A staggering 84% of people quit their jobs because of poor managers. If you’re running the show at your organization, you’ll need to be mindful of your employees’ expectations. You’ll also need to keep tabs on what makes them upset – and that means doing more than just giving raises and other perks.
Your employees want to know that your priorities include giving back to the community. Curious to learn more about why that matters? Read on to discover the importance of charitable leadership!
Create a Culture of Giving
When you’re a leader, you want to lead by example. After all, an impactful leader can shift a company’s culture. And the kind of culture you want to create should value giving.
If you’re stepping into a situation where the company culture has felt divisive, pursuing charitable causes can be a way to unite everyone. Even if there have been fraught situations in the past, a positive cause can be a beacon of light.
Rework your company’s strategic plan to ensure that charitable efforts are part of your work. Donate a percentage of profits to local charitable causes. And commit to routine involvement in more direct, hands-on work to help the community.
The efforts don’t have to be grand, especially to get started. Maybe you want to organize a drive to collect canned goods for food banks, for instance. Or perhaps you’ll organize volunteer days on weekends to serve food to homeless individuals.
Start small to help enact bigger changes. And don’t be afraid to share the good news of what you’re doing. You’ll help generate interest and stronger participation.
Sharing doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. You could highlight your company’s charitable efforts at your next holiday party. Or sharing might mean offering awards to employees for volunteer hours.
You’ll help the culture of goodwill spread. With that will come more company buy-in and stronger connections.
Nurture Personal Growth
One of the most important leadership skills is being able to pull more from those you’re mentoring. While this effort can happen in a professional sense, it should start in a more personal sense. That means helping your employees develop a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives.
You can’t always do this by sending inspiring emails or giving quarterly messages about revenue. Your efforts will need to be more targeted. With a commitment to giving back, you’ll help your employees discover more about themselves.
You and your employees can look to other successful leaders for inspiration. For instance, virtual accounting firm leader Brendon Pack supports food banks. His ambitious career and charitable involvement can be a source of motivation for others.
You also can help nurture personal growth through more personal interactions. This can happen at companywide volunteer efforts where you assemble meal kits or help build homes. Demonstrating a willingness to get involved, regardless of your status within the company, can help your employees see that they belong and can grow, too.
Inspire Employees to Do More
Effective leadership can provide the nudge needed to spur employees to greatness. When you create a culture that values giving back and building connections, you’ll inspire your employees to pick up the mantle.
To do this, hone your communication skills first. You don’t have to brag about your efforts. And you don’t need to brag about any large gifts the company makes to non-profit organizations in town.
What you should do is communicate why you are driven to act compassionately. Perhaps your desire to support charitable causes stems from involvement as a child or the guidance of your parents. Or perhaps it stems from being personally impacted by financial insecurity.
Whatever the inspiration may be, be transparent about it. Use storytelling to engage your employees. And speak to them in person whenever possible.
Speak with a sense of clarity and passion, too. You don’t have to be dramatic, but you should allow the intensity you feel to shine through.
Develop Better Teams
Did you know that giving back can foster better teamwork skills? Giving back is all about collaboration. The ability to collaborate well is a soft skill that can translate to any setting, including situations in the office.
If you’re managing teams, they’ll need to work together and share responsibilities. Additionally, they’ll have to show respect and communicate clearly. These are skills that individuals will need to flex in a shared volunteer experience, too.
Teamwork also centers on the practice of active listening. Active listening requires people to refrain from interrupting and ask relevant follow-up questions. In a volunteer setting, listening to directions and helping where needed are essential actions.
Effective leadership should involve active listening, too. You can always take steps to put active listening into practice, even if you’re in a large organization.
As a leader, solicit suggestions for charities to support. Seek feedback from employees on coordinated volunteer efforts. Make changes to giving practices to show employees you care about their input.
Improve Morale
Lastly, charitable leadership can improve the mood of your company. Simply put, giving to charitable causes makes people feel better. Paying it forward for those in need also is paying it forward for your employees.
Improved morale can result in improved productivity at work. Employees who find meaning in their work and the organization’s mission will be less likely to call in sick or skip work. They’ll feel more focused and be more intentional about their contributions.
And, with better morale comes the potential for better retention at your company. You want your best employees to stick around for the long haul. You don’t want them spending their free time looking for other employment opportunities.
Strengthening company culture and encouraging giving will reflect well on your image and brand. Employees will enjoy the opportunity to make a difference. Plus, they’ll feel empowered to do more.
You don’t want employees leaving because you’re a bad boss. You want them to stay because they see opportunities to nourish their personal and professional growth. Using your leadership skills to advocate for charitable causes can improve your reputation and likeability. https://technologyviwe.com/
Potential employees will appreciate your efforts, as well. If you establish your organization as one committed to giving back, that reputation will resonate with job applicants.
You’ll attract more applicants interested in supporting equity and social justice issues. These will be motivated employees who will want to join and support your company culture.
Build Better Communities
Supporting charitable causes doesn’t just impact your organization. It impacts and lifts your entire community. One of the best reasons to give back is that it strengthens everything and everyone around you.
With local charitable giving comes better visibility, too. If you’re active in the community, whether alone or as a company, make sure the organizations you support are aware of your company. You’ll gain positive publicity that reflects well on your organization as a whole.
Further, you can build stronger networks within the community. You might find an organization whose mission dovetails with your own. Or you may find other business leaders with a heart for giving back with whom you can partner on other charitable initiatives.
You can build a better local workforce, too. If your organization relies on local graduates for entry-level positions, supporting them is critical. That translates to getting involved on a very basic level.
Making sure that your community is housed and fed provides critical foundational needs. Wielding a hammer at a home-building event or helping prepare meals can contribute to that effort. As a result, you’ll give more people an opportunity to further their education and careers.
Create Lasting Connections
Finally, when you make charitable leadership a priority, you help your employees forge stronger bonds with one another. This has a positive ripple effect that can translate to the office.
The act of volunteering at food banks during the holidays, for instance, forces people to work together. Doing this in a more informal setting can knock down the guardrails when it comes to conversations. There won’t be the same expectation that everything you say revolves around a current work-related project.
Instead, people from different teams can work together. In doing so, they’ll learn more about each other’s hobbies, goals, and personalities. In some cases, these conversations could even spawn longer-lasting friendships.
Employees will like being able to connect in situations beyond the office breakroom or summer barbecue. Scheduling regular volunteer outings, even on weekdays, can give employees something to look forward to.
As the organization’s leader, you’ll get to step down from your role, too, to engage with employees on a more personal level. These moments can make you more relatable as a leader. And they’ll help employees feel connected to each other and their work.
Invest in Charitable Leadership
Charitable leadership can boost company morale and nurture stronger personal growth within your employees. It also can support your greater community, which helps your business thrive. Find ways to engage your employees in charitable causes so you can strengthen bonds – and productivity.
Need more information to fuel your efforts as a leader? Check back soon for the latest articles!