I’m a July baby, born in the sultry heat of a Boston summer. My parents were young and had just celebrated their one year anniversary when they had me…shortly after which my dad went off to service in the Army.
We lived in an Italian section of Boston in a 3-flat. My grandpa lived alone on the bottom floor – where my mom had grown up – and my parents moved into the flat on the top floor. My grandmother had died when my mom was only sixteen.
I recently had a conversation with my mom about how worried and unsure of herself she must have been when she had me, without a mom to go to for baby advice and without my dad there to help. Her response to me was, I thought, very powerful and touching:
“Lisa, I don’t know how I would have done it without your grandpa. Every night he used to walk you back and forth in the upstairs hall for hours to help you fall asleep in the heat of that summer. He filled that void.“
Well, of course tears came to my eyes at the thought of the love expressed by my grandpa to do that for me and for my mom. But my mom’s words, “he filled that void,” seemed so powerful as well.
A void, by its very nature, is full of emptiness and loss. It can only be felt and experienced if the loss is a result of not having something or someone that is vitally important to you, right? Otherwise, you may know something is “missing” – but a void is felt at a deeper, more basic level.
We’ve all experienced a “void” at some point in our lives. It’s easy to recognize it when the void is due to the loss or absence of a person in our lives. But do we also experience them within our jobs, and do we, as leaders, unintentionally create voids in our companies, our business units, our teams?
In his book, “Greater Than Yourself,” Steve Farber defines real leadership as, “an extreme act rooted in love and motivated by a desire to create a better world – whether it’s the world of your company, team, neighborhood or family.”
When I read that I envision a leader full of love, commitment and passion for the vision and mission of the company or team that they are leading.
In my role at the CEO Connection I’ve had the honor of conversing regularly with CEOs of major corporations. One particular CEO stands out in my mind as I think about how he told me he just absolutely loves his business and is passionate about the people in his company. His overwhelming passion exuded from his voice and was simply unmistakable! He even gave me his cell phone number and told me to call him anytime if I, as a user of his brand, ever had a customer issue with his product!
Think carefully about the flip side of this. What happens if we as leaders are not passionate about our companies, our businesses our teams or our customers? If our teams need to feel inspired, motivated, empowered, respected, trusted and even loved and we are not providing this, perhaps unintentionally, then what does that mean for our businesses?
If we are not, in a professional sense, willing to “walk back and forth for hours in the heat of the summer” out of love for our business then what message are we sending, what void are we leaving and what can we honestly expect from those on our teams?
If our leadership truly is rooted in love and motivated by a desire to create are we clearly demonstrating this so that our teams can feel it? If it’s not rooted in love and motivated by a desire to create a better world, then do we owe it to others to find something that is so that we don’t unintentionally create voids?
Are you filling voids or leaving unintentional voids?
Please share your thoughts in the comments – I would be honored to hear from you! (I’d also be honored if you’d consider subscribing above/right in the panel)… Photo by Patrick Hoesly at Zooboing.
22 Response Comments
Lisa,
My day is jammed, but I wanted to stop by and read your blog. This is what I know about “leadership void”: when you experience the void it can consume 90% of your workday, and when “leadership” is present it consumes 10% of your workday. Over the years I have come to believe that leadership is innate, very hard to learn leadership because most of what you need to lead must come from your heart and soul. Last year I wrote a blog about a former employer’s decision to announce a layoff via email. Leadership! You might enjoy reading it. http://bit.ly/d3AkDA
Judy,
You have no idea how much it means to me that you’d make time for my blog! Thank you… 🙂
So true about great leadership coming from the heart – why can’t we recognize this more? I will head over and check out your post. Thanks for sharing that disheartening layoff example…
Great post, Lisa! I wonder about another aspect of this, does the leader have a responsibility to make sure that other people are in place within the company that share his devotion and passion for the company? I know some CEOs are very controlling, for example Steve Jobs, but when Jobs left Apple a few years ago, innovation at the company stagnated. I wonder if that was partly due to him wanting to be too ‘hands on’, and not being willing to bring others into the fold in case he left the company?
What do you think?
.-= mack collier´s last blog ..The next evolution of social media for business is… =-.
Mack,
Thank you, as always, for sharing your wisdom here!
Great question and rumination! Yes, I fully believe that if the leader is genuinely passionate about the business and its vision/mission then s/he will work very hard to ensure that those in the organization share that passion and that vision. It gets much harder when you go a few levels down in the organization to ensure that this is happening.
Having no experience working at Apple I certainly can’t comment on the company specifically, but your theory may well be spot-on! The more leaders that you bring into your company who share your vision and will passionately work towards it, the more likely you will reap great success. Thanks again, Mack!
Lisa,
What a way to say it!! You touched me from your first words, tugged at my heart strings then brought it into perspective!!
I really enjoyed reading your post today, I will be back.
Thank you!
Carol,
You have no idea how much that means to me! Thank you so much for reading and for taking the time to comment. I am thrilled to know you’ll be back! 🙂
Lisa,
Very interesting point on leadership and passion. I think a lot of leaders are that in name only; it’s just a gig, a line on the resume and not a true vocation or passion. They can walk at any time.
As a solo PR, I try to get to know my clients and their business.. what led them to start their companies, why they think their stories are worth sharing. If they’re passionate about their business and what they sell or do, it makes my job that much easier.
Thanks for sharing this.
.-= Davina K. Brewer´s last blog ..Following from the Fringe: My 5 to Follow Friday Challenge =-.
Davina,
Thank you! I think you’re right about some being leaders “in name only”…but it’s unfortunate, isn’t it?
Kudos to you for getting to understand the passion that drives your clients and their businesses – I bet that in addition to it making your job easier as you say, that it also makes you much more successful!
Thanks so much for stopping by and for taking the time to comment!
Lisa,
I just read your article about this blog through Marketing Profs, which then led me to your blog and today’s post.
I very much enjoyed the post, and your insight is so relevant to where my head is at today. I have a personal quote “Even voids are full of nothing” that I came across today while reading some of my own older writings.
I believe true leaders are rare, and I agree with Judy’s assertion that it is an innate quality. Unfortunately these days it seems that too many people equate leadership with power, when it should truly be accountability. True leaders are accountable to their actions. In my mind this is what sets them apart from everyone else.
Thank you for your thoughts and good luck with your blog.
Stephanie,
Thank you so much for coming on over from MarketingProfs – and for taking the time to comment!
I love that quote! I agree with you that leadership does not equate with power – sometimes the latter corrupts one’s real ability to lead and it certainly minimizes one’s ability to inspire. Insightful thought about accountability making a leader stand out – thank you for sharing that.
So glad that you found the blog and I genuinely appreciate your good wishes! Hope to see you back here soon!
Hi Lisa:
I really enjoyed your post and congratulations on the new Blog. As you so correctly pointed out, excellence in leadership is inexorably linked to a leader’s commitment and passion. Leaders void of commitment and passion are simply in for a very rocky road…Best wishes for continued success with the new Blog Lisa.
.-= Mike Myatt´s last blog ..Is Your Message Relevant? =-.
Mike,
This means so much to me given your leadership experience and your stellar blog. Thank you for the very warm wishes and your eloquent insights!
Evening Lisa 🙂
Who is/was “One particular CEO” ? 🙂
Great post…..The “story side” of me had me reading the first part …then jumping to the bottom….I just do that naturally I guess 🙂
Within a “family unit” we have others who may/can speak up and point out those “voids” to us (whether we want to hear them or not!)
Thank you for bringing some of us (at least me) full circle… this post actually got me thinking about the “Offline World” again….imagine that ?!
Although I was never a CEO of a major corporation (yes, I recognize that I am the CEO of my own Company – no worries there!) I’ve seen/see current leaders/CEO’s of companies who are leaving voids ….. I honestly believe that they don’t want to….. I believe they are willing to “walk back and forth for hours in the heat of the summer” out of love for………..
I believe that they just don’t know how/where/whom to turn to at times….. In the Social Media/Online world it’s a lot easier…..you get feedback whether you want it or not……..
Lots of great leaders don’t know how to “demonstrate”……who’s leading/mentoring/encouraging them in the offline world? …..Just asking……
Thanks Lisa for making me think at 9 PM at night prior to my first cataract surgery in the AM – I “see” how you are!
Cate,
You are such a joy to have in my life and I wish you the best tomorrow!
You know I can’t tell you who the CEO is, but he’s pretty phenomenal. 🙂
I’m glad that the post got you thinking about the offline world for a bit – and what a great insight that they are not getting feedback as CEOs the way we are used to in social media. If they do it is certainly given very cautiously. Great point. And fantastic point about who is mentoring them – if only more would read Steve’s book and embrace the “Greater Than Yourself” principles perhaps there would be a plethora of examples to follow!
Hugs to you and all the best for tomorrow!
The importance of a leader cannot be overstressed. I think a passionate leader requires an equally passionate work force who is willing to ‘walk back n forth’ for the business (a leader cannot lead alone!) This leads me to the thought shared by a CEO I had a chance to work with, “Everyone in my company is a CEO in their own right..” he said.
Thanks for the view point. Very thought provoking.
Komal,
Thank you for sharing that quote from what must have been a very self-assured CEO. What an empowering way to treat the company team! I applaud him, and appreciate you taking the time to stop by and to comment. Thank you so much!
When bringing love to leadership I think it helps to know that you will get your heart broken eventually. Being clear on my values has helped me to pick myself up and continue to engage with passion.
.-= Hans Hageman´s last blog ..Figure THIS Out And You’ll Avoid Life’s Dead Ends =-.
Hans,
That’s bittersweet, I’d say. I absolutely love your comment about your values enabling you to regroup and continue engaging with passion. I find that inspiring.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Hans! It means a lot to me and the blog is better because of it!
I received one of the coolest compliments last week from one of our clients. She told me how much she appreciated me and what a powerful positive influence I was on her, her company and our industry. It floored me! I had to stop and think for a moment to clue into what she was referring to. Then my boss simply said..That’s Jonathan and that’s what he does. It made me feel so good that without ever being aware of what I was doing, it was making a difference. So to answer your question. I fill voids and I am privileged to be part of a company that has the same philosophy and lives by it. Thanks for the post Lisa.
.-= Jonathan Saar´s last blog ..Demonstrating Social Media Patience-Our Case Study =-.
Jonathan,
Doesn’t it feel amazing to know that is what you are doing?! Your story doesn’t surprise me, you certainly come across as a superstar and I couldn’t be happier for you!
Thanks for taking the time to comment – it always means a lot to me. 🙂
http://twitvid.com/9MPER – Here you go @LisaPetrilli – The Leadership Fill/Gap is in The Eyes ? 🙂
Cate,
I couldn’t be more honored to have received such a thoughtful comment – and in video form to boot! You simply rock – thank you for sharing your insights with your friends and for sharing them here as well. They are genuinely valued and appreciated!