1 Minute Wins #61:Give Generously

Generosity is one of the most underrated leadership skills.

A few minutes of your time, a word of encouragement, or an opportunity shared can create an impact far beyond what you see.

Give freely. Lead generously.

#Leadership #Generosity

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Welcome to One Minute Wins with Dr. Dana Martin, the podcast where intentional growth meets practical leadership. One quote, one lesson, one action to help you lead yourself and others better. Let's jump in. Howdy, and welcome back to One Minute Wins. I am Dr. Dana Martin, and we are on video today. And this camera is a little bit high, but it'll adjust. It's its own adjusting whatever. Here we go. Number 61, give generously. And of course, just like every other one minute win, this correlates with the book One Minute Wins, Volume 1, Take Control of Your Growth Journey One Minute at a Time. Available now on Amazon. And I am Dr. Dana Martin, coach, author, speaker, and your guide on this journey of intentional growth. Today we're going to talk about something that often gets overlooked in leadership conversations. And it's not strategy or performance, productivity. Those are things we talk about all the time. Generosity. No one has ever become poor by giving. And at first glance, that sounds really, really simple, maybe even obvious. But when you really think about it, generosity runs completely counter to how many people approach leadership. Some leaders hold on tightly to information and recognition, and they hold the opportunities really tight around them. They operate from scarcity. But great leaders, great leaders understand something very different. The more you value you create, the more value you create for others, the more influence you gain with them. And today we're talking about why generosity enriches both the giver and the receiver, and why it may be one of the most powerful leadership tools you can have. Generosity enriches both giver and receiver. And what does that mean? Enriching, right? We're not talking about money, right? We're talking about money is a form of generosity, and paying someone what they're worth certainly is uh generous. Uh but you can also be generous with things like your time, your attention, your encouragement, knowledge, connections, networking, especially your gratitude. Leaders who impacted my life the most weren't necessarily the smartest people in the room, but they were definitely the most giving. They were definitely people that made you feel seen and valued. They shared what they knew and they opened doors for you often and across lanes within the organization and even outside of the organization. They insisted that they invest in others without calculating the ROI. That's leadership. Because generosity creates trust. That trust creates rapport, and that rapport ushers in influence. So think about the best leader you have ever worked for. Not the most impressive or the best dressed, not the most award-winning, or even the most highly decorated or educated. The best. What made them memorable to you? Think about that for a second. I mean, most people aren't going to say uh they had great spreadsheets. They ran meetings awesome. They knew every KPI when asked. I mean, these are things that you don't really say when you say, this is what made this leader memorable. Usually it's something like they believed in me when no one else did. They provided an opportunity. I had to work, but they gave me the window. They took time to explain things to me that maybe I misunderstood. They listened. All of those things, that's generosity. I remember leaders throughout my own career who took time they didn't have to give to me. They coached me, challenged me, encouraged me, shared lessons with me that they had learned the hard way so I wouldn't have to get through them. And looking back, those tiny, what I'll call microinvestments, they shaped me far more than any formal training or education ever did. But what does the research say, Dana? Well, study from University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School found that employees who receive support and help from coworkers demonstrate significantly higher engagement and productivity. So the researchers also found in that same study that generous workplace culture increases collaboration, trust, long-term performance. So what does that mean? It means that generosity is not just being nice or kind, it's an effective leadership tool. When people feel supported, they're going to perform better. And when they feel valued, they're going to contribute and take the risk to speak more. And when leaders invest in others, organizations as a whole become stronger. It's just simple addition. Actually, it's a multiplier. A leadership multiplier. That's what generosity is. I got another quote from uh Leo Bascaglia. He says, Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, and an honest compliment. Let's think about that for a second. Most acts of generosity cost very little. Thank you. You did really well in that presentation. Um, I'm gonna put in a recommendation for you for this new position. Simple conversation. How are you doing? An email. Just wanting to encourage you. You've got a lot on your plate. Is there anything I can do to assist? Those things take what three minutes, two minutes of your life? How much value can you add from your two minutes to somebody else? Two minutes to write an email expressing gratitude and encouragement.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

What would that do for you if you received a short email of encouragement and gratitude?

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Sometimes the smaller the gift can create the biggest ripple. And that ripple of impact can kick off a change, can kick off movement and momentum that can last for years. One thing I've learned personally over the years is that the generosity compound compounds, I mentioned that earlier, that it's a multiplier. It's a leadership multiplier. When I share a leadership resource with someone, when I spend just an extra five minutes here coaching someone, taking time, when I connect two people that otherwise wouldn't have known each other, but are extremely beneficial for the both of it is extremely beneficial for the both of them to know each other. Now, I rarely see the fruits of that. I mean, rarely. But it's not until maybe months later when I do get that chance. And what I hear in feedback is that conversation really changed my perspective or how I'm looking at even this job. I had a conversation with an individual and was very gracious for everything he's trying to do. Uh, but he was not a good fit for the job. And he knew it, I knew it. And so I is in effect freed him by saying, if you want to go elsewhere and you can be helped happier elsewhere, what can I do to help you get there? And it wasn't in a mean way, it was in a very uh growth-centric mindset that I was coming from. And he and he knew it. That recommendation opened a door. That's something else I've heard. The advice that you gave me helped me through a difficult season, not just an issue, a season of their life. You never fully know where that generosity is going to travel and how it may even be paid forward. That's okay. Because the goal isn't recognition, the goal isn't getting those comments, the goal is simply being a contributor. So, how do we as leaders become more intentional with generosity? Well, you know, I'm gonna give you four ways. Number one, give your attention. In a distracted world, focused attention is very rare. And when someone talks to you, be present, listen fully, put the phone down. A practice I do uh even today, that I've done for 20 years, is when I do have someone come into my office or come speak with me, I put everything down, I clasp my hands, and I set them on the table in front of me, and I provide them my eyes, and I provide them my mind, and I provide them my heart, and I'm fully engaged in listening in what they're saying. Why? Because how valued do you feel if you're trying to express something and the individual's looking at a phone or checking an email, or give me just a second, I gotta reply to this team's message. Nah, put it all away. They're a human, they're a person. Give them that respect. Number two, that was a long one. Sorry, kind of went off. Number two, second, is to share what you have learned. Don't make people learn every lesson or earn every lesson the hard way. Pass along some wisdom. Yes, we have to let people fail. We have to let them grow and determine these things on their own. But there are moments that you can inject yourself into their life in a very positive, meaningful way, adding value by sharing your wisdom. Pass that along, share your resources, recommend books. I recommend books all the time, whether it's this podcast or one of the other two I do. Number three, recognize people publicly. There are people that don't like it, so they say, but a little bit of recognition for even those people publicly goes a long way. If someone's doing a bang up job, recognize them. Celebrate the growth, celebrate the effort, celebrate their contributions. People will thrive when they feel valued. And number four, don't keep score. Stop keeping score. If that's not gratitude, that's not being gracious, that's not giving if you're keeping score. There's no generosity in giving with score.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

So how do we do it?

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Well, number one, give your attention. Number two, share what you've learned. Number three, recognize people publicly and four don't keep score. That by giving you're sacrificing. Because it really isn't generosity if you're not sacrificing anything, is it? I'd like to consider myself a generous tipper. Um when it's like you have a baseline at 15 or whatever, like that's where we start. And if you're great, you're gonna get 25-30. And if you're terrible, you're gonna get 15%. Like, I know they don't make minimum wage in a restaurant, um, but I don't tip generously just because, but I also don't tip generously and and and hold back, like, oh well, I evaluated in this matrix. Nah, man, it's like here, just just take it. It's not mine. The money comes and the money goes, and being generous with money is important, I think. Um, I I know that giving in certain arenas aspects had huge return on investments without trying. But there are things more precious than money, and one of the most precious things is time, and within time, it's attention, and so generously providing your attention to someone there's there really is no comparison for that. So, what is our question? How can you give today, whether that's time, gratitude, resources? Think about one person. Maybe it's someone that's already on your mind and it's been heavy on your mind. Think of one person who may need encouragement, they may need support, or maybe they just need the one person to believe in them, and you could be that person because maybe they don't even believe in themselves. Gonna go a Star Wars route real quick. Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader. Yeah, there's no good in him, there's no light in him, it's all extinguished. He even said, I killed Anakin Skywalker. There is nothing. One person believed Luke Skywalker. No, no, no, Pops. You're not totally evil. There's good in you, I sense it. I believe in you. No one else did.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

Obi- not Obi-Wan, nobody, not Leia, nobody. Luke did. And it was in that belief in his father. That his father changed. Turned.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

So is there someone that you believe may need you to believe in them? Probably. And if you can't think of anyone, turn that crap inwards, man. Believe in yourself. You're listening to this because you want to grow. You're listening to this because you want to be more than you were five minutes ago. Perfect. Be gracious to yourself too. And generous to yourself with your time to grow yourself. Here's your action step, though. One generous act today, not tomorrow, not next week, today. Do one generous act without expecting anything in return. Send that note, that email, make that introduction between those people that you're like, I need to sync those two. And share the opportunity. Always remember to give freely. The strongest leaders understand something that a lot of people miss, and that's that influence can grow through contribution. People will follow leaders who create value in them, and people trust leaders who continually and consistently invest in them. People remember the leaders who gave more than they took. Generosity is not a weakness, it is strength under control. And when it's practiced consistently and intentionally, it becomes a part of your leadership legacy. And that is episode 61. Give generously. Really appreciate that you are watching. Like, subscribe, and all the stuff and things, and check out the companion book One Minute Wins. Millennium One, take control of your growth journey one minute a time on Amazon. Be generous and always remember be the example.