Great leaders are generous. Not as a marketing ploy. Not as a bait-and-switch tactic. Not because they're rich and have nothing better to do with their money. A story will better illustrate why. 1
A generous man
One of the most skilled leaders I know is a man you'll likely never meet or read about in a leadership magazine. He owns a mechanical services company in Fayetteville, Georgia. Each year, he throws a Christmas party for all his employees, current and former, and their families. He lives modestly and gives luxuriously. Particularly, I want to tell you what he did for me one spring afternoon.
I was preparing for a short-term trip to Africa—3 months during the summer of 2006. I was also raising support (no negligible amount) for said trip, and as this man was a neighbor, friend, and former employer, he received a letter asking for financial support.
He contacted me to let me know he had something for me and told me he'd look for a time he was free to get together. Eventually, that time came. He called to ask me if I'd have a few hours in the afternoon. Eagerly, I obliged (and surely canceled any plans I might've had).
He lives about 200 yards from my parents, so I was a bit surprised to see him pull up in his truck that afternoon. He invited me to hop in, and he let me know we were going to run an errand together. Next stop, Lowe's.
As it turns out, a family from their church had a relative who was recently involved in a car accident. She survived, but with a drastically altered life as a quadriplegic. Our errand was to pick up a generator and deliver it to their family so the devices critical to her survival would continue to function in the event of a power outage.
It wasn't simply a give-and-run experience, either. We spent time laughing and talking with their family—hearing stories of the past and dreams for the future. And on the way out, they gave me the full tour of all this man had already done for them. Building a new deck that was wheelchair-friendly and covered. Converting the front door and patio to accomodate wheelchair access. Bringing meals over for their entire family. His generosity was staggering.
On our way home, he gave me a check that covered half of my entire trip.
But why generosity?
When leading others towards a just goal, a leader sets vision and direction, then empowers followers to act freely. Leaders generally don't make their investment in people with goals wildly different from their own, and they usually invest only where they see potential. Their generous investment delivers two things: resources and permission.
It's easy to see that financial generosity gives a recipient the means to move towards a common goal. What's not so obvious is the permission granted by the giving of time or attention. As a leader invests this way in others, she implicitly communicates that the other party deserves her most important resource. In turn, that person is naturally challenged to steward this investment wisely and push harder towards their shared goal.
For me, this investment reminded me that generosity is an essential part of being fully alive and bringing the Kingdom of God to earth. And I learned that generosity isn't an action, but a lifestyle. For his employees, annual Christmas parties are reminders of their value and potential. They actually mean something in his company, and their continued work is appreciated and valued.
Great leaders understand that they are leading people. Whole people. And they will never succeed in achieving goals without the generosity that empowers their co-laborers.
What are you leading others towards? And are you empowering them through your own generosity?2
