Love: The Power To Transform Culture

Make love your practice

We tend to avoid talking about love in the context of the workplace. Most of us associate the word love with the personal and not the professional. But in a fuller context, love has many spectrums that include caring, consideration, civility, restraint, and understanding one’s intention before making decisions or taking action.
 

Love is not only a verb but a way of being, and a way of relating to ourselves and others.
 
When we look at the spectrum and facets of love, we cannot deny that every living being just wants to be loved.
 

 
No matter what your position or title, the one thing human beings have in common is the need for love. The problem is that we often try to achieve love in unproductive and ineffective ways.
 

There are three ways all of us can receive more love:

We are all born with a connection to something bigger than ourselves.  In my book, No-Drama Leadership I call this type of “knowing” spiritual awareness. Spiritual awareness is our direct connection with the Divine. Spiritual awareness and alignment occur when we are “right” with ourselves and others. Spiritual awareness is our compass to course-correct when we are living and leading against our deepest values.
 
When we align with this power we feel supported, confident and on course. But often we lose this alignment when we betray our highest values in our quest to seek love from the outside.

Whether you are striving for a higher position, more financial success, or more recognition, you must first make peace with where you are today. In a practical sense you must accept where and who you are, and at the same time continue to focus on your desired end result. Let go of comparison and competition. Fully accept your own path of growth. Trust the process. Do the work required. You are enough already and there’s no need to resist your history or your present moment.

Make love your practice. The challenge is real. The opportunities to show love arise when it’s inconvenient when you are tired, angry, and overworked.
 
Love as a practice means taking the breath of patience; offering to listen without judgment, or acknowledging someone’s efforts.
 
Look that waitress in the eye. Give some grace to the clueless fellow who sat through the green light. Decide to hold your tongue rather than lash out.
 
The cool thing about giving love is you can do it now. Giving love is not dependent on how someone else acts. It doesn’t take a title, a pay level, or education. You don’t need approval. You don’t need prestige, more knowledge, or permission to show a spectrum of love to everyone in your path. It’s as simple as listening non-judgmentally, showing kindness, offering support in the time of need, or even initiating a difficult conversation with someone who shows up with a drama orientation.

When you are in the midst of a culture change love can be a game changer. If you are struggling, ask yourself two questions:

1.  What kind of love is needed for this change?
2. Where can I choose to practice love?
 

Marlene Chism is a consultant, international speaker and the author of Stop Workplace Drama (Wiley 2011), No-Drama Leadership (Bibliomotion 2015) and 7 Ways to Stop Drama in Your Healthcare Practice (Greenbranch 2018).  Connect Marlene Chism Follow @StopYourDrama Visit http://marlenechism.com/