Kim Townsend

Lessons in Lifecircle Leadership

Emma Vallelunga

One philosophy rings true for those who read the book: Doing good is good for business. It’s the underlying message of how Loretto CEO Kim Townsend hopes readers of her newest book, “Lessons in Lifecircle Leadership,” will embrace pragmatic altruism, seize better opportunities and learn how to invest in themselves.

Townsend wrote her first book titled, “Lifecircle Leadership: How Exceptional People Make Every Day Extraordinary” in 2018. It was based on the philosophy of pragmatic altruism: doing good is good for not only your business but also yourself, your company and your community, and how Townsend uses the philosophy in her own life, her work at Loretto and within the Syracuse community. Townsend said her first book gathered attention and curiosity from readers that she didn’t expect about how they could apply pragmatic altruism to their own lives.

“People were really interested in that concept and how they could generate solutions that could benefit anyone in any situation,” Townsend said.

So in 2019, she decided to start a second book, one that would give people some more guidance to apply her principle to their own experiences. But when the COVID-19 pandemic began the following year, Townsend delayed the release of the book but gained even more material for it than she realized.

“There were new lessons that I learned in the application of the philosophy in my own organization and in my own life that I thought would be helpful to others, so I kind of shifted gears,” she said.

Compared to her first book, Townsend said, “Lessons in Lifecircle Leadership” continues to teach pragmatic altruism but does so in a workbook-style format. At the end of each chapter are questions readers can ask themselves to stimulate reflection about their own lives, communities, work environments and more, with the intention of creating practical applications of the philosophy that Townsend leads her life by.

“I am a firm believer that leadership exists at every level,” she said. “Each of us has the seeds of leadership greatness within us. Leadership isn’t a job title. It’s what you bring within yourself when you bring your best self to your life.”

In addition to finding leadership greatness, the book also explores topics that reflect issues many people have been facing through the pandemic, such as creating a sustainable life, identifying things that matter most to you, conserving and spending your energy and learning how to say no.

“Frequently, we want to do everything, and there are so many opportunities to serve, particularly in our community, that it’s very easy to crowd out the things that matter most to you with things that are good but maybe not essential to you and what you want to do with your life, so I talk about things like the power of positive no,” she said. “[It’s about] investing your life in the things that are most impactful.”

For women seeking guidance in pragmatic altruism, Townsend said one topic explored in “Lessons in Lifecircle Leadership” is the significance of self-care.

“It’s critically important, particularly as women, that we take care of ourselves to be able to bring our best selves to every situation,” she said. “That’s hard to do when you’re homeschooling multiple children, and you’re working full-time, maybe remotely, and you have other life obligations, but I also encourage women to consider themselves so they can show up for the people that matter most to them.”

While writing her book, Townsend said the pandemic was and has been a challenging time for everyone at Loretto, but the hard work and dedication of the organization’s healthcare workers, residents and families has given her another opportunity to contribute to the world by sharing her philosophy once again.

“I’ve been so inspired by the people in our community and across the country who are taking the time in the midst of the pandemic to share things that they’re learning, and so I felt a sense of responsibility to do that as well because I think this is a time where we all need to support each other, and I just felt so supported by the other leaders in our community,” she said.

Both of Townsend’s books are available through Amazon or on her website at drkimberlytownsend.com as digital versions, and Townsend said an audio version of “Lessons in Lifecircle Leadership” will be available soon. Although the second book has only been out for a couple months, she said she’s already received positive feedback, and she only hopes more people will feel helped through her words.

“That was thrilling to me, because that was exactly my hope and intention, to create a book that people would find useful and inspiring, and they would be able to take those lessons and put them into their own lives,” she said. “I’m always so excited when I hear that someone has been able to do that. Writing it was helpful to me as I explore an even more practical application of pragmatic altruism in my own life.” SWM