Giving and Receiving in Management

Giving and Receiving in Management.

Diane supervises a staff of 540 people. As you can imagine, there is a lot of demand for her time and attention. Her secretary wasn’t screening calls or shielding her from interruptions. “I wish she would take some initiative,” Diane said. “My assistant isn’t assisting me. She’s not much help and I’m frustrated.”

Then Diane took one of my seminars where we discussed the point, “If you want to be happy, be giving.”

Diane wasn’t happy. She was grumbling. She was right about her secretary. The woman wasn’t helpful. However, Diane decided that rather than be right, she’d like to be happy.

She spent a lunch hour asking herself, “What can I give to my secretary?”

Diane came up with a few ideas and had not implemented even one when, she said, “The most amazing thing happened. That afternoon my secretary worked like a maniac for me all afternoon. She called 45 people. Left messages. Wrote little notes to me about each one she reached. It was an awesome change.”

Do you have to give before you can receive? The answer is like the proverbial chicken and the egg.

 Diane hadn’t overtly given anything. She had only made an intention to give when her secretary began giving to her.

How do you separate the light from the lamp? The fragrance from the flower? Where does one end and the other begin? In the same way, how do you separate giving from receiving?

Giving and receiving are both part of a natural cycle. They are one. When you give, you enter the naturally abundant cycle of life and you open yourself to success and achievement.

(This is an excerpt from my book, Joy of Leadership: The only secret to your success as a new leader published in 2004.)

The following are comments about this story posted on LinkedIn:

This is a fascinating topic, and you sure tell it well. I’m always learning from you! Being open and abundant leads to great things.
Great post Shar. I like to use hashtagservantleadership in my business and it feels really rewarding when both parties thrive. (PS-Love the tulips!)
It’s so easy to get caught up in frustration and forget that we have the power to shift our mindset and approach. Beautiful excerpt ❤️‍🔥
It’s inspiring to see how a simple shift in perspective, from being frustrated to being giving, can lead to such positive outcomes.
It’s true that giving and receiving are intertwined and cannot be separated, and I believe that being mindful of this can lead to greater success and fulfillment in both our personal and professional lives.
Thank you for sharing this story and wisdom with us Shar McBee.
Some very key points in here Shar – “Diane decided that rather than be right, she’d like to be happy.” and “Giving and receiving are both part of a natural cycle”. They both a keys to success. We are in a closed system. It is infinitely abundant, but that is because the energy cycles around and around. It is the momentum of giving that increases receiving and creates the abundance. When we realize that, then everything grows.
Wonderful story and advice. I’m reminded of the Covey maxim: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood. If we think about others first, it changes our paradigm and typically blows up the assumptions that were frustrating us in the first place. Well said, Shar McBee
Shar McBee – Great piece! ❤️❤️❤️It’s important for managers to understand that giving and receiving are not mutually exclusive. By giving to their employees, they can receive their loyalty, hard work, and dedication.
People can pick up if a person is positive or negative. If you are thinking negatively about a person they will pick up on it and it will affect their performance. The opposite is true as well. Thanks for sharing this story Shar