Leadership Is Love: Three New Books to Develop and Mentor Great Leaders

“Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.” (Matthew 20:26).

“The answer to fall back on is that love, that warmth, and then you find that your confidence is generated by your love. You care for the people you are speaking to. You care for the people you are leading. Love gives you the power to lead.”

So said Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB) and formerly the first female managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to Dina Powell McCormick and David McCormick. She is one of many leaders interviewed by the McCormicks for their new book, Who Believed in You?: How Purposeful Mentorship Changes the World.

Mrs. McCormick was deputy national security advisor to President Donald Trump in his first administration and is the former president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, where she led the development of the 10,000 Women, 10,000 Small Businesses, and One Million Black Women programs. Mr. McCormick, her husband, is the former CEO of Bridgewater Associates and is currently a U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania. He also served as the under secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs under President George W. Bush and served in Iraq during the Gulf War.

With their combined government, business, and military experience, the McCormicks have a comprehensive perspective on mentorship. They also have a wide network, which they tapped for their book, interviewing such leaders as Tory Burch, Condoleezza Rice, Satya Nadella, and Walter Isaacson. The book shares their belief that purposeful, transformative mentorship is key to unifying the United States and developing a new generation of virtuous leaders.

This quote from Lagarde sums up the McCormicks’ belief that caring for other people is key to effective leadership. They argue that the problems we see in our culture (their focus is the United States, but I believe this problem exists in many cultures right now) stem from a lack of connection, trust, and commitment to others. Their proposed solution—and they make a great case for it—is what they call transformative mentorship built on four pillars: trustworthiness, values, commitment, and confidence.

Leading With Soul and Heart, Not Just Mind

The McCormicks are not the only authors advocating for more heart and soul in leadership. Kim B. Clark, Jonathan R. Clark, and Erin E. Clark’s new book, Leading Through: Activating the Soul, Heart, and Mind of Leadership, recommends throwing out the traditional “power over” leadership approach in favor of a “leading through” approach.

“Leadership is always a moral work,” they write. “Leaders of teams and organizations hold the lives of people in their hands.”

Kim Clark is former dean of the faculty at Harvard Business School. His son, Jonathan, is a professor of management and former department chair and associate dean at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His daughter, Erin, is a managing director at Deloitte. Together, they draw on their experience and expertise to create a new leadership framework that draws on heart and soul as well as mind.

With the exception of one anecdote (in which they praise a company for enabling an employee to earn enough to own a home by promoting her rather than by providing a living wage in her former role), the Clarks have a very human, ethical approach to leadership. I would recommend that any leadership team read Leading Through and implement its approach.

Taking a Virtue-Based Approach to Professional Development

Another new book is a must-read, particularly for Catholics who are earlier in their career. Practical Virtue: An Actionable Guide to Help You Become a Leader Worth Following is just what its title promises: a practical guidebook for new professionals to become leaders of virtue. (I recommend pairing it with Virtuous Leadership by Alexandre Havard.)

“Many of us want to make a positive difference in the world,” writes author Randy Hain (founder and president of Serviam Partners), “but we don’t know where to begin. Why not consider the workplace as a place to make a difference?”

It’s exactly our own approach at Catholic Women in Business and one of the reasons Elise Crawford Gallagher and I wrote Holy Ambition (which, full disclosure, Randy endorsed). Work should not be separate from the rest of our life. We are the same person whether we’re working or parenting or resting or spending time with family or friends. The same virtues we hear about at Mass or read about in Scripture are the ones we must use in our workplace. This way, we help to build the Kingdom of God, sharing Jesus’ love with everyone He has put in our life.

Taryn DeLong, co-president of Catholic Women in Business, co-wrote Holy Ambition: Thriving as a Catholic Woman at Work and at Home (Ave Maria Press) to help women hear and follow God’s unique calling for their life. Following her own calling, she currently spends much of her time caring for her two daughters, including homeschooling her preschooler. Taryn studied psychology and education at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. Before becoming a mother, she worked in university advancement and then B2B editing. Since Taryn was a child, she’s called the Raleigh area home, and she and her husband are now raising their family in a small Raleigh suburb. In addition to supporting Catholic women, she's passionate about inclusion of people with disabilities in life, work, and (most importantly) the Church. She also enjoys reading and playing the piano.