When defining leadership and describing its principles and philosophies, words such as influence, character, presence, develop, direction, and motivation reign supreme. There are a plethora of other words that surface in attempting to define and describe leadership; however, the one word you may not hear often is love. Most associate the term love with the oversentimental emotions befitting of a relationship or marriage, and not with a military leader. However, contrary to popular belief, leadership and love are deeply woven and intertwined. The Servant Leadership Model, one of the leadership model most recently adopted by the US Army, lists love as one of its foundational and conceptual principles and tenets. This paper will provide the reader with a conceptual understanding of how the principle of love can be applied to leadership.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.