Ever noticed how some leaders swing between being too harsh and too soft?
I repeatedly see this pattern when working with organizations implementing the Service Profit Chain. Leaders eager to boost employee satisfaction suddenly become reluctant to lead. They stop setting standards, being directive, and managing.
Their hearts are in the right place—they don’t want to damage the employee satisfaction they’ve worked so hard to build.
But here’s the twist: This approach backfires spectacularly.
Without clear direction, teams drift, service quality drops, and customer satisfaction plummets. Then comes the devastating conclusion: “See? Creating a great workplace doesn’t work.”
The real issue is that these leaders are missing a fundamental truth: Power and Love aren’t opposites—they’re complementary forces.
Think about it: Just feeling good but achieving nothing? That’s not satisfaction. That’s stagnation.
The magic happens when you blend both:
- First, build the foundation of trust and belonging (Love)
- Then, raise the bar with clear standards and expectations (Power)
When done in this order, something remarkable occurs. Instead of resistance, you get engagement. Instead of compliance, you get commitment.
Why? People don’t just want to feel good; they want to achieve something meaningful. They want to grow, contribute, and excel.
Martin Luther King Jr. captured this perfectly: “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anaemic.”
So next time you’re tempted to choose between being supportive or demanding, remember that it’s not either/or. It’s both/and.
Your team deserves nothing less.
#Leadership #EmployeeEngagement #ServiceProfitChain #ManagementTips #OrganizationalDevelopment