Stop calling Virtues “Woo‑Woo”

Reading Time: 5 minutes

… and the way I think about them, they’re not preachy either!

Leaders, including me, love their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), dashboards, and quarterly reports. They’re the love language of logic, the scaffolding of competence. And they absolutely matter.

But here’s the inconvenient truth: KPIs, OKRs, and the data on dashboards don’t traditionally measure the quality of your leadership. They measure outcomes, not the virtue‑driven actions that created them.

And leadership isn’t just logic. It’s light.

The Intersection of Logic and Light

Leading with Light isn’t about abandoning metrics. It’s about balance.

Logic without light becomes cold, mechanical, transactional.
Light without logic risks drifting into abstraction, and yes… may drift into, dare I say it, “woo-woo.”

True leadership lives at the intersection of logic and light: competence paired with warmth, clarity and courage, dashboards and discernment.

That’s why virtue‑driven action matters. It’s not “soft skills.” It’s human skills: the hard, daily choices to act with integrity, trustworthiness, empathy, humility, and generosity. Choices that unify and inspire across gender, culture, politics, and religion. Behaviors that unify and inspire.

Measuring Virtue in the Flow of Work

First, let’s debunk a few misconceptions. Virtue-driven action isn’t about being preachy. While virtues have a spiritual foundation, they’re universal characteristics that we aspire to and admire in others.

It also isn’t about being perfect. It’s about progress. While we strive for excellence, we’re human. We make mistakes. Ideally, we possess enough humility to learn and apologize if needed… enough grace to forgive, again, if needed.

And I’ll be the first to acknowledge you’re busy, and you don’t need “one more thing” to add to your already too full list of things to do.

The approach I suggest is embedding measuring virtue-driven action into the rhythms you already use:

Project retros: Ask, “Where did we see courage, encouragement, or humility in action this week?”
Recognition tools: Add virtue tags (#integrity, #empathy #honesty #candor #accountability) to kudos.
One‑on‑ones: Pulse check with, “Which virtue-driven action did you see show up this week?”

No new dashboards. Just weaving virtue‑driven action into the flow of work and conversations you already have.

Why It Matters

Virtue‑driven actions aren’t abstract. They’re catalytic and transformative.

Courage drives innovation.
Humility drives collaboration.
Accountability drives ownership.
Excellence drives performance.
Service drives customer satisfaction.
Generosity drives loyalty.

These are the human edges of sustainable performance. And when paired with KPIs and OKRs, they give you a fuller picture: not just what happened, but why it mattered.

The Challenge

If you’re skeptical, I get it. Skepticism is healthy. But don’t dismiss this as “woo‑woo” until you’ve tested it. Also, don’t assume it’s tied to religion or preachy. It’s not.

Run a pilot. Three months. A handful of leaders. Take a quick pulse poll using one to three questions to establish a baseline. Then track the signals, the feedback, and the results.

After three months, ask yourself:

Did trust or psychological safety increase?
Did belonging deepen?
Did leaders act with more clarity and courage?
Do employees feel more connected to purpose?
Do more employees feel like they matter?

If the answer is yes, you’ve proven that virtue‑driven action is measurable and that it strengthens the very outcomes your dashboards depend on.

Parting Thoughts

KPIs and OKRs tell you what happened. Virtue‑driven actions contribute to significance and tell you why it mattered.

Stop thinking about Lead with Light and virtue-driven action as “woo-woo.” Again, it’s not preachy or about perfection. It’s all about leaders taking action to make progress… each day, each week, and month after month.

Be clear. Be kind. Lead with Light! ✨