“What’s Love Got to Do With It?”
“What’s Love Got to Do With It? What’s love, but a secondhand emotion?”
These are the words of singer Tina Turner’s biggest selling single.1 And since I typically write about leadership, you may be wondering right now, what’s love got to do with leadership?
The Greek language defines different types of love that we might demonstrate in interactions with others. It highlights agape love as “universal love, such as the love for strangers, nature, or God…encompass(ing) the modern concept of altruism, as defined as unselfish concern for the welfare of others.”2 (more…)
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The news media frequently reports on new leadership appointments across various organizations. Regardless of how these leaders are chosen, stakeholders can anticipate changes. The new leader will bring fresh perspectives, priorities, processes, and their own authority to implement change.
Helicopters are known for their unique ability to hover, take off and land vertically, and move in ways that traditional fixed-wing aircraft cannot operate. They are the air vehicle of choice for emergencies and crises. They transport people and things to locations where airplanes can’t land. They aid up-close sightseeing, aerial videography and photography, and agricultural work. They can maneuver into hard-to-reach locations, hover close to, or land on the ground. This makes it easier to off-and-on-load resources, observe the terrain, or support land operations. 
Almost daily, the business media reports on organizations announcing searches for, or the appointment of, new C-suite leaders. Sometimes this is prompted by the prior leader’s long-expected retirement or movement to another role. But often the vacancy reflects the emerging need to improve financial results and to bolster trust in their brand and the products and services they provide.
These days, leaders are increasingly facing expectations to respond to circumstances and situations occurring outside the work environment about which their employees and society have strong and differing opinions. No matter how or if they respond, many will be criticized, either for not doing enough or for doing too much.
Think of being in one of the following situations. How will you respond to it? Or if you’ve already been there, how did you respond?
An anchor serves a common purpose on a ship or boat…to stop it from moving. Lower the anchor and it engages and connects the vessel to the seabed, ensuring it stays put. It prevents drifting in the wind and current which would put those onboard at risk. It is a basic requirement for vessels on the water, typically with a sharp projection that hooks into the rock and soil. The stability it provides enables a variety of productive and pleasurable activities for those onboard.
As I sit here writing, I’m staring at my left foot. Several months ago, I injured the tendons in the ball of it. I was walking in a pair of shoes that I normally wear, but something was amiss and by the time I recognized I was experiencing constant pain, the damage was done.
I’ve become a recent fan of playing the New York Times’ daily puzzles online, and one of my favorites is Connections. Sixteen words are provided, and the goal is to form four groups of four words that are in some way connected. You have to figure out what the connection is, and you get four mistakes, after which the game ends and the correct answers pop up. For example, on the day that I’m writing this, four connected words are bar, dinner, liberty, and tinker. They’re all “words before ‘bell’”.
One of the most important roles of leaders is making the tough decisions.