Leading Through Service

Givers give, Takers take

Photo by Andrew Thornebrooke on Unsplash

I have always been attracted to those who unselfishly give of themselves through acts of kindness. They are, in my estimation, authentic leaders. They model the Golden Rule in real-time.

Givers don’t mind making sacrifices for the betterment of others, the greater good, keeping the peace or scoring a win for the good guys.

They rarely ask for attention, accolades or compensation.

Their reward is reaped when they cooperate to benefit the mission or support unity within their group. Occasionally, the Giver might delight peers with a thoughtful gesture or a simple gift. It isn’t difficult to understand their motivation unless you happen to be paranoid or completely self-focused.

Givers are servant-leaders who try to counterbalance how much Takers take…from all of us.

Takers stand in the way of positive momentum and drain energy from those who know the value of working collaboratively.

They diminish our collective energy and deplete our physical, mental and emotional resources.

Takers don’t understand Givers. They don’t like them. In fact, they fear them. Giving is a foreign concept to the Taker. They don’t know how to respond. It makes some so uncomfortable they try to hinder the Giver’s gracious actions.

We all have Takers in our lives. We work with them, belong to interest groups with them, and sometimes, we even live with them.

For Givers, long-term success hinges on setting healthy boundaries and taking a stand for what is right for them, not what makes the Taker feel comfortable.

Occasionally, that means breaking away from Takers - whoever they might be.

“Givers have to set limits because Takers rarely do.” — Irma Kurtz