The Power of Love

The year was 1976. The United States celebrated its bicentennial; Jimmy Carter was elected the 39^th President; the postage stamp cost $0.13; my oldest son, Sean, was born; the summer Olympics were held in Montreal; the music record of the year was "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain and Tennille; and on a hand shake, two young engineers, Robert and Barry, started Ro-Bar Technical Services.

In his book, The Character of Leadership: An Ancient Model for a Quantum Age, Phil Eastman identifies love as, "demonstrating a genuine concern, care, and compassion for the people you lead and interact with." When looking for a leader who personified the list, Barry Fitzgerald was my favorite candidate. So in perfect modus operandi, I had the privilege of taking Barry out to lunch and interviewing him for this month's article on Love.

Eastman contends, "You must love your people in order to lead them." This idea challenges us to see our team members and employees as people first, and this is exactly how Barry sees each one of his employees. He can tell you which technical area that each one of his men possesses, but he also knows and has an interest in their personal pursuits. As far as I can tell, many of them are family men who participate in extreme sports like marathons, triathlons, and rock-climbing.

Of course, if taking an interest in your people's extracurricular activities was enough to love them, then it might be easy to lead them. But as you can imagine, it goes much deeper than that. As the leader, you must be able to answer the question, "Do I matter?" This is a question of the heart, a question that may go unanswered for many of your people who show up day after day, trying to do the best they can with what they have. (If the truth be known, don't we all want to know we matter?)

Showing your people that they matter will take on different forms with different leaders, within various organizations. For some, it may be as simple as engaging in 'management by wandering around,' you know the kind, stopping by the cubicle and chatting. You might have an 'open-door policy,' being available to hear from your folks without a formal appointment. Answering the question, "Do I matter?" could also take on the form of knowing what motivates them as individuals and rewarding them accordingly. It takes a little time, but the payoffs are priceless.

Will you Love me Tomorrow?

The hallmark of a good company and a great leader is how they invest in their employees and provide opportunity for advancement. In a world where change is the norm and nothing stays static, it is vital that professional training and development be part of the culture. Interestingly enough, this is a tangible way to express care and concern for the employees (or your staff) as individuals.

Making sure his people are ready for "now and what's next" continues to be the driver behind Barry's willingness to invest in their education and certifications. Even though he is the only one on staff with an engineering degree, he has employees who hold the equivalent+ in certifications and experience that he gladly paid for with time and money. Could they leave Ro-Bar Tech for another company? Absolutely. Have they? Very few.

What's Love got to do with it?

As the waitress poured another Diet Coke, Barry and I continued our conversation about many of the leaders he had worked for. One he called a tyrant and another unscrupulous. "A true leader is a servant to his people," Barry said as he took a bite of his fresh Atlantic scallops. (I should have ordered that!)

"YES! Servant Leadership!" I exclaimed. "You get it! Are you sure you haven't read Phil's book?" I asked with a half smile. Barry hadn't, but he could have written Chapter Seven since he innately understands what many of us need to learn. Servant leadership takes a healthy dose of self-confidence and humility, along with the ability to put the needs and concerns of others ahead of your own.

The end result of this kind of leadership, whether as a small business owner or a manager or director in a large corporation, is fierce loyalty. Certainly this is not to say folks won't take you for granted, because we know some will, but when your people know you have their best interest at heart, most of them will deliver the moon, and the others will look back later with regrets.

How Deep is Your Love?

To love your people rightly, there must be a shared trust and mutual respect between you. In most cases, trust is something that is earned over time. However, for Barry Fitzgerald, he comes from the belief that trust is something to be lost. When looking at a new contract, vendor, or employee, he expects the best and is seldom disappointed. In 30+ years of operation, he has only fired one person. As far as contractors who have defaulted on payment, there have been a few, but he still believes that it is better to begin with trust and risk the chance of learning otherwise.

Barry shared a brilliant story of one contractor who could not pay his debt. It turns out that one of Barry's young employees was building his first home and needed heating/cooling equipment. In the absence of payment, Barry had the contractor supply the equipment and installation for the new home. In that one decision, Barry exhibited love for his employee, compassion for a fellow business owner with a cash flow problem, and inadvertently taught a dramatic lesson to those he leads. It was truly a win/win for all parties involved, and Barry cheerfully marked PAID across the contractor's invoice.

The Power of Love

If you have made it this far in the article, and maybe even agree that Eastman and Fitzgerald have a strong case that good leaders love their people, but wonder about the ROI, I will tell you there is not a lot of hard data for such soft skills. However, there is data on the costs associated with employee turnover and the preventable reasons why leaders need to take to heart the importance of showing genuine care and concern to their people.

As we finished up our last few bites of lunch, our waitress gave us a dessert menu. If you have followed any of my writing, you have probably noted a few quirky things about me; one of them is that I like sharing dessert. It's my own little social research and barometer of trust. Without a real preference for the dish (as long as it is chocolate), I told Barry, "I'll only eat dessert if we can share." Upon his selection, a platter of bread pudding was delivered to our table. We were both shocked at the size and confirmed if that was truly one serving. It was! "Now you know one of the reasons why I share dessert - there's always too much." Our lengthy conversation came to an end too soon. I could have spent the rest of the rainy afternoon drinking coffee and cleaning the platter while listening to my new friend and obviously wise, loving leader share many more stories.

Love will Keep us Together

It has been more than 30 years since Ro-Bar Technical Services came into existence. Stub has since retired, and Barry has threatened to do the same more than once. The shop has grown from two to seven men who have become a team of specialists, leading the way in fields of HVAC testing, adjusting and balancing; energy auditing; commissioning for both old and new buildings; and medical isolation system setup and certification. Although they have worked on various buildings and projects, their most recent retro-building was Idaho's State Capital. To date, Ro-Bar Technical Services is the only air balancing firm within the State of Idaho with a certified LEED accredited professional.