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    BPI Expert Faculty

    Alaina Love

    CEO

    Purpose Linked Consulting

    Key Takeaways

    • 1.Connects employee purpose and passion to strategic business objectives to improve financial results.
    • 2.Co-authored the bestselling book, *The Purpose Linked Organization*, to show how passion drives organizational success.
    • 3.Developed the Passion Profiler™ assessment to identify 10 passion archetypes for enhancing performance.
    • 4.Recognized with a Thought Leader Award for contributions to executive and organizational development.

    About Alaina

    Alaina Love is a recognized expert in leadership and organizational development, known for her pioneering work in connecting employee purpose and passion to strategic business objectives and financial results, and serves as an expert faculty member at the Best Practice Institute.

    Who is Alaina Love?

    Alaina Love is the CEO of Purpose Linked Consulting (PLC), a firm dedicated to guiding leaders and teams in cultivating purpose, passion, and inclusion within organizations. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between individual employee engagement and overarching business goals, ensuring that an organization's human capital directly contributes to its strategic achievements.

    As an expert faculty member at the Best Practice Institute (BPI), Love shares her extensive knowledge globally, working with organizations across the US, Asia, and Europe. Her contributions to BPI reinforce the institute's commitment to groundbreaking research and practical applications in leadership and workplace dynamics.

    Quick facts about Alaina Love

    RoleCEO, Expert Faculty Member
    CompanyPurpose Linked Consulting, Best Practice Institute
    Based in(Not specified)
    ExpertiseEmployee purpose, passion, inclusion, leadership development, organizational culture
    Notable forThe Purpose Linked Organization, Passionality web series, Passion Profiler™
    BPI affiliationExpert Faculty member

    What is Alaina Love known for?

    • The Purpose Linked Organization: Co-author of the bestselling McGraw-Hill book The Purpose Linked Organization: How Passionate Leaders Inspire Winning Teams and Great Results, which explores how leveraging individual passions drives organizational success.
    • Passionality Web Series: Host of "Passionality," an online web series that showcases individuals who leverage their passions to create positive impact.
    • Passion Profiler™: Co-developer of an online tool, in collaboration with a research team from the University of Michigan, that identifies and measures 10 passion archetypes to enhance performance and engagement.
    • Leadership Columnist: Former leadership columnist for prominent publications including Bloomberg BusinessWeek, The Washington Post, and Harvard Business Review online, and a monthly contributor to SmartBrief on Leadership.
    • Thought Leadership: Recognized by the MEECO Leadership Institute with a Thought Leader Award for her contributions to executive and organizational development.

    What is Alaina Love's background and experience?

    Alaina Love brings a rich academic and professional background to her work. Before establishing Purpose Linked Consulting, she served as the Executive Director of Global Human Resources at Merck & Co., Inc. In this role, she gained extensive experience in global human resources, talent management, and strategic organizational development.

    Love holds a PhD from Boston University, where she studied under Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, and completed post-doctoral work at Harvard University. She also earned an Executive MBA from ESSEC Business School. Her certifications include Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Certified Coach ICC Trainer (EMCC), and various assessments such as Leadership Effectiveness Analysis (MRG) and Hogan. She is also trained in positive psychology, negotiation, executive communication, and emotional intelligence.

    What topics does Alaina Love speak and write about?

    Alaina Love speaks and writes extensively on the critical link between individual passion and organizational performance. Her work emphasizes that when employees connect their personal passions with their professional roles, it significantly boosts engagement, fosters cognitive diversity, and builds the agility necessary for organizations to thrive, even in challenging environments. She articulates how managing to an individual's passions, rather than solely their skills, unlocks greater potential.

    Her insights cover leadership development, team building, and cultural change management, providing practical guidance on creating vision, mission, and values that resonate deeply within an organization. Love's contributions to SmartBrief on Leadership have consistently been among the most widely read, reflecting the relevance and impact of her perspectives on contemporary workplace challenges.

    How does Alaina Love contribute to the Best Practice Institute?

    As an expert faculty member, Alaina Love is an integral part of the Best Practice Institute's mission to advance best practices in leadership and organizational excellence. She shares her deep expertise in connecting employee behaviors with strategic objectives, aligning with BPI's focus on creating Most Loved Workplaces® through methodologies like the SPARK Model. Her insights contribute to BPI's resources in organizational development, learning and development, leadership development, and employee engagement.

    Love's work at BPI helps leaders understand how to cultivate a workplace where purpose and passion are central, driving both individual fulfillment and superior business results. Her perspective enriches BPI's comprehensive research and practical tools, supporting organizations in building cultures that inspire and retain top talent.

    Where can you learn more from Alaina Love?

    You can explore Alaina Love's insights through her expert profile on the Best Practice Institute website. Additionally, her books, The Purpose Linked Organization and Permission to Be You, offer in-depth guidance. Further information can be found in her articles for SmartBrief on Leadership and her "Passionality" web series.", faqs=[{

    Background & Perspective

    Background

    Alaina Love holds a PhD from Boston University, where she studied under Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, and completed post-doctoral work at Harvard University. She also earned an Executive MBA from ESSEC Business School. Before establishing Purpose Linked Consulting, she served as the Executive Director of Global Human Resources at Merck & Co., Inc., gaining extensive experience in global human resources, talent management, and strategic organizational development. Her certifications include Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Certified Coach ICC Trainer (EMCC).

    Areas of Expertise

    As CEO of Purpose Linked Consulting, Alaina Love is a recognized expert in leadership and organizational development. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between individual employee engagement and overarching business goals. She is known for her pioneering work in connecting employee purpose and passion to strategic business objectives, which is the foundation of her book, The Purpose Linked Organization. She also co-developed the Passion Profiler™, an online assessment that identifies passion archetypes to enhance performance and engagement.

    Topics Covered

    Love speaks and writes on the critical link between individual passion and organizational performance. She provides practical guidance on leadership development, team building, and cultural change management, emphasizing how to create a vision, mission, and values that resonate within an organization. A former leadership columnist for Bloomberg BusinessWeek and The Washington Post, she is a monthly contributor to SmartBrief on Leadership.

    Areas of Expertise

    Leadership DevelopmentEmployee EngagementPurpose Linked LeadershipCultural ChangeTalent ManagementOrganizational DevelopmentPassion Profiling

    Research Topics

    LeadershipCultureTalent StrategyOrganizational Development

    Profile last updated

    Frequently asked questions

    Best Practice Institute

    Best Practice Institute is the research organization behind Most Loved Workplace® certification, the SPARK Model, the Love of Workplace Index™ (LOWI™), and The Workplace Report.

    The Workplace Report

    The Workplace Report is BPI's original workplace culture research and editorial briefing series for CEOs, CHROs, people leaders, talent leaders, and employer-brand teams. It turns BPI's 25 years of research, Most Loved Workplace® certification data, SPARK findings, and current workforce signals into practical analysis leaders can use.

    The report format includes executive summaries, research-backed articles, company examples, methodology notes, and practical implications for retention, hiring, culture, leadership, and employee experience. New research and analysis is published on an ongoing editorial cadence at /workplace-report.