When everyone gives, we all win

It is the last Sunday of the year 2023 and there is no better way to reflect and look forward than  for us to deeply dive into one of the attributes we talked about last week which is leading with love by being a leader who is not selfish.

Google defines the word selfish as “lacking consideration for other people, concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure”. I love this definition as it encompasses what we have covered in our series this month. Joel’s definition of selfish in relation to us leading with love is simply “think of yourself less”. He then gives us a challenge to move from a selfish heart to a serving heart. In my humble view, one cannot be an unselfish leader without learning the principle that “it is more blessed to give than to receive”. Since determining to live according to this principle, I am learning and experiencing the truth it espouses.

 It does not matter what the gift is. The fulfilment one gets is always enormous. Whether it is hugging the waitress or the hairdresser who have made me feel valued and appreciated and not just another number towards their goal, my heart is always full and of course I tend to go back to such businesses, so I experience more love.
 
You may have encountered people who ask the question “do you know who I am”?  to be selfish leaders who feel they need to remind other people that they have power. In addition, they  like to use that power as a bait instead of freely giving it away. On the other hand, we have also  experienced unselfish leaders who generously give of their talents, time, and treasures. When you  share with them a private challenge you are experiencing, you may be surprised when they ask  about that challenge in future. Despite their overflowing to do lists, they take the time to show those they lead that they value them. They are values-based leaders and know that they can bring  their personal values into the boardroom and use them to be leaders with a difference.

If like me you have been blessed to encounter leaders who are unselfish, please do not take that  for granted and if possible, let them know that you value their leadership. Before emphasizing that unselfishness is a key component of leading with love, Joel notes that “if we are unable to be selfless in our personal life then we are unlikely to be unselfish as a leader”. This is because, as leaders we need to  always keep in mind that any leadership position, we hold is a gift and the giver of that gift requires  that we honour that gift and respect those we lead by thinking of ourselves less.

As Joel discusses this attribute in detail, he goes ahead to give us some tips on how to be unselfish  with our talent, time, and treasure. He recommends we give of our skills so that we can make the  world a better place. In addition, as we work towards making the most of the 24 hours, we all get each day, we are advised to ensure that we make time for serving others. This means as  a leader, we each need to be mentoring another leader to ensure they benefit from the experiences  both negative and positive that we may have encountered on our leadership journey. Finally in  relation to our treasures, we are encouraged to give before we spend. Joel gets vulnerable and lets  us know how he has established an upper limit for his net worth. 

Once he crosses that line, he  gives away what is above that limit. According to him, this ensures that “lifestyle creep” does not reduce his giving over time.
As I conclude this series, I must say I am challenged to be a better leader who leads with love. 

What is true is the advice given by Joyce Meyer “we all need to ensure that we carry a seed in our pocket  everyday”. Whether that seed relates to your talent, time or treasure does not matter. What matters is that as we grow to become more unselfish leaders, we will all win because giving blesses both the giver and the recipient.

Wamambe is a transformational leadership coach with the Maxwell Certified Leadership Team    [email protected]