Give Before Asking – My Podcast
Give before you ask. Giving is where leadership begins.
Govindh Jayaraman hosts the Paper Napkin Wisdom podcast. Govindh asked me to talk about a fundamental leadership principle that could be written on a paper napkin. I wrote, “Give before asking.”
Our podcast discussion is here. Please take a moment to listen – a great discussion of why this concept is so important to successful leadership.
Before asking someone to listen to you, give them a reason to trust you. Start by showing respect and acknowledging who they are as a person. Give yourself, who you are, and why you are talking to them. Give your hope for what will come from your time together.
By giving, you build trust and a foundation for asking something of them. Trust is the foundation of leadership.
Before asking for what you want and what you need, give a vision of success. Before you ask your customer, your team, or your community to follow you in a new direction, give them a compelling vision of success to which they can commit.
Before asking for something of value to you, give your offer of value to me. Before you ask me to buy your product or service, give me a reason to buy – the benefits to me. Before you ask me to vote for you, give me the value I will receive if you win.
Giving before asking sounds simple, even obvious. But we usually don’t act that way. We are focused on what we want and what we need.
Give before asking. Give respect and build trust. Give a vision of success and build commitment. Give your offer of value that is relevant and important to your staff, your team, your community, or your customer.
Giving is the foundation of successful leadership.
Getting in the Boat is the First Step
Getting in the boat is the first step – to learning how to row, to learning to sail, to going to sea, to exploring new worlds, to discovering your potential.
That first step – getting in the boat – is difficult. It’s different. It’s scary. Simple to just not do it. The wonder of life begins with getting in the boat.
