The Generous Leader

Hello leader.

How does that greeting strike you today? Perhaps it adds to the weight of responsibility you’re feeling. Maybe it motivates you to read this quickly and get out there and change the world! Or it could feel awkward as you just don’t see yourself as a leader.

The reality is that we’re all leaders in some fashion. Where are you influencing others? That’s leadership. One can be a leader as a homemaker, a school teacher, a manager, a small group facilitator, a business owner, a PTO president, a recruiter, a non-profit volunteer and perhaps most significantly as a grandparent. As leaders, we have a responsibility to be generous. It’s not difficult to do so as our platform, whatever it may be, gives us significant opportunities to be generous.

Being a generous leader doesn’t simply mean giving year-end bonuses to employees or doing charitable giving to community organizations. Being a generous leader is so much more. Consider the leadership of Johnny C. Taylor Jr., President and CEO of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management). In his highly influential leadership position, his vision for his greatest leadership opportunity connects to generosity.

Taylor believes the biggest problem in society today is a lack of empathy. We are no longer sensitive to or even care to understand the thoughts or feelings of others. This “empathy deficit” has led to division and a break of public trust, including the workplaces Taylor is trying to influence through HR leaders. Therefore, he has decided to become a generous leader who makes it his mission to promote common good and dependency on each other for our needs, rooted in empathy.

Through his leadership, Taylor trains other HR leaders across the country to be more cognizant of the empathy deficit around us. He’s using his influence so others can understand there’s more to work than just work; it’s also about valuing others and helping them be best they can be. What Taylor is really doing is bringing the spirit of generosity to the workplace. When we care about others, we will eventually move to acting generous in a myriad of ways.

What’s your platform right now? Leader, we encourage you to bring a spirit of generosity into your leadership. No matter what the scope of your leadership, look for ways to lead with generosity. It could be in a social-emotional manner, or it could be in traditional helps and giving. Or, it could be both! A great place to start is empathy. What are the people you’re responsible for struggling with in this season? Empathize with them and see where that leads you. With God’s help, you can do this, generous leader!