I learned that leadership is about falling in love with the

Joyce Banda, the daughter of Malawi and the servant of her people, once spoke with the wisdom of one who has carried the burden of a nation: “I learned that leadership is about falling in love with the people and the people falling in love with you. It is about serving the people with selflessness, with sacrifice, and with the need to put the common good ahead of personal interests.” In these words, there is both tenderness and fire. She teaches us that true leadership is not domination, nor is it self-glory—it is a sacred covenant of mutual devotion, sealed not with power but with love.

The origin of this truth lies in Banda’s own journey. Rising from grassroots activism to the presidency of Malawi, she witnessed firsthand the struggles of women, the poor, and the marginalized. Her leadership was not born in palaces but in the dusty fields and crowded villages where ordinary people longed to be heard. She discovered that to guide a nation, one must first listen, one must first care, and one must first give one’s heart to the people. For without love, leadership becomes tyranny; but with love, it becomes service.

History itself echoes this lesson. Consider Mahatma Gandhi, who bound himself to his people through sacrifice and humility. His leadership did not flow from an army or a throne, but from his deep love for India’s millions. In turn, the people loved him back, following his call for nonviolence even in the face of oppression. Like Banda, Gandhi understood that only through mutual devotion could a movement endure. His greatness was not measured by what he gained, but by how much of himself he gave.

The deeper meaning of Banda’s words is that leadership is not a transaction but a relationship. It is not about commanding loyalty but about inspiring it, not about demanding obedience but about awakening trust. When a leader falls in love with the people, their joys and sorrows become his or her own. And when the people fall in love with their leader, they do not follow out of fear but out of faith. This is the true power that holds a nation together—not chains, not laws, not wealth, but love.

Yet this love is not cheap sentiment. Banda speaks of selflessness, sacrifice, and the pursuit of the common good. These are not easy paths; they require the leader to lay aside pride, ambition, and greed. History is littered with leaders who loved themselves more than their people, and thus brought ruin upon their nations. But those who have chosen the harder way—sacrifice for the sake of the many—have built legacies that endure beyond their lifetimes.

The lesson for us is profound: whatever our station, we are all called to some form of leadership, whether over a family, a community, or a nation. To lead rightly, we must first learn to love rightly. This means listening with humility, serving with sacrifice, and always choosing the common good over personal advantage. If we lead without love, we enslave. If we lead with love, we liberate.

Practical action lies close at hand. If you are a leader, ask yourself daily: Do I love the people I serve? Do I put their needs above my own? If you are among the people, ask: Does my leader truly love us, or does he serve himself? Support only those whose hearts are proven in service, not those whose words are empty. And in your own life, begin with small acts of selfless care, for the spirit of leadership is not confined to rulers but belongs to all who serve with love.

Thus, Joyce Banda’s words ring as a commandment for the ages: leadership is not conquest but covenant, not privilege but sacrifice, not the pursuit of self but the pursuit of the common good. Let every generation remember that the greatest leader is the one who loves most deeply, and the greatest nation is the one whose people return that love with trust and devotion.