Friday Focus: Love-driven leadership
February 13, 2020
— by Keith Champagne, vice chancellor for student affairs
In a previous Friday Focus column, I have written about intergenerational leadership. Since today is Valentine’s Day, I will focus on “love-driven” leadership.
Writer and speaker Chris Lowney describes love-driven leadership as “the vision to see each person’s talent, potential and dignity; the courage, passion and commitment to unlock that potential; and the resulting loyalty and mutual support that energize and unites others.”
For example, those of us who attended the UAF 2020 Blue and Gold Celebration witnessed this first as we all participated in and witnessed a great fundraising event where persons from diverse and inclusive backgrounds were energized to donate nearly $200,000 dollars to support students.
In addition, love-driven leaders create loving environments bound and energized with affection and mutual support, which allows individuals to perform best because they are appreciated, respected, valued and trusted by others who genuinely care for their well-being and about their success. It is this kind of love in the workplace that holds us together and makes us stronger as a university to embrace the talents of a diverse, inclusive and caring community. This kind of love also gives us the passion and courage to — together — take on major challenges such as budget cuts that affect all segments of the institution.
Moreover, love-driven leaders seek out and honor the potential in others in our university community and engage them with a positive loving attitude which allows them to move our world-class institution forward, serve and facilitate our students’ learning and development both inside and outside of the classroom, and honor and celebrate the members of the greater community in which our university is situated and located.
Furthermore, love-driven leaders see a university composed of loving, dignified students, faculty, staff and administrators who are working diligently above and beyond what is listed in job and positions descriptions, and through various shared-services models in a “do more with less” environment to make the University of Alaska Fairbanks a great place and space for the greatest numbers of individuals who are already and who want to be members of the university community.
In essence, love is the glue that binds all of us together into loving, positive, optimistic, loyal, supportive teams in our divisions, schools, colleges, research institutes, departments, classrooms, residence halls, libraries, playing surfaces and in the chancellor’s conference room.
Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of UAF’s leadership team every week.