Love As A Leadership Strategy

I was speaking with a CEO recently who said something that landed deeply in my body:

“I lead from love… and it works.”

I believed her.

I agreed with her.

And I know it’s true.

But as her words lingered with me later, I found myself wondering:

What does it actually mean to lead with love?

What does it look like in real time, in the day-to-day realities of meetings, deadlines, missteps, and human beings trying their best?

Because leading with love is not soft, sentimental, or sugary.

Leading with love is truth-telling. 

It’s presence. 

It’s courage. 

It’s responsibility. 

It’s choosing alignment over approval.

Love doesn’t mean avoiding hard conversations.

It means having them because you care, not because you want to be right.

Love means saying,

“Hey, this didn’t go well. Let’s look at it together—because I believe in you, and in our team, and in what we’re building.”

It means addressing mistakes without shaming.

It means listening when a colleague is going through a divorce, or caring for a dying parent, or navigating a child who has just been suspended from school.

It means slowing down enough to hear the heartbeat beneath the behavior.

Love is intentional.

Love is intuitive. 

Love is fiercely honest. 

Love is accountability—110% of the time.

And love is leading as yourself, not some imitation of what leadership “should” look like.

❤️ A Personal Moment

Recently, I had to navigate an enormously difficult conversation with my family about putting my mom in hospice. 

It was emotional, confronting, and filled with resistance. 

Old patterns surfaced. 

Voices tightened. 

Hearts braced.

Every part of me wanted to react.

To defend.

To control.

But I kept returning to love—again and again and again.

Love for my mom.Love for truth.Love for dignity.

Love for what we all wanted at the deepest level: for her to be cared for, comfortable, and held.

The more resistance I received, the more I anchored into that frequency.Love shaped my tone, my words, my presence.

It helped me stand strong in alignment with the medical team who sees her every day.It softened what could have escalated into conflict.

And in the end—it worked (Not perfectly. Not tidily. But genuinely.)

It is still a work in progress, as all things involving humans are.

🌱 What Leading With Love Really Asks of Us

Leading with love is not about being nice.It’s about being real.

It’s paying attention to the context of conversations, not just the content—especially when things get heated.

It’s reading the room.

Asking permission before offering feedback.Keeping your heart open even when others close theirs.

Holding vision when others hold fear.

Love is leadership at its highest level.

It dissolves ego.

It dissolves “What’s in it for me?” thinking.

It creates connection, collaboration, and clarity—the soil where genuine results grow.

And I agree with that CEO wholeheartedly:

Leading with love works.

It always has. It always will.

🌸 A Gentle Invitation

As you move through your week, ask yourself:

• Where can I choose love instead of reactivity?

• How might I soften my tone while still standing in truth?

• What would leading with love look like in my next conversation?

• How might love shift my presence, my leadership, my energy?

Take a moment today—slow down, breathe, and feel into the frequency you’re bringing into the world. It matters more than you know.

With an open heart,

I’m pressing pause for the holidays to be fully here — with family, with nature, and with the quiet beauty this season offers.

These days are for slow walks, deep breaths, and soaking in the moments that nourish the heart.

Mindful Moments will resume on January 8, 2026. Until then, wishing you a peaceful, love-filled holiday season. 🤍✨