Leadership through service
I had a great opportunity last week to talk about one of my favorite subjects - service.
The topic was "leadership through service," which is something I think is pretty important. How can you divide the two? What leader doesn't serve in some way? But the point I was really making is how you lead through giving back to your community and the world - as a person, a professional, a parent, an advocate or just the resident of a neighborhood.
The talk was a part of the SCB&T Leadership Series at The Citadel School of Business Administration. It was a real honor to be invited to speak with both the MBA students and the cadets. And given that many of those in the audience were early in their careers, it was an opportunity to talk about why and how service could (should, in my opinion) play a huge part in their lives and future success.
It's easy for me to understand why I give back. It's a part of who I am, inside and out. Being put in a position to talk about the influence of service on my life makes me reflect on how, from the very beginning of my life, I had people around me who felt it was important to give -- time, talent and treasure, as they say. But if you don't yet give back or haven't thought much about why it might be compelling, I'd offer these thoughts, which I shared on Thursday night.
Giving is personal. An individual decision. We all decide for ourselves what outlet we want to embrace. This individuality is one of the fundamental reasons why philanthropy is such an incredible field. It allows for diversity of thought and expression, being led by a passion to do something good. As for why we each might serve, I'd suggest there are three views to consider.
The Altruistic View - because it's the right thing to do. Whether the motivation comes from family or faith or maybe something that happened in your life (the death of a friend to a disease, which is an example I shared from my own family's experiences), you take action because you feel you should.
The Career View - because it helps you grow and learn and, yes, build your resume. I talk about this view all the time with people at Blackbaud. One line of thinking is that you have skills you want to volunteer that could be valuable to a nonprofit. The average value of a volunteer hour is $20.25, according to Independent Sector. But when you add professional skills to the mix, that value dramatically increases. A great example is a HR professional helping a nonprofit develop employee policies. Another way of thinking is that you can add skills by giving back, gaining experience in areas that maybe you don't touch on in your own job. Both allow you to expand your resume, either in showing your experience with certain skills and the fact that you cared enough to give back. Employers care about that.
Then there's my favorite one, The Leadership View. This one is all about having a vision and identifying an opportunity to drive positive change. It's about serving on boards and committees and reaching across all aspects of your life to convene people who are willing to drive that change along with you. And you know what's really cool about this one? You can lead from where you stand today. As long as you have passion and vision, you can make change. You don't have to be a seasoned professional before you get involved and help make things happen. Of course, as you do advance in your career, I'd like to think you'd see the value of continuing to serve, providing the unique perspective you've gained, and encouraging others who are just starting to see how they can lead from where they stand.
Leadership is service. Service is leadership. Do what you can whenever you can!
P.S. If you want to read more on giving back, grab a copy of Giving: How each of us can Change the World by Bill Clinton. It's an easy read and provides a really nice summary of how people are giving back -- and creating meaningful change -- around the world. Or, tune into the live webcasts of the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting going on right now.