Leadership Trait of the Day: UNSELFISHNESS

How important is unselfishness in today’s self-absorbed society?  If you ask me, it’s more important than ever.  In today’s “me-first” society, unselfishness sticks out.  Think about how many (or few) truly unselfish acts you see in any given day. 

Before we try to classify unselfish behavior, let’s define Unselfishness.  The Marine Corps defines it as the avoidance of providing for one’s own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others.  In a Leader, this means looking out for the need of your subordinates before looking out for yourself. 

To some degree, Unselfishness requires a sacrifice to one’s self – it is more than simple kindness.  A perfect example is how Marines eat when they are out in the field for training.  Nothing beats a nice hot dinner after a long day of field training, but when dinner shows up, Marines eat in reverse rank.  The most junior Marine eats first and they follow by rank until the most senior Marine eats last.  As an officer who always ate with the latter groups, there have been a few times where I went hungry, or ate bread and butter for dinner.  But, that is just how it is.  Eating in the field is perhaps the most symbolic way Marines demonstrate Unselfishness. 

Here is a hero for you.  

Marines are trained to perform on the battlefield, and, unfortunately, war gives too many opportunities for selfless behavior.  All Marines are familiar with examples of Unselfishness on the battlefield.  Chances are that if you ask anyone who put on a Marine Corps uniform in the past 15 years for an example of Unselfishness they will say “Corporal Jason Dunham;” a young Marine who threw himself on a grenade to save his fellow Marines. 

As crazy as it may sound, I believe it is actually easier to be unselfish in a crisis than in the ordinary environment that we all live in.  However, the sacrifices of Unselfishness in our day-to-day routine that may seem subtle and inconsequential often have the most lasting impact on those we lead.  Why?  Because no one is expects it.  A sacrifice during ordinary times is like buying your significant other a gift on a random day – not a birthday or anniversary – it is surprise and has a bigger impact.  A good Leader will routinely make simple day-to-day sacrifices in his time and schedule for the good of his people.  These small sacrifices will always resonate with your subordinates. 

Unfortunately, too many people equate Unselfishness with weakness.  According to this article, people tend to gravitate to selfish leaders.  Why?  Well, according to that study, people believe that a Leader has to be decisive and strong – which he does – but people confuse selfishness with strength. 

"Weak" you say?

They are not the same thing.  Let’s use Marines as an example.  Marines deploy around the world and leave their families, friends and the comforts of home.  They give their lives and limbs in wars in service of others.  Generally, a very unselfish profession – no one in their right mind would call a United States Marine weak.  Nor would they consider a fireman or policeman weak. 

In my experience, it takes more strength of will and self-confidence to be unselfish than it does to be selfish.  Human nature as an evolutionary imperative compels us to act selfishly and “look out for No. 1” as part of a basic survival mechanism.  Only a strong person can overcome this natural tendency.  Remember this when someone says a decisively selfish person is strong. 

Click through for a discussion of how you can be Unselfish at work.

There are several ways Leaders can be Unselfish. 

The first is to give their time.  Leaders are expected to work long hours and have exceedingly busy schedules to meet the demands of their jobs.  When we give time to address our subordinates’ needs, we pay the price in longer hours and loss of personal time. 

The second is to share credit.  When his has a noteworthy success, a good Leader will publicly give the credit to his subordinates.  Giving them credit and recognition builds their pride and develops their trust in you. 

The third is to take the blame.  The opposite of sharing credit with your people is to take the hit for their mistakes.  There is no better way a Leader can demonstrate Unselfishness than by accepting responsibility for his subordinate’s error.  Not only will this endear you to you people, it will give them the confidence to take risks and be aggressive, because they know you will support them. 

Another way to be Unselfish is to take the input and ideas from your subordinates.  An unselfish leader is open to new ideas from a variety of sources.  Often, the employees actually doing the work have the best ideas on how a particular process can be improved.  Let them be the experts and provide you solutions. 

So, are you strong enough to be Unselfish?