"I think the only arenas where I’ve made clear choices to sacrifice for the greater good have been as a parent and as a leader. Every day, good parents put their own comfort, convenience and preferences aside in order to create a better life for their children. From the big things like forgoing current pleasures to save for college, to the day-to-day choices to spend time loving and teaching and listening to your kids when you’d rather be doing something else, parenting often involves a good deal of self-sacrifice.
Truly good leaders make some of the same choices. They do things that are personally uncomfortable or even risky for the good of the enterprise, or to protect the people who follow them. They may take a pay cut to avoid lay-offs in lean times; they may share bad news when they just want to avoid the conversation; they may apologize for a mistake so someone else doesn’t get blamed. And they sometimes make choices they know will put an extra burden on them – emotionally or in terms of time and energy – in order to benefit their followers or their customers. And most important, they make ethical choices that may not be comfortable or lucrative – but are the right thing to do.
And why is this good? I believe that when we consciously put aside our own ease, benefit or preference for a greater good, it exercises a kind of ‘moral muscle’ in us. It strengthens us by showing us that we are not simply selfish, hedonistic creatures; that we can make a determination about what is right and what is important to us, and act accordingly. And it creates stronger bonds of trust and mutual respect between us and other human beings, reminding us that living on this planet is a group endeavor; that none of us can survive alone."
--Erika Andersen, for Forbes
