Benevolence Overview

For the Right Reason

You can show benevolence by donating money to a local
childrens club, a disaster relief fund, or a city rescue
mission, but benevolence also manifests itself through
courtesy to other motorists, faithfulness to family
members, and civility to difficult coworkers.
Benevolence expands a persons perspective beyond
self. A benevolent person looks for opportunities to
benefit others and rejects selfish motives.

Consider Others

This shift requires a benevolent person to consider each relationship and

recognize how benevolence will apply differently in different relationships.
Developing strong family relationships requires dedicated reinforcement that
other relationships might not require. You have different responsibilities to
coworkers in your department than you do to those in other offices.

Practice Every Day

Benevolence expresses itself through daily giving to family members,

coworkers, neighbors, and friends. This process requires knowing and
understanding each person as you know and understand yourself.
When you encounter an upset customer, listen carefully, discern the real
need, and take appropriate action. When family members need a listening
ear, keep your mouth shut, and hear what they have to say.

Maintain Sincerity

Attitudes and motives distinguish true benevolence

from selfish acts of kindness. Approach relationships
with the desire to meet others needs rather than to
secure something for yourself.
Selfish attitudes can easily creep into your thinking.
When
evaluating a situation, consider how it affects others, and
how
they
will perceive actions directed toward them. Focus
your
gratefulness on others and their contributions rather
than
your
feelings.
Avoid
drawing
attention
to
benevolent actions or using selfdepreciating humor to gain recognition.
As you serve and understand others, you will begin to see more of the world
as it is, and you will become someone who can make a positive difference.

Five Keys to Building Benevolence

1. Choose to Care

Benevolence is a choice to pursue the good of

and it speaks loudest through your daily habits.
Benefiting others comes easily when their behavior
conforms to your expectations. However, when
others hurt you, when circumstances disappoint
you, or when others do not seem worth the effort,
benevolence recognizes value beyond its own
comfort and seeks to benefit others despite their imperfections.

others,

2. Make Others Successful

Whatever the relationship, a benevolent person looks for ways to help others
succeed. This habit can include taking time to assist a coworker or seriously
discussing personal issues with a close friend. Look for specific ways you can
benefit others.
3. Discern True Needs

Often others harsh words or actions reveal unaddressed concerns. Other

times a person might not know exactly what help to seek. Stay focused on
the other person. Congratulating yourself on giving sound advice can hinder
your ability to discern anothers true need and diminish your credibility.
Understand others, and you will understand their needs.
4. Take Personal Interest

Individuals want to know they are uniquely valuable beyond their job
performance. Invest in those around you by learning about their families,
hobbies, and goals. When you notice a need, show appropriate concern, and
help where you can. Let others know you care about them.
5. Give Freely

Selfishness often springs up in unexpected places. A person

might help someone because of the gratification it gives.
However, benevolence does not remember past sacrifices or
look for any personal reward. Care for others despite the risk. A
benevolent person recognizes the cost involved and chooses to
benefit others anyway.

Benevolence Application Discussion Questions

Break into small groups. Have each group read one of the five keys above
and discuss the corresponding question below. Share answers and personal
applications with everyone.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

How do you choose to benefit each person you meet?

What can you do to help others succeed on the job and in life?
How do you figure out what others really need?
How do you take time to know those around you?
How do you give to others without keeping track of what they owe
you?

Word Etymology
The English word benevolence first appeared
around
1400.
It
originates
from
the
Latinbenevolens. The Latin volens means "willing."
We get the words volunteer and volition from the
same Latin root.
The Latin bene means "well."
Thus, a benevolent person looks after others' wellbeing.
bennevolence n 1: desire to do good to others 2: good will; charity 3::
an act of kindness

Benevolence In Balance
Act Responsibly

Responsibility is knowing and doing what is expected of

me. Those who neglect their own basic needs often have a
reduced sensitivity to others needs. A responsible person
prepares for future commitments by getting proper
nourishment and rest. Further, a responsible person
honors commitments to family and close friends so that he
or she has a community from which to respond to other needs.
Take care of yourself and those close to you so that you can
take care of others.
Use Discretion

Discretion is recognizing and avoiding words, actions, and attitudes that

could bring undesirable consequences. Gifts carry great potential benefit or
harm, depending on how they are given and received. When dealing with
others needs, determine what is best. Do not settle for what appears easiest
or most obvious.
Build Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is expressing joy in each task as I give it my best effort. The

process of meeting a need often involves unpleasant tasks, and your
effectiveness and credibility will depend on your ability to remain proactive
and inspire constructive attitudes.

Leadership Tips
Managers and supervisors must know the needs of their
employees and address them appropriately. A
benevolent leader understands and appreciates each
employee.

Ensure your coworkers have what they need to do their

jobs effectively, whether it means updating software or
getting new equipment.
Take responsibility for malfunctions and work with
the team to prevent future problems.
Empathize with coworkers when they experience a
death or a serious illness in their families and adjust schedules as
necessary.
Look for opportunities to share credit with others.
Define your expectations and guidelines clearly so that everyone can
understand and apply the standard.
Enforce policies without taking personal offense.

Meeting Needs with Character

Benevolence provides meaning and direction for other character traits. A
leader who desires to meet others' basic needs will naturally demonstrate

Patienceaccepting delays and disappointments without resentment,

Contentmentaccepting circumstances instead of comparing myself
to others,
Humilityrecognizing others' contributions,
Gratefulnessexpressing appreciation for others' contributions,
Discretionchoosing words and actions in order to benefit others,
Generositymanaging resources in order to personally contribute,
Meeknesscontrolling emotions in order to respond constructively,
Honorrecognizing the value of each person and seeking to
understand each perspective,
Compassionworking to benefit the disadvantaged,
Truthfulnesssearching out what is factually and morally right,
Justiceexemplifying and advocating integrity, and
Endurancetaking the next constructive step.

Benevolence is telling the truth when it is easier to lie, considering coworkers

when you know they are having a hard time, and listening to an irate
customer in order to determine exactly what he or she needs.
Benevolence only exists as it is demonstrated in a person's attitudes and
actions. Communicate your commitment to others by looking for needs and
fulfilling your responsibilities.

Employee Tips
Take an Interest
Monitors give feedback so that health care workers can recognize and
address situations quickly and directly. Know what is happening in others
lives, and show sincere concern.

Be considerate of coworkers when death

or serious
illness enters their families.
Clarify directions and ask questions before
passing
judgment on a coworkers performance.
Call coworkers when they are ill, and ask if
they
need
anything.
Send a card or flowers as an expression
of
congratulation or condolence.
Listen to a coworker who is excited about
an
opportunity or discouraged by hardship.
Take food to a family experiencing
sickness or loss.
Remember and express interest in
significant events in coworkers lives.
Consider taking an office collection or
organizing a shower for someone who is getting married or having a child.

Praising Benevolence
Benevolence commits itself to the best for others, particularly when
someone's natural interests contradict it.
In 1855, Abraham Lincoln expected to win election to the
States Senate from Illinois. He had two opponents:
Lyman Trumbull, who also opposed slavery, and
incumbent Democrat James Shields, who had voted
to remove geographic restrictions on slavery.

United

During the election process, the Democrats in the state legislature

abandoned the incumbent, Shields, in favor of Illinois Governor Joel A.
Matteson. After several polls, Matteson's support had grown so that he
needed only four additional votes, and Lincoln withdrew his name and threw
his support to Trumbull.
"We cannot afford to risk another ballot; four more votes for Matteson, and
our cause is lost," Lincoln said. "My name is withdrawn."
The campaign against slavery won the election because Lincoln chose to put
a basic moral principle ahead of his own career.
Today, as you look back on Lincoln's accomplishments, remember the
commitment to moral principle and the personal sacrifice along the way.
Further, when coworkers make similar choices, recognize their unselfishness.
Whether a person volunteers in the community or works behind the scenes
to help a coworker succeed, express your gratefulness to the person and to
those around him or her.

Benevolence On The Job

Let There Be Light

Sunlight shines on everyone and affects

everything it touches. It helps humans and animals
manufacture vitamin D, and it provides the energy
for photosynthesis in plants. Similarly, true
benevolence will affect every interaction, and its
application will vary with each relationship.
Commit

Take time to care about coworkers and look

for ways to build good relationships.
Identify and reinforce the good qualities in others.
Do what you can do to get along. Apologize
when wrong.
Keep commitments even when you do not feel like
it.
Help

If you cannot help with a particular problem, put the person in touch
with someone who can.
Ask questions that help customers define their needs so that you can
help find answers.
Work toward organizational goals when you help a coworker or train
someone. Do not worry about who will receive the credit.
See

Look for the needs and motivations behind coworkers emotions.

Be attentive to circumstances in others lives.
Be sensitive to the right timing when you approach others about how
you can help them.
Invest
Determine how you can best benefit a person, even if you can help in
only one area.
Recognize how best to approach a need. It is often better to help a
person take responsibility than to give a monetary gift.

Share

When you give to someone, do not expect anything in return.

Do activities others enjoy.

Examine your motives for raising an issue with a coworker, friend, or
family member. Avoid measuring relationships and situations solely for
what they mean to you.
Reject recognition as a motivation for helping others.
Do not allow your feelings to prevent you from benefiting others.

Benevolence in Relationships
Hang Together

Home provides the most opportunities to show benevolence, and these

relationships require the greatest commitment.
Recognize Responsibility

Each person has slightly different needs, and each

relationship carries different responsibilities. As your
parents and grandparents age, discern what they need
and how to respectfully assist them. Even when an
elderly persons needs require professional assistance,
maintain regular contact so that you can address new
needs as they develop.
On occasion, others will have needs that you do not have jurisdiction to
address. If a neighbor experiences marriage problems, for example, your
most helpful contribution might be to recommend a good counselor.
Maintain Commitments

Family members need to know you will keep your commitments.

your small promises, whether to play catch or mow the lawn. The
sacrifices you make in these seemingly insignificant areas
demonstrate to your family members that you will do everything
you can to put them first.

Keep

Even when unexpected developments force you to rearrange

schedules, honor your commitment by keeping family time in your
schedule. Recognize the needs of family members and do what you
can to build better relationships.
Practical Applications of Benevolence

Help family members develop their strengths.

Do not treat family members in a way you would be ashamed to treat
others.
Address family members needs in ways they understand.
Be sensitive in the way you bring problems to others attention.
Consistently measure your actions by what is best rather than by your
preferences.

My Way
Find a set of horseshoe magnets. Demonstrate to your
children how the opposite poles attract each other. Then
reverse the magnets and have your children observe how
like poles repel each other.
Discuss how seeing a situation selfishly can repel others
and how considering others perspectives can help a
person work with others effectively.
Help children think how they can show respect
appreciation to parents by obeying willingly. Children
show benevolence by sharing with friends and
demanding their own way. Explain how unselfishness
see and experience the world around them.

and
can
not
will help your children

Volunteer
Benevolence considers others and seeks to benefit them in the best possible
way. Plan community-oriented activities by which your family can
demonstrate true benevolence to others.

Volunteer at a local soup kitchen or nursing home.

Help elderly neighbors with their yard work.
Volunteer to clean up litter along a stretch of road.
Contact your local house of worship, and offer to drive for widowed or
elderly members.
Organize a garage sale, and give the proceeds to a local charity.
Offer to watch children for families experiencing medical emergencies.

nto the Light

Anne Sullivan
Young Helen Keller regarded her baby sister as an intruder.
Once she even overturned a doll cradle in which her baby
sister slept. Thus it is that when we walk in the valley of
twofold solitude we know little of the tender affections
that grow out of endearing words and actions and
companionship, Helen said inThe Story of My Life.
The isolation brought on by Helens blindness and
deafness began
ending when Anne Sullivan stepped off the train into Helens life on March 3,
1887.
Accept the Investments of Others

On April 14, 1866, Anne Sullivan was born to a gentle but ailing mother and
an alcoholic father. She contracted trachoma around age 5, and the effects
left her nearly blind. After her mothers death, Anne and her younger
brother, Jimmie, entered the poorhouse of Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Jimmie
died, but Anne survived and later appealed to regulators for an education.
Anne entered Perkins Institute for the Blind on October 7, 1880. Because she
had known little but abuse, Anne initially rebelled against the discipline at
Perkins, but a few teachers earned Annes respect and challenged her to
succeed. Miss Moore exerted a salutary influence over me, Anne later
recalled. I respected her mind, and I fancied she did not think I was quite
such a dyed-in-the-wool black sheep as the others did. Little by little she
disciplined my unorderly mind.
During the six years she attended Perkins, Anne received two surgeries that
improved her vision enough so that she could read, and she graduated as
valedictorian in 1886.
Accept Risk to Help Others

After graduation, Anne went to Cape Cod with her dorm mother, the kind
Mrs. Sophia Hopkins. That summer, Anne received a letter from the director
of Perkins telling her Captain Arthur Keller wanted a tutor for his daughter,
Helen, and Anne eventually agreed to move to Tuscumbria, Alabama, and
become Helens teacher.

but

Helens mother had helped Helen understand a great deal,

Anne brought Helen the words and the discipline to
appreciate the individuals and objects she encountered.
Helen later recalled the initial struggles this process
involved. When Anne insisted Helen learn to use silverware
instead of her fingers, Helen kicked and screamed until
Annes dedication finally outlasted Helens obstinacy.

Anne tried to help Helen associate words with objects and

actions by spelling into her hand. Helen imitated these
signs, but she did not understand them. In particular, she did not distinguish
between the concept of drinking and the word mug.
One morning Anne took Helen to the pump house and had Helen hold a mug
under the spout. As Anne pumped, the mug overflowed, and water ran over
Helens hand. Anne spelled w-a-t-e-r into Helens free hand. The word
coming so close upon the sensation of cold water rushing over her hand
seemed to startle her, Anne wrote to Mrs. Hopkins. She dropped the mug
and stood as one transfixed. All the way back to the house she was highly
excited, and learned the name of every object she touched, so that in a few
hours she had added thirty new words to her
vocabulary.
Helen would later write, the more I handled things
and learned their names and uses, the more joyous
and confident grew my sense of kinship with the rest
of the world.
Thus, Anne overcame the Tewksbury poorhouse and
pulled back the veils of darkness and silence so that
Helen Keller could in turn touch and inspire millions
around the world.

Points to Ponder:
Anne Sullivan persevered, even when Helen Keller did not appreciate Annes
efforts.

Do not allow painful experiences to take away your ability to care

about others.
Understand others as they actually are instead of assuming they are as
they appear to you.
Accept the benefits others bring into your life rather than selfishly
paying them back or apologizing for inconvenience.
Recognize what will most benefit another person and do what you can
to help them.
Help others see beyond themselves so that they can know and benefit
others.

Lessons From the Emperor Penguin

Standing 3 to 4 feet tall and weighing 80 to 90 pounds, the
emperor penguin is the largest and only penguin species that
eggs and raises its young during the harsh Antarctic winter.

lays

Plan Ahead

Each March and April as Antarctic winter closes in, emperor

penguins head inland to their nesting areas. Waddling upright
or pushing themselves along on their bellies, they travel up to
100
miles across the ice in order to make sure their nesting area will remain
frozen until the young are ready for open water.
Once they reach the nesting grounds, the penguins find mates,
the female lays an egg in May or early June. The male
then incubates the egg by cradling it on top of his feet under
folds of fat around his belly. Except for an occasional shuffle
a warmer position, male penguins will remain grouped
together in this position until the eggs hatch, roughly 64 days later.

and
the
to

Work Together

In the mean time, female penguins trek to the ocean to feed and gather food
for the hatchlings. About the time the chicks hatch, the females return to the
nesting grounds. If the females do not return before the chicks hatch, males
can feed the hatchlings a substance secreted by their digestive tracts for up
to 10 days.
By this time, the males have lost up to 50 percent of their body weight, and
as soon as the females arrive, the males set out for the ocean to replenish
their reserves and gather food for the growing chicks.
Put Others First

Penguins can carry food in their stomachs without digesting

and this ability allows penguins to bring food to their
growing young.The parents take turns going on foraging
trips as the Antarctic summer approaches and the ice
recedes. Eventually, young emperor penguins form large
groups and molt their downy feathers as they march
north to the open water foraging areas.

it,

Prepare for Future Usefulness

By January, emperor penguins have formed foraging groups and will spend
most of their time in the ocean foraging for crustaceans and fish. A group
can travel as many as 600 miles in one foraging trip, and individuals have
reached depths of 1,500 feet and stayed underwater for 20 minutes.
Young penguins will not visit the nesting areas until they reach 4 years of age
and will not breed until age 5 or 6. The average life span of an emperor
penguin is 20 years.

The Emperor Penguin in Action

Commitment
Both parents feed and protect the offspring. As the father incubates the egg,
the mother gathers food, and mother and father then alternately secure food
for the chick.
Community
The penguins ability to form and maintain a peaceful
group helps male penguins share and conserve
warmth as they incubate their eggs during the
Antarctics harsh winters.
Consistency
Penguins persevere through each season, storing sufficient energy during the
summer to successfully reproduce, return to the ocean, and repeat the
process the following year.
Clarity

Penguins rely on a complex set of vocalizations to identify mates, parents,

and offspring. They also have vocalizations to maintain contact in the group
and conduct courtship.

Here and There

Hundreds
of
thousands
found
themselves
struggling to survive when a tsunami swept the
shores of the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004.
Official reports estimated 49,936 missing, 1.7
million homeless, and 232,000 dead, including
many western tourists.
Relief efforts began almost immediately. Foreign
governments, non-governmental organizations, and private donors pledged
approximately $13.6 billion.
When a 7.6 magnitude earthquake shook Pakistan on October 8, 2005, the
international response was comparatively muted. Nearly 80,000 died in the
province of Kashmir, 3 million lost their homes, and 76,000 were injured.
Basic needs for shelter and medical attention remained largely unmet as
rain, landslides, and frigid temperatures complicated relief efforts.
Check Your Awareness

The United Nations reported that eighty percent of the $977 million
requested for tsunami relief came in three weeks after the disaster, but only
twenty percent of the $550 million requested for earthquake relief had come
in after three weeks.

Analysts attributed the different response to the timing in the fiscal year and
the presence of western tourists along the shores of the Indian Ocean. Yet,
the comparative need was significantly greater in Pakistan. Many relief
workers feared those made homeless by the earthquake would not live
through the harsh winter.
Similar discrepancies can take place in your personal life. If you do not
consciously practice benevolence, you will find it easy to overlook others
needs because they seem too far away, too different from your needs, too
inconveniently timed, or even too nearby to have significance.

Get Involved

These reasons for disengagement reveal the laziness

humans often display toward one another. Giving money
to a disaster relief organization is often easier than
walking across the street to console a neighbor after a
death in the family or going to a different part of town to
help rebuild homes destroyed by fire. Dismissing a
coworkers concerns as none of my business can
become an easy excuse for neglect.
As you recognize needs, determine your responsibility instead of devising
reasons to avoid involvement. Benevolence balances responses in order to
specifically address genuine needs. Attending a funeral may be
uncomfortable, but it communicates that you truly care about those
involved.

Caring
A manufacturing company president once selected
three recently-hired young people for their steady,
uncomplaining work ethic.
The executive chose these three to manage his
father's service stations, telling them they would
be in line for division management if they could
show a profit over the next three quarters.
Owen analyzed the convenience store sales
records and layout in order to more directly target
customer buying habits. He also streamlined the
business plan.
Eric worked with Owen and Andrew to give the top mechanics a raise, set up
a new appointment system, opened a new quick-lube service, and
reorganized the shop into a model of cleanliness and efficiency.
Andrew took responsibility for human resources and community relations
decisions. He often surprised his fellow managers by making time to help an
employee with a home improvement project, step behind the counter and
wait on customers, and clean up after a young boy dropped a jug of milk.
Thanks to the efforts of these three, the service stations each turned a profit
for three straight quarters. Owen, Eric, and Andrew were promoted in the
manufacturing company. The president particularly commended Andrew for
his kind words as he unknowingly helped the president's second cousin clean
up the spilled milk. Because of his care for others' needs, the president and
board of directors made Andrew vice president.
Relationships comprise the backbone of life, and your ability to build positive
relationships depends on your ability to care about others, not just about
how they affect you.
By Loren Paulsson

Picture This
Giving by Design
Legumes, such as clover, alfalfa, peas, and soybeans, grow
nodes on their roots, and these nodes house bacteria that
convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into fertilizer for the
soil. This benefits the legume and other plants growing
nearby.
Similarly, as individuals fulfill their unique roles, they
contribute to the whole community. The focus is not on self-neglect
but on benefiting others because a desire for their good has become part of
who you are.