John Stanko

"And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another" - 2 John 1:5.

Love is seldom discussed in leadership and management circles. Instead, topics like efficiency, vision, effectiveness, and other technical topics are taught, written about, and examined. Yet the Bible consistently teaches that love is God's priority where relationships are concerned. When love is present, people speak truth, serve others, make sacrifices, put other's interests ahead of their own, and perform thoughtful acts for kindness as evidence of their love for God. Leaders are not exempt from God's love commands, even though at times they must make tough decisions and have difficult conversations with people who will accuse them of not acting in love.

LEADERSHIP STEP: Your Step today is to evaluate your love motivation as a leader. Give yourself a score of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) in the areas mentioned above: 1) speaking truth to others, especially hard truth; 2) serving others; 3) sacrificial investments of money, time, and energy into other people; 4) putting the interests of others ahead of your own; and 5) performing loving acts that go beyond job descriptions and business interests. Are you satisfied with your scores?