True caring is about you, not me

Colleagues,
 
Today we continue the series on the fifteen most important things I have learned from others.
 
I used to try and help people by getting them to think like me. Why? I guess I thought I had all the answers. The problem with this form of “caring” is that my agenda drove the interactions and I only created space for people to grow in the direction I wanted them to grow in. In the spring of 2004, I read Milton Myeroff’s essay On Caring and it changed my leadership forever.
 
Myeroff stated that if I really cared about someone, then I would take the time to know and understand them and support them in the direction they determined they needed to go. This was a profound shift. My actions became more about the other person and less about me.
 
Do good and be well,

Frederick