way of working together. However, what is said publicly is often not practiced. This applies not just to management but staff as well. Modeling the desired behaviours that accompany this form of leadership is fundamental to its eventual success. Network leaders, for example, must practice the elements contained in this leadership. Staff, too, need to learn how to collaborate and how to find common ground when conflict arises.

Some time ago, I read an article that talked about the tacit collusion in which employees frequently engage to protect their functional boundaries. Specifically, people follow unspoken norms with respect to staying out of one another’s jobs. When these norms are not followed, conflict typically emerges. The consequence is the “cementing” of behaviours and practices in organizations. When a major change initiative is introduced, senior management becomes frustrated by the rigid silos that have been erected among functional groups, and which in turn contribute to resistance to the change effort.

Participating is an extremely important component of holistic leadership because it provides the conduit to unleashing the potential of people. Again, this is important to those in senior and front-line managerial positions, and also to those who seek to play informal leadership roles.

Nurturing

This component of holistic leadership is one that is only beginning to receive attention. It is what some call the “soft” aspect of leadership. Because it is strongly oriented around relationships and the human dimension, it is not easily quantifiable. Moreover, nurturing is an area that has not traditionally been part of the heroic leadership mindset, and which has been dominated by males.

The ability to show empathy is vital to enhancing our leadership. To be empathetic means to be able to put oneself in another’s shoes, or frame of reference. Stephen Covey, in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, speaks of the habit of Seek first to understand, then be understood. This is a difficult habit to learn because it requires us to listen carefully to the other person and to really understand their point of view, all the while refraining from speaking ourselves.

Improving our ability to empathize will in turn enhance our communication skills. Creating meaningful conversations, or dialogues, is essential if organizations are to enhance their collective ability to learn. But the challenge to this is the diversity that is growing in organizations. The holistic leader is able to see the value in diverse needs, wants, beliefs, expectations, personalities, backgrounds, gender, colour, age, etc. Being able to see from a systems perspective the benefits that diversity brings to an organization, and in turn influencing it in a forward-thinking way, is a strong leadership asset.

This leads to the creation of bonds within the organization. The holistic leader has contributed to creating a web of relationships, despite the challenge of addressing diversity in an organization that faces unrelenting change. These bonds, in turn, support collaborative learning and the creation of a learning culture.

The holistic leader understands and pays attention to the need for developing the triangle of spirit, mind, and body. Without daily practice of these three equally important parts, it is difficult to achieve a high state of personal wellness. As with personal mastery, personal wellness starts from within. But the holistic leader also strives to help her co-workers (and staff) increase their awareness of this important element of nurturing leadership. For example, the network leader sows “wellness seeds” in the organization as a way to assist the organization create a healthier workplace: spiritually, intellectually, and physically.

Wrapup

I have attempted in this article to present an integrated model of leadership that is simple in design yet complex in practice. The four components of the holistic leader model are not discrete but rather interdependent. When looking at one part of the model it quickly becomes apparent of the link to other parts. And this is how we need to approach leadership: by understanding the web of relationships among the many elements. If we take the approach that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, then we will benefit from the synergies that emerge when we work towards becoming holistic leaders.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Few things in leadership are as misunderstood as the concept of “smart.” For most organizations, especially the large and supposedly sophisticated ones, smart usually equates to I.Q. points. More specifically, analytical I.Q. The kind that inspires awe with the savant-like ability to crunch numbers in real time, on the fly. Somehow this measure of smart has become one of the most important criteria for selecting CEOs and other senior leaders. Let’s call them analytical leaders, and then let’s reconsider.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Every organization needs brilliant analytical thinkers…as engineers, research scientists, financial analysts and the like. Disciplines where analytical brilliance is the difference between success and failure, with significant consequences at stake. But the problem with so many brilliant analytical thinkers is their inability to leverage their brilliance through others.

Now I know that there are exceptions to every rule and that there are analytical savants with the ability to lead with passion.

But they are the exception to the rule. More often than not, they struggle to relate to others who are not as gifted as they are (which is just about everyone else) and as a result their leadership is not accretive to the organization.

Smart leaders do not need to have the highest analytical I.Q. What makes them smart is their ability to inspire others around them, both with and without higher I.Q.s, to do things that they otherwise would or could not do. The ability to see opportunity where others do not, to imagine possibilities where others see roadblocks. To create a crucible for success when the numbers don’t quite add up.

This type of inspiration does not come through analytics.

It does not take root in the left hemisphere of our brain. It outgrows a leader’s ability to translate vision into energized action. A vision painted with a vibrant palette of words, images and allegory. The last time I looked, people communicate to one-another with words. Machines use numbers.

Of course a leader needs to understand the power of analytics and the pursuit of measurable results. If they do not, they will not be in position for long. But they don’t lead with the numbers. They lead with people. To lead people requires that you first communicate with them. Inspire them. Challenge them. Now that’s what I call smart.

 

Leadership and Intelligence

Post heroic leadership places facilitation skills above intelligence. Gone is the heroic individual with the wisdom to cut through complexity single-handedly.

How important is it for a leader to be intelligent? The short answer is that it depends on how leadership is defined. If being a CEO means being a leader, the answer to the question is probably “yes.” But if leadership is defined in a different way, then the answer might be “no.”

The Relationship Between Intelligence and Leadership

In the early years of studying leadership, the so-called “trait theory” took the view that there is a set of traits that marks leaders from non-leaders. Early traits claimed to be characteristic of leaders included intelligence, a drive to dominate others, being extroverted and having charisma. Today, people often point to the importance of emotional intelligence, facilitative skills and integrity. The trait theory implies that certain personal characteristics are necessary conditions for leadership, or at least, effective leadership. In later thinking about leadership, this approach was abandoned because it was felt that leadership effectiveness varied too much across situations and types of people being led. The feeling was that there were no universally necessary traits to be a leader.

More recently, trait thinking has been making a comeback. In particular, numerous studies associate intelligence with leadership effectiveness. Some thinkers feel that the more senior the executive the more important are general cognitive skills, the ability to grasp more and more complex information to make informed decisions.

The Move to Post Heroic Leadership

The work of Jim Collins, especially in his book, Good to Great, has helped to popularize a facilitative style of leadership. He called his version of post heroic leadership “level 5 leadership.” Collins did extensive research on companies that had moved from average to exceptional levels of performance over several years. He found the CEOs of such companies to be humble, to feel that they did not have all the answers. Collins used the slogan “first who then what” to explain how these CEOs worked. They got their best people together (first who) and conducted brainstorming sessions with them to develop new strategies for the business (then what). Collins used this slogan to contrast it with the more heroic leadership model where the CEO decides what needs to be done and then gets people to execute the new strategy. Collins expressed this style with the slogan “first what then who.”

Level 5 leadership is just one model of what has become known as post heroic leadership. The central theme running through all of such models of leadership is that the CEO needs to develop new directions by drawing out the best thinking of the organization. This approach to deciding strategic direction ties in the the “wisdom of crowds” idea, the view that groups make better decisions than individuals. Here, the most important skill for the CEO is to be a good facilitator. The need for intelligence in any one individual is not so strong if the best decisions are made by groups.

So, if leadership means that CEOs should call the shots based on their own thinking then, given the increasing complexity of today’s world, they had better be quite intelligent. Conversely, if leadership means being able to draw the best ideas out of others, then CEO intelligence is not as important as facilitation skills.

Leadership Reinvented for a Digital Age

A totally different conception of leadership says that it has nothing to do with position. On this view, being a CEO means being a manager. A CEO can show occasional leadership, but only management is a role. By freeing leadership from position, it becomes clearer how all employees can show some leadership. The essence of leadership now is that it is simply the successful promotion of a better way, a new idea for a new direction. It can be shown by example when a front-line employee works in a new way or promotes more efficient practices or new products. It involves challenging the status quo. Such “thought leadership” can be very small scale and local.

The question of intelligence is very situational. It depends on the audience to which a person is trying to show leadership. More intelligence will likely be necessary to influence an intelligent audience. Such leadership is a matter of presenting hard evidence for a new product or strategy. An intelligent audience needs to see the person trying to show leadership to them as credible and technically sound in the business case being made. Conversely, an employee demonstrating a better approach to serving customers in a retail store can show leadership without the same degree of intelligence.

Crucially, however, major strategic decisions that take large, complex organizations in new directions are most likely to be sound if made by a group. Where leadership is defined as promoting new directions, the use of facilitation skills to help a group make good decisions can be seen as a management technique. This means that CEOs who use such skills to develop new strategies are wearing a managerial hat in so doing.

Thus, on two of our three ways of defining leadership, high intelligence is either not necessary or only situationally important.

Much has been written about leadership: rules, pointers, styles, and biographies of inspiring leaders throughout world history. But there are certain leadership ideas that we ourselves fail to recognize and realize in the course of reading books. Here is a short list of things you thought you knew about leadership.

1. Leaders come in different flavors.

There are different types of leaders and you will probably encounter more than one type in your lifetime. Formal leaders are those we elect into positions or offices such as the senators, congressmen, and presidents of the local clubs. Informal leaders or those we look up to by virtue of their wisdom and experience such as in the case of the elders of a tribe, or our grandparents; or by virtue of their expertise and contribution on a given field such as Albert Einstein in the field of Theoretical Physics and Leonardo da Vinci in the field of the Arts. Both formal and informal leaders practice a combination of leadership styles.
·    Lewin’s three basic leadership styles – authoritative, participative, and delegative
·    Likert’s four leadership styles – exploitive authoritative, benevolent authoritative, consultative, and participative
·    Goleman’s six emotional leadership styles – visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding.

2. Leadership is a process of becoming.

Although certain people seem to be born with innate leadership qualities, without the right environment and exposure, they may fail to develop their full potential. So like learning how to ride a bicycle, you can also learn how to become a leader and hone your leadership abilities. Knowledge on leadership theories and skills may be formally gained by enrolling in leadership seminars, workshops, and conferences. Daily interactions with people provide the opportunity to observe and practice leadership theories. Together, formal and informal learning will help you gain leadership attitudes, gain leadership insights, and thus furthering the cycle of learning. You do not become a leader in one day and just stop. Life-long learning is important in becoming a good leader for each day brings new experiences that put your knowledge, skills, and attitude to a test.

3. Leadership starts with you.

The best way to develop leadership qualities is to apply it to your own life. As an adage goes “action speaks louder than words.” Leaders are always in the limelight. Keep in mind that your credibility as a leader depends much on your actions: your interaction with your family, friends, and co-workers; your way of managing your personal and organizational responsibilities; and even the way you talk with the newspaper vendor across the street. Repeated actions become habits. Habits in turn form a person’s character. Steven Covey’s book entitled 7 Habits of Highly Effective People provides good insights on how you can achieve personal leadership.

4. Leadership is shared.

Leadership is not the sole responsibility of one person, but rather a shared responsibility among members of an emerging team. A leader belongs to a group. Each member has responsibilities to fulfill. Formal leadership positions are merely added responsibilities aside from their responsibilities as members of the team. Effective leadership requires members to do their share of work. Starting as a mere group of individuals, members and leaders work towards the formation of an effective team. In this light, social interaction plays a major role in leadership. To learn how to work together requires a great deal of trust between and among leaders and members of an emerging team. Trust is built upon actions and not merely on words. When mutual respect exists, trust is fostered and confidence is built.

5. Leadership styles depend on the situation.

How come dictatorship works for Singapore but not in the United States of America? Aside from culture, beliefs, value system, and form of government, the current situation of a nation also affects the leadership styles used by its formal leaders. There is no rule that only one style can be used. Most of the time, leaders employ a combination of leadership styles depending on the situation. In emergency situations such as periods of war and calamity, decision-making is a matter of life and death. Thus, a nation’s leader cannot afford to consult with all departments to arrive at crucial decisions. The case is of course different in times of peace and order—different sectors and other branches of government can freely interact and participate in governance. Another case in point is in leading organizations. When the staffs are highly motivated and competent, a combination of high delegative and moderate participative styles of leadership is most appropriate. But if the staffs have low competence and low commitment, a combination of high coaching, high supporting, and high directing behavior from organizational leaders is required.

Now that you are reminded of these things, keep in mind that there are always ideas that we think we already know; concepts we take for granted, but are actually the most useful insights on leadership.

Executive Summary

John Hope Bryant is from Southern California and well known as the founder of the Operation HOPE.  He is also known as a financial adviser and poverty eradication activist.  He was born on February 6, 1966 in Los Angeles.  His parents split up at an early age, in which he shared time with both parents separately. At a young age, Bryant witnessed his father lose their home to a financial predator by refinancing and charging higher unaffordable interest rates after a certain period of time. This inspired Bryant later in life to create an organization to help fight individuals against these predators.

Bryant wrote the book titled Love Leadership to express the idea of leading with love in a fear-based business world.  He tells about his many experiences he has gained from his early childhood all the way up to his life as the CEO of HOPE.  He expresses how love leadership can improve your style of leading others as well improve yourself altogether.

Bryant provides five total chapters in his book along with a foreword, introduction, and conclusion.  The foreword was written very well by Bill George, whom is also the author of the book True North.  Bill George expresses how this book is very marvelous and has affected his life. He also shares his experiences using love leadership. He explains how Bryant has so much more of a deeper and more insightful understand of what it means to lead with love.  After the foreword, there is a quick introduction.  In the introduction, Bryant tells about his childhood with his mother and father.  Bryant talks about his father losing his home as well as some of the random businesses his mother and father ran.  He explains that his father has bad budgeting and spending habits, but a good working ethic, and his mother taught him budgeting as she learned early in her childhood.

After the introduction, Bryant starts the chapters in the book.  Each chapter represents each law of love leadership.  Throughout each chapter, Bryant breaks down the meanings of each law as well as how he has experienced them in his life.  The reason these laws are so impacting is because Bryant actually learned all of these laws by mistakes he made along to way to success.

Before the book is closed out, Bryant gives a conclusion that rallies all of his laws together to make his last point about why people should have a love-based leadership.  He expresses on why it is so important to have this style of leadership due to the global economic crisis we face today.  He expresses how this is all a huge wake-up call to our country, because so many companies and organizations are being run incorrectly.   Just as HOPE was an organization to rebuild southern California and the rest of the country, Bryant expresses that love leadership is the tool to build our country and help it improve our economic crisis.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know fromLove Leadership

1.            Loss creates leaders.  Experience of loss creates passionate leaders that look to succeed.

2.            Most people find strengths in external forces such as money, power, and titles.  Things that make a leader are on the inside such as integrity, wisdom, confidence, vulnerability, and passion.

3.            Fear fails. Going through life living in fear only holds you back from innovation. You want take risks, and you will not provide new talents.

4.            Ego and greed are two major motivators of fear.  Fear will get you nowhere in the business world today.

5.            Charity begins at home.  You have feel good about yourself before you can feel good about someone else.  You have to have confidence in yourself to have confidence in someone else.

6.            Fear-based leadership is short-term.  It may provide immediate success but is destine to fail.  Love-based leadership is based on long-term.

7.            Build long-term relationship with your followers.  Go the extra mile and treat them very well.  Get personal with them.  This will keep them loyal forever.

8.            Money is a by-product of love leadership; it is not a direct product.  Love leadership will provide true wealth.

9.            Vulnerability is power.  Admit you made a mistake when you made it.  Don’t lie or dance around the facts.  Your follows are more likely to forgive you and work towards a solution.

10.            Giving is getting.  Developing a relationship with others, helping them out when they are in need, and giving them 110% effort will benefit you just as much as it will them.

Full Summary of Love Leadership

LOSS CREATES LEADERS

Loss is the very first law of love leadership.  Loss is the very reason John Hope Bryant is who he is today.  It has motivated him to help groups and individuals all over the country through an organization known as HOPE.

FALL FROM GRACE

John Hope Bryant grew up in southern California between Compton and South Los Angeles.  During his childhood, he witnessed many conflictions between his mother and his father.  They eventually split up due to Bryant’s father taking the college funding of John’s brother.  John went to live with his father.  His father was targeted by a financial predator, and they eventually lost their home.  This made John realize how poorly financially managed his father was.  John then started at a private school for acting.  This led to many job opportunities in his young acting career.  For the first time, John was making a substantial amount of money.  John was taken in by bad spending habits and failing business attempts.  They were the same poorly managed financial issues his father experienced early in John’s life.  John eventually lost his home as well, ending up living in his Jeep just behind an airport in Los Angeles.  Even today, when John passes this very same airport, he is reminded that poor financial decision making can put him right back in the same place.

LEADING FROM LOSS

Everyday John meets with top CEO’s of very large corporations dealing with the current involvements in his HOPE Organization.  He does not fear any of these CEO’s because the loss of everything he once experienced has given him so much confidence in living life.  When people experience loss, they deal with it in one of three ways.  They can give up, cope or avoid the conflict, or they can accept and learn from the experience.  Learning from the experience creates the best leadership out there. It helps you learn more about yourself. Without loss, how would we stand strong? We wouldn’t know how. Loss teaches leadership. These are things learned from personal experience which can make you very passionate about leading others in these same areas.

GREAT LEADERS FORGED BY FIRE

Most great leaders have all experienced some type of great loss in their lives before they were able to lead the way they did.  Franklin D. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio at age 39.  He led The United States of America out of the depression and served four terms as president.  Candice Lightner lost her thirteen year old daughter to a drunk driver.  She then created the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers organization which has saved many lives.  Martin Luther King Jr. experienced loss throughout his entire life.  He was abandoned, beaten, stabbed, and eventually killed for his beliefs, but he never gave up.  He has changed this country forever. “Loss strips away your physical crutches, and even your emotional crutches, and leaves you with nothing but the spirit. And in the spirit lies your true power.”

LOSS GIVES YOU AN ADVANTAGE

Through an acquaintance of Dave O’Meara the owner of Malibu Cinemas, John was then hired by a private merchant banking company.  He was asked to sell equity loans.  John realized this is the same time of predatory lending his father fell victim to and proposed to his boss a new division in lending.  In the first year, John failed his California real estate test three times, and made zero revenue.  The next year he finally passed that real estate test and turned small revenue of million. A few years later he was bringing in million and ended up buying the division out to start Bryant Group Companies.

OUT OF LOSS AND DISPAIR, HOPE

During the early 90’s, South California experienced some harsh times.  The Rodney King trials were going on, and fires spread throughout destroying neighborhoods.  One thing Bryant noticed was the buildings being burned down were not owned homes, they were leases and businesses. Bryant noticed the people of the area were very frustrated but did not destroy their own.  With the help of Bryant’s pastor, Bryant had the courage to lead a bus filled with bankers into the heart of these neighborhoods to help rebuild.  During these visits they were able to meet business owners, and provide them with loans to rebuild their business and life.  This was the creation of the operation called HOPE. HOPE is an organization to helped “poor communities who lacked banking services; who lacked financial literacy; who lacked a path to home ownership; who lacked a path to economic self-sufficiency; who lacked dignity, power, or even the simple courtesy of a returned telephone call.”  So, because of loss, Bryant has learned a lot and progressed forward.  Unlike most individuals, the success didn’t get to Bryant, and in return he started an organization to help poor communities across the country.   Loss is the first rule of love leadership.

FEAR FAILS

Every leader faces what we call fear.  Fear is only a simple feeling that leads directly to failure.  Love, however, is not just a feeling.  It also requires thinking.  Love is an emotion that stays with you as fear fades away. The second law in love leadership is that fear fails.

A FEAR BASED WORLD

In the business world, there are to major motivators of fear; ego and greed. In business life, people go to work fearing they will lose their job.  In the end, this only hurts them.  Going to work in fear, holds their unique personalities back.  It prevents them from trying, as they are afraid they will fail.  It prevents them from taking risks, so they won’t be innovative.  Fear only holds people back. You have to start believing in yourself to believe in others. Love yourself so that you are able to love others as well. Know what your purpose in life is instead of fearing it.

FEAR-BASED LEADERSHIP

There are businesses from large to small all over the globe that is based off fear leadership.  Henry Ford II is a good example of fear leadership. He is known for firing staff for no apparent reason.  It is reported that 37% of American worked are being bullied at work, mostly by their bosses. Fear-based leaders share some of the characteristics as most great leaders.  They both are very charismatic and intelligent.  Although they are similar, fear-based leaders tend to criticize unfairly, blame others for their mistakes, steal credit, make unreasonable demands, deny accomplishments, and issue threats.  This is like comparing Abraham Lincoln to Adolf Hitler, Dr. Martin Luther King to Joseph Stalin, or Gandhi to Osama Bin Laden.

FEAR LEADS TO “SHORT-TERMISM”

One problem with today’s business world is that it tries to make as many shortcuts to success as possible. It is fearing and lazy. Leading with fear may cause your business to take off for the moment, but it will eventually collapse. Our economy is a prime example of this.  The market has taken on severe loss to foreclosed homes.  This has caused a terrible crisis to the country’s economy.

STUMBLING AND FALLING, OUT OF FEAR

In this section of the book, Bryant discusses about a time he led out of fear.  They had to put together a cybercafé in L.A. for Al Gore, the vice president at the time.  This needed to be done in two weeks. Bryant took in a lot of stress trying to put together this cybercafé.  He unloaded a lot of stress and drama on other individuals around him.  Towards the end of the project, he snapped and yelled and cursed.  He was then sat down by a volunteer named Rod McGrew, who had helped HOPE for 8 years.  Rod told him that he forgave him because he knew Bryant was so stressed, but he needed to fix things.  This is a lesson Bryant has learned from experience.  Leading out of fear is a short term fix that will eventually crumble in the end.

LOVE MAKES MONEY

Bryant outsmarted Fila and Ellesse by traveling to Mexico to pick up merchandize, then returning home to sell this at a cheaper price to earn profits.  Fila and Ellesse picked up on this and attempted to sue Bryant putting him out of business in legal fees.  Bryant walked away. Bryant learned from the experience and realized he needed to do more for his community and less for himself.  He learned the next law of love leadership; love makes money.

LOVE-BASED PROSPERITY

Money is a by-product of leading with love.  Leading with love is doing something simply because you care, not out of greed or lust. Bill gates didn’t start Microsoft simply because he wanted to make billions of dollars.  This came because he obsessed about an idea of software was designed to simply be user friendly for everyone.  Leading with love is thinking about others more than you.  Gates designed software to make using a computer easier for others. The money he made from this idea was a by-product.

LEADING WITH LOVE FOR THE LONG TERM

Leading with fear is short-term, but leading with love is long-term.  As a leader, leading with love insures your place in the future.  If you lead with love, people will follow you forever.  Leading with fear hurts your reputation, brand, and your future.  Leading with love is the only way to lead if you want to last.

CARING FOR OTHERS

Long-term relationships drive love leadership. Bryant learned through trial and error that if he was nice, he would make 1 sale.  That client wouldn’t return the next year.  He learned by developing a long-term relationship with the client, he would make 20 or so sales and establish the type of relationship that would keep the client coming back each year. Don’t treat each client as a transaction, treat them as a friend. Ask about their families, hobbies, etc. It is the same with your employees.  If you create a good relationship with your employees, they will always follow you as their leader.

DOING GOOD

Creating a genuine relationship with someone is not the only thing that needs to be done to make money.  Bryant goes over your purpose in life.  The biggest asset a person has is not their money, job, or even family.  It is you.  If you use this asset to do good, the rest will follow.   In return you will receive true wealth.  True wealth isn’t just money; it is spiritual, intellectual, and emotional as well. Following this law will make you wealthy and wise.

VULNERABILITY IS POWER

In this chapter, Bryant talks about HOPE as it went through harsh times as the economy fell.  He also adopts a rule he learned from Oprah.  Do business with companies that are credible and have as much to lose as you do. Vulnerability is power is the fourth law of love leadership.

VULNERABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

When things go bad, fear-based leadership tend to make leaders lie about situations, make critical poor decisions, and close off their relationship with their followers.  A love based leadership is quite the opposite.  When you are honest and accept your mistakes openly, people are more likely to forgive you.  Bryant talks about how HOPE climbed out of a financial revenue crisis and is now hitting their revenue mark for 2009.

 WHY VULNERABILITY IS A SOURCE OF POWER

Bryant expresses that by following love leadership, being vulnerable is a must.  When you make a mistake be sure to be open about it.  People will stand beside you when you make mistakes.  There are ladder climbers and ladder makers.  If a ladder maker makes a mistake, their steps are strong, and so they will not fall.  A ladder climber however will see their steps collapse for all the people they stepped on making their way up.

HOW TO SHOW VULNERABILITY

Deliver bad news and admit mistakes as soon as they progress. The sooner you get this information out the better. Do not hold it in and wait for the problem to find you.  To admit your mistake is an act of love.  To hold it in is an act of fear.

GIVING IS GIVING

Giving is giving is the fifth and final law of love leadership.  This chapter discusses how giving is the true gift of a leader.  When you give passionately, the gift you will receive is unbeatable.

THE MORE YOUR GIVE, THE MORE YOU GET

In this section of the chapter, Bryant expresses that as a love leader, your employers or customers are not your servants, in fact, you are their servant.  Have a deep passion for helping the people you are leading.  Make sure your decisions benefit your followers, not just you.  In return they will follow you for life.

GIVING TO YOUR PEOPLE

Make sure you are involved throughout your entire campaign.  Be at all of the meetings even if you aren’t speaking.  Get involved in the classes or teachings of your followers.  Go and personally meet your clients.  Get involved as much as possible, and do it as much or more than your followers.  If you are greatly involved and carry your relationship to the next level, you will receive as well.

GIVING TO GET THE BEST OUT OF PEOPLE

Give more than one hundred percent to your employees, because you will receive just that much in return. You cannot grow as a company or as an individual by giving bare minimum. Create a positive reinforcing environment and your organization will do better.   This is the last stepping stone to love leadership.

The Video Lounge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHvN1Bf1aGY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc1Op-3caxw

Personal Insights

With the business conditions today, what the author wrote is definitely true.  Leadership that is based on fear will only get you so far with your followers.  Fear based leadership sets up for failure, while leadership based on love is set to achieve only the highest goals.  Today’s business world needs very strong leaders, because there is so much more than just telling employees what to do.  Fear-based organizations fail after a short-term success, while love leadership-based organizations strive as long as they are doing good.  With the Global economy hurting as much as it is, leaders must do everything in their will to improve and move their organization forward.

Then, all of the following bullet-items are mandatory to write about:

If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1.            Gone more into depth.  Bryant talks a lot about his personal experiences.  I just think that readers would get more out of the book if Bryant wrote more about how to accomplish being a love-based leader.

2.            Even though I enjoyed it thoroughly, I felt like I was reading a biography about Bryant instead of the teachings from his life experiences.  He praised himself too much towards the end of the book, which counteracts the entire point of the book.

3.            Bryant could have possibly written a little more about examples of fear-based leadership companies failing.  He mentioned one or two, but I just think more would support his theory a little more.

Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1.            It really helped me see the poor mishaps of a lot of current companies.  Fear-based leadership is involved in a lot of companies here in the United States.

2.            It has really made me aware of the financial predators out in the world today.  I already knew they existed, but I didn’t realize to what extent.

3.            I didn’t really understand how far leading with love can really go in the work environment.  I somewhat thought it would be appropriate to lead with a little more force.

I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1.            Developing a better relationship with each and every follower or employee.

2.            Being more open about mistakes I make, and coming out with them as soon as I know I was wrong.

3.            Opting out fear.  Fear is short-term success followed by failure.  I will develop more a love-based leadership for long-term effects.

Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

“This morning, I finished reading “Love Leadership: The New Way To Lead in a Fear-Based World”, by John Hope Bryant. This book advocates that the best long-term success is driven by people who lead others with love, caring, and respect. For 17 years, John Hope Bryant has lead his company, Operation HOPE, using these guiding principals; and, as a result, during the worst economic crisis in decades, he manages to continue on without having to let go of a single employee. This is impressive unto itself; but, when you realize that Operation HOPE is a non-profit and that much of its funding came from, and continues to come from companies currently under tremendous financial stress, the power of building “personal relationships” with your partners and vendors becomes exceedingly evident.”