Core value · Care family
Generosity
Giving without keeping score
Also covers Charity, Giving and Sharing
What does generosity mean as a core value?
Generosity as a core value means giving freely of your money, time, credit and attention, without keeping a ledger of what you’re owed in return.
You buy the round without tracking whose turn it is. You share the credit, give up an evening to help a friend move house, and keep up a regular donation to a charity you believe in. The telling sign of generosity is that there’s no ledger. If it’s a core value, giving feels natural, and meanness with money, time or praise bothers you more than most things. You’d rather occasionally be taken advantage of than live tight-fisted.
What does generosity look like in practice?
- You share credit for a win in front of the people who matter.
- You give time to someone’s career with no expectation it will come back to you.
- You lend things and don’t chase them.
- You give to causes regularly, whether or not anyone asks.
- You’re quick with praise and slow to point out what you’re owed.
When is generosity overplayed?
Generosity without limits can be exploited, and it can quietly become a way of being liked or needed. You may give away more money or time than you can afford, or feel wounded when others don’t give in the same way, which means you were keeping score after all. The healthy version gives freely from what you can spare. Next time you give, you could ask whether you’d still do it if nobody knew, and notice how easily you accept help when it comes your way.
Often confused with
Generosity vs Altruism
Altruism is about putting others’ good first, sometimes at real cost to yourself. Generosity is an open-handed habit of giving, which can sit alongside looking after your own interests.
Generosity vs Kindness
Kindness is warmth in how you treat people. Generosity is specifically about giving: money, time, credit or things.
Generosity vs Abundance
Abundance is having more than enough. Generosity is giving freely, which people often do even when they have very little.
Questions to sit with
- What do you find hardest to give: money, time, credit or attention?
- When did you last give something and later catch yourself counting it?
- How well do you receive generosity from other people?
More values in Care
Looking out for others, especially those in need.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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