You can be generous as a leader with many factors beyond money. Think about generosity in your time, knowledge, power, communication, praise, and spiritual development. A leader’s character sets the tone for the organization. Generous leaders in these areas create a culture that is outwardly focused. The opposite of generosity is selfishness—and a selfish leader who puts his own interests above others and the organization will eventually create an environment where everyone is out for themselves. Selfishness creates a team-less culture. A leader who is for himself creates followers who are also for themselves. People look at the leader’s example and they emulate what they are shown. A generous leader develops a generous mindset that builds up others and creates a positive workplace.
Generosity can be a core principle of a business culture. A principle is that which is timeless, aspirational, character-building, and life enriching way of leading when practiced. When you act on a principle, it reinforces your belief in a tangible and public way. Living by principles shows who you are on the inside. If that principle is driving by your faith, then God promises He will bless that effort. Luke 6:38 reminds us, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
No matter what level of success you have in life and business, the principle of generosity is a faith-centered response to steward your time, talents and resources for the good of your fellow man. Generosity both shows the kind of person you are morally and the bigger picture you possess of spiritual and life purpose generally. More specifically, leaders realize key benefits through a generous lifestyle:
Generosity inspires people toward their personal best. When a leader is generous, he demonstrates his actions are to the best interest of others. He is literally investing in the good of the people around him. This inspires people to listen to their better nature. Jesus reminds us, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). A leader’s generosity points others to find their treasure in giving away versus getting for themselves. People who focus on the good of others in their performance will be at their personal best.
Generosity lets others into the inner circle. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Consider that generous people have determined individually to be generous. Generous people are a small group of like-minded individuals that stick together. When you teach others to be generous, you encourage them to join that inner-circle of generous people.
Most people are not very generous. Though the US ranks as the most generous country in the world per capita, over 81% of charitable gifts in our nation are given by moderate-income individuals. About 40% of households give little or nothing of their income to charitable causes. The other 60% average between $2,000 - $3,000 annually. Highly generous individuals are rare. Though the overwhelming majority of Americans give a tiny percentage of their incomes to charity, at least 72% of them give something and 42% of Americans volunteer.[1] Truly generous people, those who give 10% or more of their income to charity, and volunteer of their time, account for less than 2% of the population. Developing generosity in others brings them toward an inner-circle of rare, very special individuals.
Generosity creates a transparent organization. A generous leader directs his resources toward others, and lives to an extent in that purpose. When a leader is shows how he values others, it helps employees to understand the servant aspect to leadership, and contribute to goals and objectives knowing how their effort is broadly beneficial. A closed-off leader, who appears selfish or self-centered, communicates that everyone around him should be in it for themselves. Sometimes this is manifested in competitive behavior. Competition can be positive, but it may also lead employees to focus fully on their own interests. This can redirect people’s energy toward sabotaging one another or positioning themselves for gain.
Though Bill Gates holds the record for the largest amount given to charity in dollars, the most generous man in history is probably Andrew Carnegie. He gave away more than 85% of his fortune before he died—around $350 million. That’s equivalent to $77 billion in today’s dollars. His 1899 essay, “The Gospel of Wealth” advocates rich men using their fortunes to benefit others.
Selfish leaders create selfish organizations. Generous leaders create generous organizations, where more people tend to consider the needs of others ahead of their own. Erika Andersen writes for Forbes, “Generosity is one of the core qualities people look for in their leaders. People want leaders to be generous with knowledge, time, credit, power, information, and faith.”[2]
Generosity engenders trust in and from others. A generous leader lends his support to others in their ideas, efforts and resources. A generous leader is also a confident leader—he does not fight for more for himself, but gives liberally as needs arise. Susan Credle, Chief Creative Officer for Leo Burnett USA says, “Generosity has a lot to do with confidence. If you’re confident in who you are, you will be generous. If you’re scared, if you’re nervous, if you think you’re a fraud, you won’t be generous. If you think you win when your idea wins out over your neighbor’s, that’s a pretty small gain. In fact, I would suggest that you help your neighbor’s ideas get better. I would suggest that if you look at something and you have a better idea, that you generously give that idea to someone and make them better. Because if we all do that, we all win. The minute you’re the only good thing at this company, we’re done.”
A faith-centered leader reflects Christ in generosity. Think about the generosity of Jesus, Who came to earth, died on a cross, giving His very life for those He loved. During His days on earth He taught His disciples to also be generous in how they treated others and cared for others. In John 13:34 Jesus teaches, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Jesus instructs His disciples to handle money differently from the world and to care for those that society deems not worthy of care. In so doing, His disciples live out the Gospel, show their true faith, and gain heavenly reward (Matthew 25:31–46; Luke 12:32–34). A leader in Jesus’ eyes is first and foremost a servant, one who is generously seeking to meet the needs of others, especially those of lesser means. The generous leader is to reflect the life of Christ, Who, as Mark 10:45 reminds us, “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As the clock strikes 12:00 on January 1, many men “take stock” of their lives and leadership during the New Year’s break. How might you invest your time and resources in the coming year to do something meaningful and memorable?