How To Lead Through Love In Your Business

January 24, 2022

Have you been told you need to be distant and professional in your workplace, not to get too close, because like a kitten or puppy that follows you home, your clingy team members will never leave you alone if you pay any attention to them?

It’s not true. You can be a caring and empathic leader without losing professionalism and without blurring the lines between what’s work and personal. But let’s get real here. Work is personal and if we don’t like where we work and how we work, it affects everything we do. 

One of the biggest health issues affecting the Australian workforce is stress. And stress is a costly problem for business as it means:

  • Sick leave
  • Lack of motivation
  • High staff turnovers
  • Low morale
  • Poor business performance

That's why it's so important to forget about being distant and start getting involved with your employees and showing that you have a heart. You can lead your business through love, and it’s better for everyone when you do.

Show Compassion And Empathy

The core principles of most business cultures are based on efficiency. This creates a scarcity mindset that leads to competitiveness and fear. It might have short-term gains but this stressful environment will ultimately lead to reduced motivation and productivity, stress leave, sick leave and high staff turnovers.

When you are compassionate and show empathy towards your team they will, in turn, show compassion and empathy toward each other. 

Businesses that create work cultures based on compassion and empathy, get amazing gains in collaboration and authenticity. The end result here is stronger employee engagement, better connections between staff and clients and employees that stuck around for decades to grow and develop along with your company.

Rather than base your team culture on numbers and efficiency, build your systems and put policies in place that encourage compassion and empathy. For example creating team assignments that draw on the strength of different team members, time in a week to get together to discuss the quantifiable data:

  • How is everyone feeling?
  • Where are your challenges?
  • What are the responses you are getting? 
  • How can we support you?

As well as people and places a team member can go for discussions and help with solutions if they get stuck or are feeling overwhelmed.       

Express Thanks

Most people don’t come to work for the paycheck. I know it seems like that would be the biggest reason for showing up, but if that's the only reason, you’ll see them file out the door in no time at all. That’s because paychecks are everywhere. You can just move from office to office anywhere in the world and pick up the money. No, what people really want is to be a special part of something bigger. They are looking for a community of people to create something with. They are looking to be part of something that makes a genuine difference in the world.

If you look at any startup, especially unicorns but any successful startup, it’s driven by one thing: Passion. Your workforce is made up of people who have personal drive and passion. Feed that and connect that with their work and your company and you will earn their respect and loyalty for the life of your business.

All you really need to do is appreciate them. Notice when they put in the effort, say thank you for their care and attention. Give them something special if they go the extra mile. What that means is they will feel rewarded and satisfied by their job, beyond their paycheck. They will consistently put in the effort and attention to detail. They will want to go the extra mile because it feels like it’s important. Their contribution is important, and of course, it is. Without Them, you’d be lost. You have no ability to do all this on your own. It’s impressive how well they are doing. 

Think of ways you can add rewards and recognition to your weekly or monthly structure to have appreciation and gratitude a solid part of your company.

Offer suggestions and feedback

No one likes to be told they are wrong. In the workplace being criticised creates anxiety and demotivates your staff, especially if you do it in front of other people. It’s absolutely okay to make mistakes, none does things perfectly every day.

Cut your team some slack and focus on the positive improvements they can make to get to the next level. Offer it as a suggestion they can take on board and provide feedback in a constructive way. That means rather than telling someone what they did wrong (with a that’s-not-good-enough frown), explain how they can do it differently next time to see better results.

If you are handing out criticism your team members will either shut down or blow up (even if they only get defensive when you are out of the room). The overall result will be that they are not likely to take feedback on board, you won't see any positive change and they will be anxious about their next project or meeting.

If you are pointing out a negative, do it by telling that person how great they are at something and how you noticed a positive. Now mention the negative, explain what you mean and how to improve, finish with something else about their work that you appreciate and admire.

As well as making recommendations for changes ask what you can do to support them. Is there anything they need (this might be in-house training, certain training, a better software program or assistance with admin to lighten the load)? It’s your job as the business leader to provide what is needed to get the job done. If you dump something on another person’s desk and walk away, they can’t do their work and you won’t see results. Commit to their success and follow through.

And when you notice improvements in the suggestions and feedback you gave them, tell them so.

Forget About Blame

When something goes wrong in Australian culture the strategy is to point the finger. We’ve seen our politicians do this for decades and it's wrong. Finding someone to blame doesn’t solve any problems, the problem is far, far bigger than just one person and if you follow the links back far enough, it’s bound to come back to the leader, the one who didn’t put the right system in place, who ultimately is responsible for whatever crisis you are facing.

Drop blaming and pull your team together. Your focus is what can you do as a team, as a company to keep thriving, you make a difference and give back.  By having these conversations you focus on the positive aspects that you can control and put the rudder firmly back in your hands. 

Blaming focuses on energy on negative factors outside your control. Bring it back to positives. Bring it back to you.

Don’t underestimate your team. You can make amazing gains through a crisis because it highlights something that needs to be addressed in your company so you can get better. Embrace, don’t push back and be thankful you have this opportunity to pull out your thumb and get your business in a great direction.

Explain what the damage is, how it affects the company and ask questions to understand the driving factors behind it. From there you can work as a team to find solutions and get to where you need to be.

Be Authentic 

We are not the same person day in-day out. We are not even the same person in the morning as we are in the afternoon. There are so many factors that impact our responses, our motivation and our mood:

  • Fatigue
  • If we work better morning or afternoon
  • Where we are in the week (some people do great on Mondays some have Mondayitis)
  • Distractions what is happening in your community, in your social life, in your workplace
  • Coffee (also chocolate) and the amount or lack of this
  • Stress
  • School holidays
  • Workloads
  • Current work profits
  • The time of the year
  • Seasons and weather (don’t get me started on allergies)
  • Group dynamics
  • Health and fitness

These are minor in some cases, and the effects can be minor too but the point is you can’t just expect that your staff are going to show up and be the exact same person every single day they are at work no matter what. 

Your office is made up of human beings and human interactions. That is going to be constantly changing and constantly evolving, both in up and down directions.

What you need to create and foster is authenticity. While you can’t ask your team to be the exact same person they were yesterday, you can ask them to be authentic every single day. Show us as the truthful honest you, no matter what. 

When your team can support each other for who they really are (and all their human flaws) it creates incredible confidence that no matter what happens, we can get through this together. That is the exact medicine you need to fight stress, anxiety and depression: Unconditional workplace love. 

We will value you even if you have a hard day. Yes, we will cover for you if your kid falls off the monkey bars and breaks his arm, yes we will rally for you if you make a mistake. 

You can be the leader here by leading by example. You don’t have to put on a brave face, you can show emotion, be authentic. Be human. 

You: Sorry team, I had a rough night. My kid was sick and throwing up everywhere. 

Team: No probs boss, we have your back. What do you need?

Your team is able to relate to and trust a leader who is authentic and truthful in their leadership.

Get to know each individual on your team. Who they are, what they are working for you and what they want to achieve in their career.

Be genuinely curious about how they prefer to communicate and what they need:

Do they need to rotate between working in the office and working from home? 

Would a 60-hour workweek be more productive? 

What office layout is going to suit them best?


Trust 

Trust that your team will make good choices and be honest. Trust that if they take sick leave it’s because they are sick. Trust that the hours they spend working at home are efficient. 

Obviously, you need to have rules and regulations in place that clearly define the boundaries, but one that is established, trust them to stick to it without having to produce proof or check in with you on an extreme basis.

In order to trust, you need to be trustworthy. It is a two-way street. If you break the rules, you need to hand out the same disciplinary action they would have received. You need to be where you say you'll be when you say it, just like you expect of them. Even if no one will ever find out about it, if you want your team to be honest, be honest yourself. If they dodge the rules and they do find out, you’ll lose their respect.

Creating a loving work environment requires you to be intentional about bringing compassion and empathy into your workplace and building it into your company structure. When you set an example in everything you want your team to do, you can lead the way for a positive work culture that abolishes excess stress, anxiety, depression and stress-related health issues. Your team will stay with you longer, communicate better, collaborate for stronger results and be motivated to come to work every day.

For this to be effective, you’ll need to share your goals with your team and communicate the changes and reasons behind them. If you present this well you’ll have their full cooperation.

Being more loving is the most powerful way to build and sustain a loving work environment. This is an investment that pays off handsomely.


Who is Peta Stewart?

Award-winning conveyancer. Entrepreneur. Business mentor. Women’s cycling advocate. These are just some of the ways Peta Stewart is introduced. What ties them together is a steely determination to help people achieve their life goals and have fun in the process.

In 2004, Peta became the first licensed conveyancer in the Albury Wodonga greater region. Five years later, she launched her own business and started shaking up the industry with a good dose of personality, integrity and humanity.

Find out more

More Blogs

HomeAboutProperty servicesMentoringTestimonialsMediaBlogContact