Selflessness & Giving – True Leadership Superpowers
This time of year, many people are preoccupied with the act of giving. But, that act is not always without expectation of return. True acts of giving involve selflessness. Being less concerned about yourself and more concerned about the welfare of others, without wanting to gain from it personally. Selflessness and giving are the underrated superpowers of great leadership.
How can you tap into these superpowers and soar in your leadership ability?
Consider your purpose. You have a skillset and experiences that no one else can claim ownership of. Those skills and insight help to shape your fundamental purpose as a human and a leader – to serve others in a way no one else is able to. To give this in selflessness is a gift.
Having your team’s best interests as motivation will enable you to step into the power of selflessness and understand them better. It will allow you to consider their viewpoints, opinions, life experience, and even their personality through the lens of understanding.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” –Mahatma Gandhi
Becoming an effective leader involves setting ego aside and utilizing humility. When you, as a leader, constantly give of yourself to your team, your organization, and your mentees, humility is needed to create healthy boundaries around how much you truly have to give.
“Selflessness is giving what you have to others. But, the only way you can do that is to have something to give.” – Glenn Akramoff
We have emphasized before that the quality of humility is a strength and not a weakness. It also needs to work in harmony with acts of giving and selflessness to create the foundation of great leadership. You can’t have one without the others and show sincerity in your leadership.
Can giving of yourself as a leader come at a cost?
Yes, it can. Burnout is very real and not to be taken lightly. Employing these leadership superpowers needs to be done with reasonableness. This is the only way for your leadership to continue making a difference in the lives of others.
What can you do to show humility in line with selflessness and giving?
Sometimes this may involve not caring what others think of you or managing their expectations of you. You need to be able to recognize if you’ve taken on too much and where your personal threshold is for serving others. Then you will be in a position to know when to politely decline additional responsibilities or engagements that could lead to burnout. These strategies and tools will support you no matter your leadership role.
Remember, displaying selflessness does not always have to be done through large grand gestures. Noticing a small way to go above and beyond in the workplace, matters. Taking a personal interest in your individual team members, matters. Creating an atmosphere of contagious kindness, matters. These are not challenging tasks, but they do require awareness, selflessness, and the desire to give.
Ultimately, selflessness and giving can serve as your greatest strengths as you step into the leader you were meant to be.
If you would like more information about how Akramoff helps leaders like you develop their leadership superpowers, please contact us today at . We look forward to the opportunity of serving and supporting your leadership journey.