2022 tested our human resilience to the core. With so many people around in need for our presence and support, we often might have found ourselves stretched too thin. While mindful self-compassion is absolutely necessary at every step of our journey, 2023 promises to challenge and stretch again our empathy and capacity for caring.
The higher you are in the hierarchy, the more people look up to you for support, and the more compassion fatigue you may experience. This is why in the next lines I would like to propose a handful of simple ways to be generous, compassionate, and caring in 2023 without losing your health or your sanity.
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BE FULLY PRESENT.
We are spending more and more times apart, not only because our habits changed during the pandemic, but also because we work more and more remotely. This is why, when we do meet with each other, we might be taken over by a need to talk and share and make the conversation overly about us. But the greatest gift for those around us is the gift of presence: simply opening our minds and hearts to the people in front of us. So, if you can, quiet your mind, park the need to make it about you, and just open yourself to the experience brought to you by the person in front of you.
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BE PUNCTUAL.
In a world of work that is moving more and more online, in-person encounters are becoming precious and scarce. We are looking forward to meeting our colleagues, friends, relatives after time and distance apart. So, why would we bitter the experience from the very beginning by being late? Time is not just time, it’s precious moments from someone’s life that we can’t ever give them back once we have wasted them. Being punctual is actually a sign of respecting others and the time that their lives are made of. Regardless of our roles and responsibility, being punctual is a healthy discipline and an easy gift for others.
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BE QUIETER.
The pandemic taught us to work from home and many people continue working remotely, from a domestic set-up, until today. This is why our habits of behaving when at home also need to adapt. Drilling a hole at 7am? Maybe someone is recording a video or podcast in the room next door. Blowing the entrance doors or speaking loudly in the common area all day round? Maybe someone is taking a nap or a well-deserved break in-between meetings. Becoming more mindful of our surroundings and simply making an exercise of imagination to see the people working behind the walls of what used to be a domestic set-up only can be an incredible considerate gift of quiet to those around you.
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LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE TO SOMEONE WHO CARES ABOUT YOU.
In 2022 I personally have almost stopped using texting services altogether. They were replaced by voice messages that brought way more intimacy and emotional connection, while supporting an asynchronous way of working and communicating together. While I recognize the challenges of voice messages (we can’t always listen to them in a meeting, they take data and space on our devices), sometimes the best gift of connection is a generous voice message that tells others you truly care about them.
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COMMENT ON PEOPLE’S LINKEDIN POSTS.
Another simple and inconspicuous way of being generous. LinkedIn has become THE social network for professionals. As it happens though, it only rewards people who get endorsed by others through real comments under their posts. So, if you want to support someone’s ideas and visibility in 2023, go ahead: instead of just passively consuming content or just liking a post, drop a few lines of comment with your own thoughts and experience under the post. This should be even more relevant and acute if the person tagged you in their post. As well, the sooner you do this after the post has been published, the better. Helping your valuable connections slay tricky algorithms in 2023 could be a fun and generous way of supporting others this year.
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PAY YOUR SUPPLIERS’ INVOICES A FEW DAYS BEFORE THEY ARE DUE.
When I work with corporate clients I am fascinated that they often have no idea how invoices are being paid in their organizations (by the way, this is an easy thing to figure out / measure and a quality indicator of your company’s real values and culture). If your company is paying its suppliers constantly late, it shows two problems: an overly complicated accounting system at best, and ill will towards your business partners at best. None are sustainable. So do take an interest in the way your company pays for the services and goods you and your team are consuming and, if you can influence it, make sure the invoices get paid as soon possible.
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PICK UP THE BILL AND LEAVE A GENEROUS TIP MORE OFTEN.
In 2022 we struggled with inflation and the challenge will continue in 2023. Yet, we have also returned to in-person meetings more often. For people who were cash-stretched, picking up the bill for a common lunch, dinner, or coffee doesn’t have to be an easy sail. If you can, offer to foot the bill and leave a generous tip as often as you can. You never know how your generosity can return to you when you need it the most.
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IF YOU HAVE EXPECTATIONS, EXPRESS THEM.
One of the things where we all, regardless of our role and professional versus personal interactions, are constantly bad at is expressing our needs and expectations with clarity. Many personal development gurus will tell you that happiness is a matter of having no expectations. While that may work in a personal context, at work we need to have expectations from the people around us to make our co-created results a reality. This is why it’s helpful to learn to speak our minds with clarity, so we provide a roadmap for the others and avoid loss and disappointment in the future.
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TAKE MORE RANDOM MEETINGS.
Meetings can be a pain in the neck, particularly in a remote work set-up where they abound. And yet, taking a short meeting with a new person can energize you and provide inspiration on what’s going on around you. While you shouldn’t make your agenda an open railway station that anyone can use at will, making is a principle to have 2-3 30-minute meetings per week just for inspiration and support could be an easy way to be generous this year.
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MAKE AN EFFORT TO HONOR OTHERS REGARDLESS OF THEIR STATION IN LIFE.
I have seen this time and again – when we work for a large corporation, we may gain the tendency to identify ourselves with the importance, size, and brand value of our employer. Thus, we may start treating others as if they were something less. Unfortunately, nothing could be taken way from us easier than our V-card, thus leaving us bare naked in our real size and value. To be honored when something like this may happen to you, honor people regardless of their work and life station. No role is high enough to be an excuse for arrogance and despise. Besides, people honor humble leaders (more and more, that is), so your kindness will surely come back to you as an endorsement for your humane leadership.
Being in a position of influence and power turns us willy-nilly into visible role models for those around us. To inspire others to be generous, we can take the first step in that direction. Generosity and kindness doesn’t have to cost us money, but it will “cost” us intentionality and mindfulness. So, how will you be more generous in 2023?
ARE YOU A SMART, TALENTED, AND AMBITIOUS WOMAN WHO WANTS TO TAKE HER CAREER INTO THE C-SUITE AND TO GROW INTO REGIONAL AND GLOBAL LEADERSHIP IN 2023? BOOK A CALL TO DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONS.