How to Lead with Only Two Emotions

A couple weeks ago I was sitting down with a new friend of mine. We were talking about our families, where we went to college, what we did for a living,…etc. Turns out he had just been promoted and is leading his first team. He ask me, “what is the secret to leadership?” I responded with this quote.“There are only two emotions: love and fear. All positive emotions come from love, all negative emotions from fear. From love flows happiness, contentment, peace, and joy. From fear comes anger, hate, anxiety and guilt. It’s true that there are only two primary emotions, love and fear. But it’s more accurate to say that there is only love or fear, for we cannot feel these two emotions together, at exactly the same time. They’re opposites. If we’re in fear, we are not in a place of love. When we’re in a place of love, we cannot be in a place of fear.” – Elisabeth Kubler Ros

This quote is so important for leaders! Listen to the people you lead, recognize their hard work, care about the situations happening in their lives, be generous to them, go out of your way to be patient and kind to them. No one wants to live in fear, especially from their leaders. Leadership is not a place for control freaks or someone chasing a title. Those are the types that are usually operating from a place of fear themselves and trust me, nothing spreads faster in an organization that fear! Don’t be that person!

So back to my friends question – “what is secret to leadership?” Simple, love.