Love Languages In Leadership

Do you know your love language?
Have you even heard of a love language?

Gary Chapman, marriage counselor, and author of the series of Love Language books believes that different people with different personalities give and receive love in different ways.

By learning to recognize these preferences in yourself and in others, you can learn to identify the root of your conflicts, connect more profoundly, and truly begin to grow closer.

So what are the 5 Love Languages:

1) Acts of Service
2) Receiving Gifts
3) Quality Time
4) Physical Touch
5) Words of Affirmation

​Though Chapman's framework is mostly used in the context of intimate and familial relationships, this morning I was thinking about how it could be transformed and used within the context of business.

If your manager knew your love language, would that change how you related to one another?

If you knew your colleagues' love languages, would that change how you collaborated?

Here are some examples:

>> Imagine that your love language is service. You're running late on a project, and your manager and colleague sees it. They know that your love language is service, so they jump in and offer to help with some edits.

>> Imagine your manager's love language is words of affirmation. Knowing that, you might take to writing notes letting them know how much you appreciate their work.

>> Imagine your team member's love language is quality time. Perhaps you offer to take them out to lunch with an intention to NOT talk shop.

>> Imagine your love language is receiving gifts. Wouldn't it rock your world if one of your colleagues came in with a coffee for you?

>> Imagine your love language is physical touch....actually, let's not imagine that in the world of work. (Though, chair massages in the office might be nice....)

We all want to feel valued and appreciated at work, and we all feel valued and appreciated in different ways. Why not embed a little love into the way we interact with one another?

What do you think your love language might be?

Originally posted on LinkedIn

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