Rowley Associates

Leslie Osborn is a Seattle-based organization consultant who helps leaders and their teams grow professionally and personally into their full potential.

In my work in the corporate world, I have been reflecting recently on an atypical topic – the workings of love in business.  “Love in business?” you say.  Yes.  Exactly. 

There are fewer words that are less welcome in the corporate environment.  But I would argue that, today, we would be well served to embrace the power of love as a core human need in our commercial enterprises.

I’m talking here not about romantic love (someone else can tackle that one!) but about what I call “humanistic love” -- that great stream of collective connection and energy that runs deep in the human experience.  It is the foundational layer for respect and trust between people in either life or work. It is a felt emotion, expressed in action – the experience of feeling a deep connection with another person (or idea) that connects us with our common humanity, and the resultant desire to act selflessly in support of that “other’s” growth.  This type of love is at the core of our social and business experiences at their best. In our lives and organizational structures, it moves us toward making common cause to benefit the human family. 

Humanistic love emerges at work when conditions allow.  You can feel its presence when people cut through the noise of the business to listen to each other at a deeper level.  Love is present when the tension inherent in working with people who are different from us drops away and we are left feeling something more real.  Much of my work as an organization consultant is focused on creating spaces in which leaders and teams can connect in this way.

In these moments, we feel a shared oneness that cannot be denied and that is deeply important to our human hearts as we try to stay vital and find meaning in our corporate lives.  This experience can last a minute, an hour, or years. I’ve seen it between members of highly committed teams, between leaders and followers, and between colleagues deeply devoted to their work and each other.  I have also seen love appear in the most trying corporate circumstances - moments of crisis and searing frustration – as well as at times of forgiveness, support and felt mission.

Why should we professionals concerned with life in organizations look at love?

• As humans, we take our emotions to work with us.  Whether I approach work with feelings of love, anger, fear or sadness has the potential to make a big difference in my work experience and the environment I help to create for others. There is also a direct, inverse relationship between love/trust and aggression/fear in most organizations. This is not lost on the people who work in them.  Just talk with employees of Enron, AIG, and any of a number of corporations which have been on the wrong side of the news in recent years. 
• Corporate workplaces are challenged today to provide compelling environments for modern employees.  There is a litany of reasons, including the increasingly clear limitations of the traditional western corporate model, corporate complicity in damage to the environment, and changes in the classic “deal” (say goodbye to pensions, health insurance and job security).  Journeyman knowledge workers seek work/life balance, professional development, good management and an enjoyable work culture.  New entrants into corporate careers increasingly want to bring their whole selves to the office. They are unwilling to partition their personalities into discipline at work and love at home.   The younger generations in the labor market have seen what doesn’t work and increasingly refuse to make the old bargain.
• Love’s presence and power are available wherever people work together, and corporations desperately need what love can support. However, as we come into 2010, love is still mostly a taboo topic at work. Its fine to love the customer, love what you do, love the action, the pace, the business.  But when it comes to talking openly about a company having a loving culture, approaching people in the workplace in a spirit of love, or considering love in making a business decision -- we are suddenly in very uncomfortable territory.   “In spite of the fact that the ‘L’ word is the substance that unifies teams, builds cultures, fosters commitment, and bonds people to an organization, it is not socially acceptable even to say the “L” word in a business context” (Kevin Cashman, see reading list, below).

Some company cultures accept the importance of connectedness, compassion, and love in their organizations and missions.  Tom’s of Maine, The Body Shop and DaVita are examples. In addition, many corporate leaders are working individually in their corporate systems to create environments that support movement in this direction.  Companies and leaders able to shift to embrace this reality and create cultures in which love is not a dirty word, will find huge untapped power in their workforces and themselves. Those that cannot may find themselves increasingly out of pace in inspiring their markets and their people. 

What can we do to open our corporate cultures to the power of love at work? 

• Build space in for regular slowing down so people can connect with each other and listen to each other’s realities. This can happen at the leadership team level, company-wide, or any level in between.
• Can the company (at any level) have a conversation about love, its working, and how it drives individual and collective focus/action? How does love support the corporate mission and show up in the employee experience?   Reflect on the possibilities, were love to appear more frequently.
• Consider language and the use of the “L” word.  Is it possible to reduce the level of taboo around this word to acknowledge its presence?

Humans are relational animals.  Love has an important role, actually one of the most important, in driving relationships in business and thereby corporate outcomes.  The more we can access and encourage the power of humanistic love in our corporate environments, the better for our businesses today and tomorrow, and for all of us in the long run.

Suggested Reading

• James Autry, Love and Profit, Avon Books, New York, 1991.
• Kevin Cashman, Leadership From the Inside Out, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, 2008.
• Rodney Ferris, How Organizational Love can Improve Leadership, Organizational Dynamics, American Management Association,1988.
• Roger Harrison, Consultant’s Journey, available from www.authenticypress.com, 1995.
• Thomas Lewis MD, et al., A General Theory of Love, Vintage Books/Random House, New York, 2000.
• Dorothy Marcic, Managing With the Wisdom of Love, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1997.