Giving Without Taking

Leadership is about giving.

Leaders give instruction, guidance and direction. They empower people to do their jobs.

Good leaders also give more intimate pieces of themselves. They give their time and effort, often when they’d rather be doing other things. They share personal stories and lessons learned, which can be an exercise in humility. They tell the secrets of their success, which could be counterintuitive in a competitive society.

Even though it may be tough, good leaders do all these things.

And the great ones—really successful leaders—know how to give without taking anything in return.

This takes finesse. Knowing how to guide people while letting them be who they are and execute tasks the way they want to is not alway easy.

I’d probably been a supervisor for three years before I figured out it was okay if someone didn’t do something exactly like I would. Like many people in leadership positions, I assumed my way was the best way. It had been successful for me, so why shouldn’t it work for others? Based on that assumption, I provided tactical guidance to ensure the success of those who worked for me. But tactical guidance is not always necessary. Often, relaying the strategic vision is enough.

In other words, how something gets done doesn’t matter as much as that it gets done well and on time to meet the larger goal.

Strong leaders know how to give valuable insight, guidance or advice without marginalizing the recipient and without restricting them from doing the job the way they want.

They know how to give without taking.