A Personal Journey to Understanding Everlasting

As a young boy, I cherished my faith. My faith gave me the strength to power through adversity of all kinds, including my life-long struggle with a chronic disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). As my body lost muscle and sensation, my faith assured me that my life had meaning and purpose. While I could not fully comprehend it, I was confident that I was here intentionally, not by some random accident.

As a noted business and community leader, husband, father, uncle, and brother, I have always tried to set a good example by being a strong moral and ethical leader. During my 35-year career, I chose to lead by principles, not rules.

This leadership perspective helped me lead UMB Bank through the 2008 financial crisis.

UMB Bank: A Lesson in Leadership

In the early 2000’s, I was Chairman and CEO of UMB Bank, a strong midwestern bank headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. This nearly 100-year-old institution was led by a set of long-held beliefs about doing what was right, not what was popular now.

We believed that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

While others were making risky subprime loans, we rowed close to shore safely in the sight of land by adhering to time-tested safety and soundness principles. While others thought that maybe we had lost our way in a brave new world, we thought differently.

When the 2008 financial crisis came crashing down, our institution was a beacon of strength against a backdrop of weakness caused by greed, expediency, and unrealistic performance expectations. While others scoffed and said we couldn’t adapt to change, we followed sound principles for embracing change, which sometimes means standing firm and sticking to your guns. We relied on the principle of doing what was right versus what was expedient and popular, and it paid off.

2008: A Crisis of Leadership

The entire crisis was a very troubling time for me as a leader, and I thought long and hard about its origins and causes. Ultimately, I concluded that the 2008 financial crisis was principally a crisis of leadership.

You can find hundreds of good definitions of leadership in books and online. Most say that a leader is someone who has authority, influence, and the ability to communicate, persuade, and influence others. Other characteristics often include the ability to articulate a vision, or the ability to successfully work through others to achieve a stated objective. While I find these characteristics instructive (most leaders should possess these traits), I don’t believe they get at the heart of true leadership.

A Biblical Perspective on Love-Driven Leadership

At my wedding over 30 years ago, like at so many others, one of our bible readings was from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians verse 13, 4-8. Chances are you have heard it before.

Love is Patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

In his letter, Paul is speaking about how the unbreakable bond of love can unite two people together. The passage speaks about respect, honor, integrity, trust, perseverance, and how to care for one another.

I got to wondering about whether love might be a key component of leadership, or maybe the key leadership component. After all, love is not leadership, and leadership is not love. Or are they inextricably linked? I was not sure, but I thought that just maybe I might be onto something.

I decided to substitute the word “leadership” everywhere that Paul had the words “love” or “it” in his letter. Here is how the passage reads with those alterations.

Leadership is Patient; leadership is kind; leadership is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. Leadership does not insist on its own way; Leadership is not irritable or resentful; Leadership does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. Leadership bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Leadership never ends.

I remember the first time I read this revised version like it was yesterday. I sat in stunned silence for almost an hour reading the passage repeatedly trying desperately to find fault with it, but I couldn’t. I had finally found a definition of leadership that spoke directly to me.

While this leadership definition may not speak to everyone, it spoke to me. This was not because the definition has Christian origins. In my view, this definition transcends religion. It has universal application in today’s complex and multi-faceted world, yet the concepts and the words are drawn from millennia of experience. It is about a form of leadership style that I am completely comfortable with.

Loving Leadership and the Example of UMB Bank

Love is a principle that can guide your decisions as an entrepreneur or executive. It’s certainly not a rule or a black-and-white rubric dictating your every move. Instead, love is a touchstone that we return to in difficult times, and it helps us weigh our motives and the consequences of our decision.

Is this business decision loving toward our customers and our staff?

In the example of UMB Bank, reducing risk and refusing to chase speculative gain was a choice rooted in love. Our customers did not have to worry about what might happen with their deposits. Our team didn’t have to worry about the bank going under and losing their jobs. Before the 2008 financial crisis, this wasn’t a popular or attractive leadership decision. But over the long run, it was the right decision.

Be Inspired to Lead with Love

Here is one last thing I’ve learned about leading with love. Leading with love is both aspirational and inspirational.

I recognize that I fall short of this definition daily. There have been times when I might have knowingly or unknowingly been arrogant or rude. There were certainly times when my patience wore thin as I tried to accomplish an important task. At other times in my career, I might have taken pleasure in someone coming up short so that I could advance more quickly.

I began to feel as if this definition was unattainable, unrealistic. However, I soon recognized that it was okay to fall short. The attainment of this leadership path would be a never-ending pursuit. An ongoing and continuous driver of reflection and self-improvement. This realization might have led to my discouragement, but instead it inspired me to grow as a leader and Christian.

My fondest wish is that you draw inspiration from this passage as I do. Whether you are called to be a serial entrepreneur, a C-suite leader, or occupy a leadership role more like that of Mother Theresa, all who proclaim to be leaders can draw strength, perspective, and wisdom from this passage.

Won’t you join me in the quest to fulfill this everlasting definition of leadership?

About the Author

Peter de Silva is an executive leader, former Harvard University senior fellow, and the author of Taking Stock.

As we read in this blog post, there’s much we can learn from other entrepreneurs’ experiences. Peter was able to navigate UMB Bank through the 2008 financial crisis by sticking to his principles. Now, it’s time to learn from other entrepreneurs. Join one of our groups, were you’ll be able to meet with local entrepreneurs and hear their stories. Don’t do it alone. Find your community.

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