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.)
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Ed ForteauView Ed Forteau’s profile (He/Him) • 1stAka Mr. Deliverability: The fastest way to 2X your revenue from email marketing. | Email Deliverability Expert | B2B Email Marketing Strategy | List Management Consulting | Marketing Strategy | Public Speaker & Trainer