Leadership Principle #6 - Love

What are some of your favorite romantic comedies?

• Dear John

• P.S. I love You

• To all the boys I loved

Guess what? They have it wrong. They tell you that love is an ooey gooey feeling two people have for each other when they are attracted. But here's the truth. Love is a verb not a feeling. It's an action, it's something you do. The action comes first and the feelings follow. There's even a book of love languages (service, time, gifts, words and touch) and they are all actions for how people show and receive love.

Love and leadership:

• We know we want love in our leaders. We shared at the beginning of the season that we were looking for a friend in our leader. And a friend is someone who loves and cares for you.

• If you even Google "Love and leadership" you know what pops up? - The Wall Street Journal, Think Magazine, The NY Times and Brene Brown all agreeing that leaders MUST love.

• But why? If a leaders is leading and they don't care about you, why are they doing it? Who are they doing it for? - The answer is, themselves.

How?

• Leaders who love, do everything, all of their actions, for the good of the people they are leading. They are doing it from a place of love.

• We know this because we don't like it when we see the opposite. We wouldn't say someone is a good leader if they are only making decisions and doing actions for themselves. We would say they are selfish and self-centered.

This is hard.

• Love is an action. And to be a leader you must love.

• Get to know your people and care about them.

• This is our last topic because all the other leadership principles are the actions that must come from a place of love.

• Sometimes we don't even like the people we are leading. But that's a feeling. Love is an action and hopefully the feelings will follow.

For each game we write an encouraging note to one other girl on the team. They are our "Secret Soccer Pal or SSP." Really love them with an action. Do it from a place of love.