Occasionally I hear from clients and colleagues about organizations where toxic leaders are allowed to remain in place. This may occur because the leader’s toxic behavior, such as public displays of anger and intimidation directed at others, is painfully visible to those in their line of command, but may be well hidden to those in power. Sometimes the toxic behavior may be recognized but tacitly overlooked because the leader’s results seem too compelling to risk disturbing. I personally experienced this first hand earlier in my career.

Finding myself and others the targets of an emotionally out of control person in power was the low point of my professional career. The ensuing feelings of hopelessness and defeat made going to work a daily struggle and took all the fun out of what had been an exciting and fulfilling place to be.  More recently, I have coached leaders who have found themselves also at the mercy of such poor leaders. It is painful to hear the stories of extremely talented and good people being marginalized, bullied and publicly demeaned by leaders who lead by fear and intimidation. It’s not a big stretch to imagine that such negative environments negatively impact business results.

The Business Case

Likewise, it’s also not a big stretch to recognize the connection between positive environments and positive business results.  Recently, I listened to an International Coach Federation Leadership Webinar “Love and the Bottom Line” presented by Lori Zukin, Ph.D., Principal of Booz Allen Hamilton, and Sandy Mobely, Executive Coach of Learning Advantage, Inc. I got to know Lori when we were classmates in the Georgetown Leadership Coaching Program, and I was curious to hear what she and Sandy had to say about this somewhat counter-intuitive pairing of words.

During the webinar, Lori shared a story drawn from her own experience in leading with love. By caring about her employees’ goals and personal situations, and putting that above her own self-interests as team leader, she has created a high performing team that team members don’t want to leave.  The resulting retention of key talent has benefited the firm in terms of lower recruitment costs, and benefited the firm’s clients in terms of high levels of productivity and effectiveness in meeting expectations.

Sandy shared a story about a task oriented coaching client whose team was failing to meet its objectives. By learning to take time for relationships and build trust on the team, the client was able to turn the team around and deliver the business results.

Sandy also referenced research done by the Gallup organization, publisher of Strengths Finder, citing that the level of employee engagement is closely tied to the amount and type of attention that managers pay to employees.  This ranges from a highly likely chance (40%) of an employee disengaging when ignored by their manager, to only a 1% chance of disengaging when the manager focuses attention on the employee’s strengths. Nurturing a workforce of highly engaged employees is a critical objective for companies wishing to succeed and remain successful in the future. These examples make a strong case for leading with love, good will and positivity.

What Leaders Can Do to Improve Performance and Profits

In a May, 2007 Harvard Business Review article by Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramerin titled “Inner Work Life: Understanding the Subtext of Business Performance,” the authors explore the link between managerial action to employee performance. By studying the various factors affecting employees’ states of mind, they determined that when managers create an environment that offers praise for a job well done and makes room for fun, positive emotions and motivation increases resulting in better performance.  Furthermore, the authors state that the most important thing a manager can do to create positive emotions and motivate employees is to inspire them and give them a sense that they can accomplish their goals. [Reprint R0705D]

A wealth of additional research findings on related topics can be found in the current January/February, 2012 issue of the Harvard Business Review, which is focused on “The Value of Happiness – How Employee Well-Being Drives Profits.” One article in particular, “Creating Sustainable Performance: If you give your employees the chance to learn and grow, they’ll thrive-and so will your organization,” by Gretchen Spreitzer and Christine Porath, elaborates on four specific measures that managers can put in place to help employees thrive at work. Interestingly, one of these is to “Minimize Incivility”, pointing again to the link between a leader’s influence on the organizational climate and subsequent business results. The other measures managers can put in place are: Provide Decision-Making Discretion, Share Information, and Offer Performance Feedback. [Reprint R1201F]

The Bottom Line

A number of years ago, I was in church for the installation of my congregation’s new pastor.  In his sermon, one thing the pastor said moved me deeply and has stuck with me all these years. He shared with us the advice that he had received from his mentor when he was ordained, advice that had shaped him and his approach to leadership in the church. This advice could serve all leaders well: “Love your people.”

By now I hope that you’ve overcome any skepticism you may have had when you first saw the title, Leading with Love.  It’s clear that how leaders regard and treat their employees has a significant impact on employees’ states of mind, motivation and performance. Showing up with an attitude of good will, and dare I say, love for your people, helps create a positive environment where employees can do their best work, and by doing so significantly benefit the bottom line.