The Importance of ‘Why’ in Love Leadership
Posted On February 1, 2008 at 12:51 am in Love Leadership
-Friedrich Nietzsche
A definition of great leaders is that they have willing followers. But how do you attract willing followers?
The challenge of leadership is to first determine the clear what – what you want to accomplish. Secondly, the imperative is to develop a clear compelling why-why people would want to put effort or support into helping you accomplish your goals. Unfortunately some leaders think the best why is an “or else”
In my community we just completed a provincial election. What is amazing in the political world is much the strategy of motivating voters relies on fear. The wolf in sheep’s clothing is a tagline used by one of the political parties. Please understand I am making this commentary not to trash one party or the other, but rather to demonstrate how some leaders seek to motivate through the use of fear-based tactics.
I had an opportunity for a conversation with one of the candidates in this election. He asked me what I thought of their ‘wolf’ campaign. I told him honestly that I did not like it. I said that in my opinion many voters are waiting – fruitlessly at present – for a leader who can provide a clear picture of what they intend to accomplish, not one who tries to convince by fear in order to get me to vote against the other party. As it turn out the political party that used hope not fear won.
Not to get into international conflict with our good neighbor in the U.S., but it has always been my observation that the U.S. has a fear-based culture and the current president is unfortunately exceptionally adept at creating and sustaining that fear. Two of his public statements still ring in my ears: “You are either with us or against us” and “The axis of evil.”
Tragically, I think many leaders default to fear as their motivators. It is true in many areas, not only in politics. But, that being said, in the political arena fear-based politics sure shows up in big bold letters and a 64-point fonts size, because it adversely affects each and every one of us as well as our children and children’s children. This kind of scare tactic is the polar opposite of Love Leadership, which is why it is exactly what the world needs now.
