Love as Resonant Communication Between Leaders and Their Followers

Mihai C. Bocarnea, Ph.D., Associate Profession, School of Leadership Studies, Regent University
This article provided by the Engstrom Institute

If there are two themes that represent society as we know it, they are the themes of relationship and love. Society is, by definition, founded on exchanges between individuals, exchanges that transcend the narrow boundaries of individualistic expressions. Relationships and love are related in that the latter is a potent formulation of the former. Contrary to what may be concluded on the basis of modern popular lyrics, love is not a modern invention but is as old as the world itself. Alongside the themes of relationships and love can be placed an important characteristic of both nature and society which, viewed from one perspective, may be said to facilitate some if not all relationships in some measure.

Pierre Babin noted that "modulation is the essence of audiovisual language, as words and their sequence are the essence of written language"[1]. Focusing on its scientific meaning, Babin used modulation to explain a process that maximizes the transfer of emotions and meaning, of images and ideas, making communication powerful. In Babin's interpretation, the most important attribute of modulation represents nuance. These nuances of the medium—frequencies, intensity, harmonics, length—are as persuasively powerful as the message itself. Modulation and nuance are critical elements of communication and, therefore, vital ingredients for structuring resonant human relationships. This assertion allows us to sketch the outer boundaries of a thesis of servant leadership in which love as resonance defines the relationship between leaders and followers.

In broad terms, resonance represents a state of adjustment. At its core, resonance is evocative of an association between two or more things or persons in a dynamic exchange that fosters maximized interaction. Following on from the idea that the concept of resonance is fundamentally expressive of a relationship, it becomes quite easy to introduce the concept of love into the discussion. Put another way, if communication is modulation, then love is resonance. In the same way that love is a ubiquitous and quite complex emotion, so, too, is resonance. Resonance exhibits a rich variety of forms and is present everywhere in microcosms and macrocosms. Stars, human beings, molecules, atoms, particles, are all capable of echoing, vibrating, responding to particular stimuli. However, contrary to the tension that is presumed to exist in the natural world, there is, in fact, a harmony or consonance that is embodied in the ubiquity of resonance and its relational quality. As we see it, resonance becomes a motif of divine love. God, the Creator, placed his mark upon creation using His pseudonym: Love.

God is the author of communication. He created it. He is communication personified. If a primary function can be ascribed to the Creator, it is to communicate, or to relate, to humankind. The Bible says that God created the universe with the spoken Word. Eight times in the first chapter of Genesis we read: "And God said, Let there be … " and all of creation came into existence. He even tells us that His spoken Word has more strength, importance, and endurance than His might, because He will not act contrary to His words. This underscores the vitality of the medium of communication and highlights the power of the spoken Word. Perhaps most importantly of all, it affirms that communication is in the nature or essence of God. The concept of servant leadership at its most general level reflects a caring style of leadership. Love which embodies a willingness to enter into the lived experience of ones followers is reflected in this style of leadership. Part of the reason why servant leadership is so transformational is the extent to which followers are humanized or recognized through a demonstration of empathy. In contrast to the detached leader who stands outside or beyond the experience of the follower, the servant leader enters into a vital relationship in which love is naturally communicated. In organizational terms one can imagine that a workplace where love abounds would be a wonderful place to work. Balancing the functional needs of the organization against the emotional or psychological needs of the individual is one of the areas where conflict frequently occurs. Servant leadership manages the tension by its appeal to a higher principle or by calling forth deeper levels of commitment than might be available under the old transactional leadership model. In this case, the higher principle is love, which, in our opinion, is also the clearest expression of who God is.

The very nature of God is love. For theologian Albrecht Ritschl, the primary Christian theological affirmation is "God is love."[2] Many theologians and philosophers have tried to explain the love of God. Hans Kung considers that God as love needed the world to love, redeem and communicate with. Kung argues that God's immanence is the proof of God's love[3]. On the other hand, Karl Barth believes that God has perfect love with Himself before and apart from the world[4]. The world is not necessary for the love of God, Who is absolutely transcendent. God chose freely to love the world. While theologians have argued over many things, an exploration of whether love was a necessary or sufficient condition for a brokering of the relationship between God and man has not been the subject of protracted debate. Whether immanent or transcendent, God loves, whether necessarily or freely, the world. He loves us for what we are, or, as C.S. Lewis puts it: "Not for any nice, attractive qualities we think we have, but just because we are the things called selves. For really there is nothing else in us to love."[5] Servant leadership elevates love from emotion to principle which facilitates an unbridled commitment to others.

Out of His love for man, God gives communication primacy of place in His dealing or relationship with man. More than the medium of communication itself it is the depth or extent of this communication that cements the relationship between God and man. It is this same desire for a relationship established on a platform of love that inspires the servant leader and defines the exchange between leaders and followers. Communication with God is effected with "all the heart, all the mind, and all the soul" (Matthew 22:37). Augustine builds his entire love ethic on these words of Christ. For Augustine, "the dynamism of the will is a dynamism of love: pondus meum, amor meus."[6] Matthew's Gospel states in 12:34: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Harry J. DeWire reflects that, "the matrix out of which Christian communication arises is love."[7] Whether described as "the abundance of the heart" or simply as a "matrix," love is the medium of communication. It is from here that everything else that is fundamental to the relationship between the Creator and the created flows. The same can be said of the relationship between a servant leader and his or her followers. Love becomes the causeway through which servant leadership can be—and is—fully expressed.

Love is a framework within which the abundance of the heart is made abundant. The Biblical standard for communication implies obedience which is linked to love. In much the same way that organizations have rules, orders, governing standards, mission statements, and even visions that require a form of obedience from leaders and followers alike, one of the ongoing challenges of servant leadership is the balancing of obedience with love. The common assumption is that obedience and love do not mix. This is clearly not the case as evidenced in God's word. In John 15:12-13 Jesus commands us to "Love each other as He has loved us. Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." While the linking of love to obedience may seem to go against the grain of the unbridled emotion that is commonly captured in popular illustrations of love, we find that the Biblical concept of love as obedience allows for a richer, deeper, and more meaningful communication precisely because it resonates with a dependency on God. One lesson that we can draw from this and which may find obvious application in leadership circles is that love should not be mistaken for indulgence.

Love has a vertical as well as a horizontal component. Communication with God allows us to be closer drawn into a bond of communication—a "Loveship"—with Him. This vertical relationship also feeds our communal associations, enabling us to share and experience love with our neighbors. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment" (Matthew 22:37-38), and among all mankind, "And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:39-40). Communication becomes the extension of ourselves into the lives of others. It is the radiance or the resonance of God's love. This is God's love in practice or "Divine love on the move." The communication expressed as servant leadership assumes an active form. DeWire associates communication with commitment: "Communication is our spiritual commitment, the witness to our understanding of the will of God. It is man's mode of 'being—in—the—world', it is his attempt to master and influence the everyday life."[8] Commitment is also an important element of servant leadership. Without commitment there can be no effective leadership. The achievement of goals will be thwarted as will any empathy for all individuals within the leader-follower exchange. Committed leadership cares and caring leadership is committed. Where caring and commitment meet love is found. This is the motor that energizes servant leadership allowing it to be truly transformational.

To conclude, it is our assertion that love makes communication not only possible, but powerful. Love is a desired state of resonance in communication. Through love, the Holy Spirit changes from being latent, a potential, to kinetic, an agent in the process of communication. Furthermore, for some, love is the "practical ground where theology and communication meet [one another]" [9]. Simply put, "if love does not exist, nothing exists," as Marin Preda, one of Romania's most revered novelists[10], concludes. This postulate has its roots in the two beliefs that God is love and that life is ultimately about communicating in resonance. Prescriptively, the at-one-ment of resonance finds expression in the spiritual purpose of servant leadership which is the ultimate adjustment of a servant leader for transformative purpose. More than a mere objective, this purpose is embedded in the ongoing becoming of servant leading. Servant leadership, according to the proposed resonance model, intensifies and enriches the relationship between leader and followers.

About the author:

Originally from Romania, Dr. Mihai C. Bocarnea came to Regent University in 1995 where he currently serves as an associate professor in the School of Leadership Studies and director of the Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership program. Dr. Bocarnea is an expert in the areas of leadership, communication, research methods, and statistics. His research interests include organizational communication, cross-cultural leadership, servant leadership, organizational change, and pedagogy of online learning.

Contact information:
Mihai C. Bocarnea, Ph.D.
mihaboc@regent.edu
Phone: (757) 352-4726, fax: (757) 352-4728

Key Words: love, communication, leadership

[1] Pierre Babin, The New Era in Religious Communication (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 1991), 6.

[2] Albrecht Ritschl, The Christian Doctrine of Justification andReconciliation (Edinburgh, T. & T. Clark, 1900), 5.

[3] Stanley J. Grenz, and Olson, R. E., 20th Century Theology: God & the World in a Transitional Age (Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsity Press, 1992), 265.

[4] Grentz ad Olson, 73.

[5] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (23rd ed.) (New York, Macmillan, 1977), 93.

[6] Frederick S. J. Copleston, A History of Philosophy (vol 2) (New York, Doubleday, 1962), 82.

[7] Harry A.DeWire, The Christian as Communicator (Philadelphia, The Westminster Press, 1961), 14.

[8] Harry A. DeWire, Communication as Commitment (Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1972), 5.

[9] John Phelan, "Affinity and Conflict Between Theology and Communication," Media Development, October 1989: 20.

[10] Marin Preda, Cel mai iubit dintre paminteni (Bucuresti, Cartea Romaneasca, 1978) 3.