Powerful Leadership
Through the Language of Love, Respect, Caring and Kindness
So, how might we define Love?
The English language has a paucity of vocabulary with regard to the different kinds of Love which exist. Other languages have many different words for Love, and shades of meaning within their range of expressions to describe varieties of Love in differing contexts. For example, Sanskrit has ninety-six words for love; ancient Persian has eighty; Greek has four main words (and several lesser known) ; and English – simply one.
I was highly aware, right from the beginning of my project about Love in the Boardroom, that I needed to establish a working definition of the word. That was why, when I crafted the survey for people with whom I wanted to have conversations, I made the first three questions specific to what Love means to them in different contexts.
In my introductory preamble with my interviewees, I am careful to establish that the topic under discussion is not that of romantic love. I describe it like this:
“we’re talking about non-romantic, non-sexual love here – not ‘eros’, but ‘agape’ (unconditional love) , störge (familial love) and ‘philia’ (brotherly love or friendship and affection). This is the kind of love that is represented by values and qualities such as caring, trust, respect, courage, compassion, empathy, fairness, honesty, patience and cooperation, or loving kindness.”
The qualities and value of this Love has the power to transform and create beneficial shifts in the way we live and work.
This LOVE is a way of being.
It is a way of living; it encompasses all, and is our essential core as perfectly imperfect human beings.
