Student Research: Jack LaCouvee - The Role of Love in Leadership: Maintaining Healthy Boundaries
The School of Leadership Studies would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Jack LaCouvee on the completion of a Master’s Thesis titled, The Role of Love in Leadership: Maintaining Healthy Boundaries.
This thesis is available through RRU’s library here: https://hdl.handle.net/10613/29417
We asked Jack a few questions about this research, and this is what he said:
What are some key takeaways from your thesis that would be helpful for other leaders?
One of the key takeaways from my thesis that would be helpful for other leaders is considering the ways that love-led leadership can be enacted in practice, all while honouring the boundaries that can support this. Through love-led leadership, leaders can embody elements of compassion, respect, responsibility, and empathy into their practice. Additionally, understanding that having clear and healthy boundaries established also plays a significant role in one’s ability to employ love-led leadership.
How is the organization moving change forward based on your work?
The organization is taking all the recommendations to heart and handling them with the utmost respect, continuing ongoing conversations and providing me with opportunities to share all the findings, conclusions, and recommendations at staff meetings and with our board of directors. The recommendations aligned greatly with organizational priorities and actions already underway, which has contributed to the organization’s integration of these changes up to this point.
What surprised you about your experience of the thesis process?
What surprised me most about my thesis process experience was how fulfilling and rewarding of a process it was. I was very passionate about the research I was doing and that was always my main motivator; however, seeing all the pieces of the thesis come together near the end was an extremely amazing experience. Additionally, the number of people who supported this process and were genuinely interested in the findings, conclusions, and recommendations was incredible—people took part because they genuinely cared about what was being explored and what was to be discovered.
How are you applying lessons learned from your whole MA-Leadership journey?
The lessons from the whole MA-Leadership journey have been lifechanging. They have enabled me to understand the role that systems play in day-to-day life, and the role that I play within those systems. Additionally, they have shown me the value of applying the lessons I have learned to every aspect of my life, with an emphasis on sharing my lessons, when the opportunity presents itself, with those who are a part of my life both personally and professionally, with the hope of supporting future leaders in my community.