I keep thinking about giving... and how much it has shaped the way I see leadership. Most people talk about leadership as strategy, vision, numbers, and control. But I’ve realised — at least for me — leadership without empathy is hollow. Completely hollow.

I remember one evening — it was late, I had just finished a meeting — a young girl came to speak with me. She was quiet and hesitant and kept fidgeting with her hands. She wanted to study but didn’t know how and didn’t have anyone to guide her. I didn’t have a plan for her. I just listened. And something happened in that listening. I felt her worry as if it were myown...  And suddenly giving wasn’t about money or resources. It was about presence, attention, and care. That moment has stayed with me.

Empathy is messy. It’s uncomfortable. It makes you feel the weight of other people’s struggles. Sometimes, honestly, it can be exhausting. But that weight... it teaches you. It teaches patience, humility, and the courage to act when no one is watching.

I’ve noticed something else. When you lead with empathy, people notice. Not because you told them to, not because you enforced rules, but because they feel seen. I’ve seen teams
rally when they knew I cared about their challenges, even small ones. I’ve seen communities change when they realised someone understood their pain. That’s the ripple effect of empathy — it spreads, often quietly, often without fanfare, but powerfully.

And giving isn’t always big gestures. Sometimes it’s just taking the time to sit, to listen, to understand. Sometimes it’s saying, “I see you,” when no one else does. Sometimes it’s about believing in someone when they can’t believe in themselves. That’s when giving transforms into leadership.

I also learnt that empathy is reciprocal. One day, during a visit to a rural school, a woman told me how she managed to send her siblings to school despite barely having enough to feed herself. She smiled, not bitterly, not sadly, but with quiet pride. And in that moment, I felt humbled. I realised that giving, and leadership born from empathy, doesn’t just touch others — it changes you, reshapes your perspective, and makes you human again.

At the end of the day, I believe this: leadership is not about standing above people. It’s about walking with them. Giving is not about recognition, or strategy, or even results. It’s about connection. And empathy... real, messy, human empathy... that’s what makes giving and leadership meaningful.