Seven Ways To Become A Generous Leader

Speaking about his book, The Generous Leader, author Joe Davis says, “This book is about the ways in which you can become a generous leader to be part of something bigger than yourself.”

He adds that the old model for a leader – a top-down, unilateral, single-focus boss, isn’t effective in today’s workplace. “That old model no longer attracts talent, invites collaboration, or gets the best results from the team. That leader’s time is passed. Today, there is a need for a more human-centered, bighearted, authentic way to lead,” adds Davis.

To help you become a generous leader, Davis introduces you to seven essential elements that he believes will develop you into a leader for the future.

The seven elements are:

Generous Communication: Be real to build deep connections. Be available to connect with the person, and not just the person in their role to make them feel seen.
Generous Listening: Be sincerely curious about another’s perspective. Ask thoughtful questions. Ask “why” often.
Generous Inclusion: Be inclusive to invite collaboration and show respect.
The Generous Ally: Take chances to make chances for others.
Generous Development: Validate strengths and success, identify expansive opportunities.
Generous Moments: Make small acts of acknowledgment in important moments to make a big impact.
Give up the Mask: Be emotionally accessible with authenticity and vulnerability.

“Being vulnerable with your staff is intimidating, but when connecting with people not only will you grow as a leader and a person, but your business will grow as well,” explains Davis. Also, “bringing your authentic self to your leadership takes courage and commitment, but you reap profound benefits from heart-led generous acts.”

Throughout this book and essential and practical guide, you will discover unvarnished and unforgettable stories, the author, and CEOs of well-recognized companies reveal about their experiences and mistakes that informed their success.

I agree with Davis, there is a no more powerful leader than a generous leader! A leader who unlocks the best parts of himself/herself to become the best leader possible.

Joe Davis

Davis shares these insights with us:

Question: Of the seven essential elements, which do you find the most difficult for leaders to master and why?

Davis: I think the two toughest are Give Up the Mask and Generous Listening.

First is sharing personal self, being vulnerable and authentic. Why? It is just not how so many of us were trained or raised to be leaders. The “tough guy” in control, in charge, have all the answers person has been glorified for too long.

Also, many of us do not have experience with showing emotions and the power of what happens when we do.

Second is listening to learn. You need to become comfortable knowing you do not know what you do not know and thus always ask questions, probing and exploring what others know that you do not, so you get to a richer answer/insight.

People also do not slow down enough to try to understand where the other is coming from – their lived experience. Why does this happen? It’s because often we think we know it all. Or we are afraid to show we do not know it all or feel we have done all the “work and analysis” and are sure we have the answer. Even worse, we don’t care about another’s experiences.

Question: If a reader can only tackle one or two of the seven essential elements this year as they strive to become a better leader, which one or two do you recommend they tackle and why?

Davis:

If talking about two to tackle, I recommend:

Generous Listening: Listen to learn, ask questions, probe, learn what others know. Doing so provides you with a much richer answer/insight. It makes the other person feel included, empowered, inspired, motivated. Ask questions!

Generous Moments: Take some small actions that will have huge impact. It’s easy to get started and it makes others feel recognized. It shows you care about others. When people feel recognized and appreciated, they will be inspired to be better, do more, perform higher – all benefitting them, the organization, and its mission, and you.

Additionally, in The Generous Leader, Davis tells a story about a performance review he received as he was just starting his career: He was told he was not the best at problem-solving solo; but in collaboration with others, he could solve any challenge. His manager identified his key strength—Joe was a person who could connect with anyone.

This ability to connect with people became the foundation of a successful career at Boston Consulting Group, spanning 40-plus years.

Finally, here are the 10 guiding actions that Davis practices after he wakes up each morning:

Start the day caring.
Always remember you don’t know what you don’t know.
Find constant opportunities to engage, listen, and hear.
Work hard to hear from, and team with, the broadest possible set of voices.
Engage honestly; be real.
Speak plainly, directly, and honestly in all interactions.
Make decisions decisively, yet with the confidence and humbleness to adjust if wrong.
Make productive use of each moment each day.
Live each day positively, with high energy and a smile that exudes confidence.
Care for yourself, your health, and your well-being (exercise, sleep, eat healthfully).

Thank you to the book's publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Five Essential Principles For Sustaining Growth Through Innovation

Even though many companies strive for innovation, most struggle to achieve meaningful change. The largest reason for this disconnect? Playing it safe. Leaders and organizations want to implement new ideas, but too often they are held back by the fear of failure, even though setbacks are intrinsic to the innovation process. In the new book, No Fear, No Failure , by Lorraine H. Marchand (with John Hanc), readers will learn how to overcome the status quo that stifles creative thinking and how to create a culture that encourages innovation. Marchand provides a framework for sustained growth built on the “ 5 Cs ”: Customer First Culture Collaboration Change Chance She draws on more than 120 interviews with leaders across industries, real-world case studies, and her firsthand experience and shares step-by-step, field-tested strategies, tactics, and tools that practitioners can use to embed creativity within organizational cultures. Marchand is a former Big Tech and Big Pharma ex...

10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership . In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself. It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust. The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes. In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter. In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

How To Play Bigger And Be A Category King In Business

"The most exciting companies create. They give us new ways of living, thinking, or doing business, many times solving a problem we didn't know we had -- or a problem we didn't pay attention to because we never thought there was another way," explain the four authors of the dynamic new book, Play Bigger . They add that, "the most exciting companies sell us different. They introduce the world to a new category of product or service." And, they become category kings . Examples of category kings are Amazon, Salesforce, Uber and IKEA. Play Bigger is all about the strategy that builds category kings. And, to be a category king you need to be good at category design : Category design is the discipline of creating and developing a new market category, and conditioning the market so it will demand your solution and crown your company as its king. Category design is the opposite of "build it and they will come." Key traits of category design...

6 Ways To Seek Feedback To Improve Your Performance In The Workplace

Getting feedback is an important way to improve performance at work. But sometimes, it can be hard to seek out, and even harder to hear. “Feedback is all around you. Your job is to find it, both through asking directly and observing it,” says David L. Van Rooy, author of the new book, Trajectory: 7 Career Strategies to Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be . As today's guest post, Van Rooy offers these six tips for how to get the feedback you need to improve performance at work . Guest Post By David L. Van Rooy 1. Don’t forget to as k : One of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming things are going perfectly (until they make a catastrophic mistake). By not asking, you’re missing out on opportunities for deep feedback: the difficult, critical feedback that gives you constructive ways to improve. 2. Make sure you listen : Remember, getting fee...

How To Harness Employee Experience Design To Attract And Retain The Best Talent

Employee Experience Design (EXD) is designing with people and not for them. It’s a proven method for engaging and collaborating with your employees to help solve your most difficult workplace challenges. You’ll learn all about EXD in the new book, Employee Experience Desing: How To Co-Create Work Where People And Organizations Thrive , by Dean E. Carter , Samantha Gadd, and Mark Levy . “Many organizations are drowning in policies and initiatives. EXD is a way to reduce that burden while delivering better results both for employees and for the bottom line,” explain the authors. The book includes inspiring stories from brands like Airbnb and Patagonia, among many others, including those in retail, healthcare, hospitality, apparel, and biotech. It describes the power that’s unleashed when organizations design with and not for their employees. The first part of the book covers The Why of why EXD is so important and addresses legitimate – and tough –...

Leadership Lessons From Kent Taylor, Founder Of Texas Roadhouse

From cover-to-cover of Made From Scratch you’ll learn the leadership lessons of the late Kent Taylor , founder of the restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse. In the new book, Taylor recounts how he built the restaurant chain from the ground up after being rejected more than 80 times as he pitched the idea for the business. His approach to business was often out-of-the-box, however, his business lessons and leadership lessons from the course of his life and career are invaluable. Here are some of my favorite leadership lessons from Kent and his book: The best leaders stay down-to-earth and approachable. In a bottom-up company, the leader learns from frontline people. As soon as you make a profit, find a way to give back. Be willing to laugh at yourself. Become a student of your craft. Positive reinforcement inspires much greater performance than fear ever can. Want to get the respect of your people? Then roll up y...

Don't Delay Tough Conversations With Your Employees

If you have an employee who needs to improve his/her performance don't delay the tough conversation with them. If you don't address the issue right now, the employee has little chance to improve, and you'll only get more frustrated. Most employees want to do a good job. Sometimes they just don't know they aren't performing up to the required standards. Waiting until the employee's annual performance appraisal to have the tough conversation is unhealthy for you and the employee. So, address the issue now. Sit down with your employee in a private setting. Look them in the eye. First, tell them what they do well. Thank them for that good work. Then, tell them where they need to improve. Be clear. Be precise. Ask them if they understand and ask them if they need any help from you on how to do a better job. Explain to them that your taking the time to have the tough conversation means you care about them. You want them to do better. You believe they can do better. ...

How to Be a Leader – 9 Principles from Dale Carnegie

Today, I welcome thought-leader Nathan Magnuson as guest blogger... Nathan writes : This is it, your first day in a formal leadership role. You’ve worked hard as an individual contributor at one or possibly several organizations. Now management has finally seen fit to promote you into a position as one of their own: a supervisor. You don’t care if your new team is only one person or ten, you’re just excited that now – finally – you will be in charge! Unfortunately the euphoria is short-lived. Almost immediately, you are not only overwhelmed with the responsibilities of a team, but you quickly find that your team members are not as experienced or adroit as you. Some aren’t even as committed. You find yourself having to repeat yourself, send their work back for corrections, and staying late to fill the gap. If something doesn’t change soon, you might just run yourself into the ground. How did something that looked so easy ...

Advisory Leadership

Flashback to three years ago...because this book is so, so good! After reading nearly 30 new books about leadership this year, my pick for 2015's best new leadership book is, Advisory Leadership , by Greg Friedman , Although the book is authored by an award-winning financial advisor and primarily written for professionals in the financial services industry, this book is a must read for any leader who wants to create a nurturing heart culture that hinges on the human-centric values the next generation of employees hold in high regard. And, what exactly is heart culture ? Friedman says, "At its core, heart culture symbolizes how a company values more than just an employee's output. It's not about the work, but rather, the people who do the work." He further explains that leaders can no longer afford to ignore the shift toward a people-first culture and its direct influence on a healthy, effective work envir...

Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters

“Confusion often abounds as to what workplace wellbeing actually is and what it entails,” explain the authors of the book, Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters: The Science Behind Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance . “Workplace wellbeing is how we feel at work and about our work,” share Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward . “It has evaluative, affective, and eudaimonic components. These may sound complicated but are actually very straightforward.” Evaluative workplace wellbeing refers to how we think about our jobs. It is an overall judgment, an assessment about how things are going, and it is typically measured by job satisfaction. Affective wellbeing refers to how we actually feel on a day-to-day basis while we are at work. It is an emotional or hedonic experience, and it can involve both positive and negative emotions. Eudaimonic wellbeing is about how much of a sense of purpose we get out of our work. ...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog