Remember in my first post when I talked about James Boyd and Bernard Allen? They were volunteers in a camping program I grew up in called Royal Rangers. I can’t find the right amount of words to thank them for the impact they made on my life at a young age … and they probably didn’t expect me to. How could these men ever be repaid for what they meant in the life of a child? They never asked for gas money or showed an expectation of return value. It would seem the value returned to them was the significance of their service. Have you ever had someone like that in your life? Maybe when you were younger. Someone who donated their time, money or resources to you without any expectation of getting something in return. This is one of the steps to becoming an invisible leader. If you, like me, make a living off of helping others daily, this might be a little harder for you to identify. But what ways are you going the extra mile to help someone who may not be able to pay you back? Andrea, one of the members of my Invest Leadership team, graduated from grad school last year. Now in her professional career, she noted something unique about her experience with invisible leaders: “Being in business school, I learned the importance of networking. I would ask leaders I admired — whether I worked for/with them or not — if they would be willing to grab coffee or take a phone call with me. To my surprise, a lot of them said yes! They were willing to connect me with others, answer my questions, and invest in me. At the time, I was a poor, confused college student who had no idea what came next. I had nothing to offer them, but they met with me anyway. Through their generosity, I realized what kind of leader I wanted to be.” I encourage you to identify opportunities to give back to people, whether or not they have the ability to return the favor. Seek out those opportunities, even. Because you never know who will become a part of your leadership legacy. [bctt tweet="You never know who will become a part of your leadership legacy." username="dukematlock"] So, how do you become a leader who gives without expectation? Gary Vaynerchuk, thought leader and CEO of VaynerMedia, says it’s not something that can just be taught: “Now, I don’t know if this something you can teach; I just have it. It’s there. I didn’t cultivate my lack of expectation over time. Unfortunately, there are no “lack of expectation” exercises to get better at it. You just have to work on it, day by day, like any other change of perception you might go through.” Maybe you’ll make space in your schedule to meet with up-and-coming leaders like Andrea. Maybe you’ll choose to invest in the younger generation like my camp leaders did. Whatever it may be, decide how you’ll work on your giving today. Remember — the significance of your service will go farther than you can even imagine!
LIKE THIS POST?
Sign up to receive my posts via email and get a FREE copy of 21 Actions to Jumpstart Momentum!
[activecampaign form=3]]]>