In your role as leader, making sure that you are there to serve your people, to ensure they are the best they can be involves more giving and less taking. These ‘Leadership Wisdoms’ words will hekp you appreciate the reasons why. And how being a giving leader is ultimately much more rewarding than being a taker.
When we give to others, we show a generosity towards them that they will appreciate; that they benefit from. When we take, we accept their offer of something valuable. As long as we do this with encouragement and gratitude, we build relationships and trust.
Giving is a constructive activity where we think strategically of what others need from us. In leadership roles, this might be a range of things where we can add value to them.
It might be a listening ear. It might be the kind of support where we elicit from them their ideas to solve problems, or coach them through challenges and set them on their way, enthused and encouraged to take risks and try. It might be praise or encouragement.
It might be the gift of catching them right or the gift of supportive and constructive feedback particularly designed to help them be even better next time. There are many opportunities for leaders to give more to their people.
We support others and help them grow by the generous gift of our time, focus and full attention. We do not need to provide solutions, for that will mean dependence on us. We need to give them the gift of the confidence that comes from inside – their own potential building a long-term inner resourcefulness.
Giving our energy to our people is an inherent leadership skill that requires subtlety and self-control. It might seem easier to offer solutions to fix their problem, but that does not help them grow.
When we take, we take with good grace, but our goal as a leader is to seek out every opportunity we can find to give. A joyful role, which whilst not stroking our ego by solution-finding, is the bigger value we can gift to ourselves, as well as those around us.
To download the poster, backed by the article and 5 Steps to Giving More (more often), click here.