I wish all leaders could meet the people who work for them during a tragedy. I know that sounds weird, but experiencing people’s behavior during the earthquake and hurricane has reinforced my belief that we are inherently good.

Here’s what leaders need to remember about people, based upon my experience following Irene:

• Jimmy, who works at the post office, stopped his morning breakfast to find plywood and tarps, then walked them to my house.
• Ron, who runs a small company, stopped chopping down the thirty trees that had fallen on his property to find some oil for our new chainsaw. He then walked down to our home to show my nephew how to use it.
• Kyle, who is a manager at Lowes, had his first day off in seven days. On his day off, he and his wife spent the day finding us a generator, getting a chainsaw, and patching our window and wall.
• Betty, our next door neighbor, offered to fix us all breakfast, even with her limited food and generator-run kitchen.
• Jacob, who works at a car dealership and is my son, stood in front of broken glass with hurricane force winds pounding him while we nailed up a shower curtain.
• Julie, our State Farm agent, met us at the office and provided contractor numbers while dealing with damage to her own home.
• Linda and Brad, my sister and brother-in-law, drove six hours from Pennsylvania, arrived at 2:00 p.m., worked on my house until 7:00 p.m., then drove back home.
• Liza, my sister-in-law, made sure our little beach duplex was ready for the storm and ensured the roof shingles were replaced right after.

This list could on and on. We need to remember that people turn up for each other during times of tragedy, and when we help each other, we are all better people because of it.

Research shows that there is a part of our brain that is wired to give, and happiness is directly tied to it. The more we do for others, the better we feel ourselves.

Sometimes leaders need not only to recognize their employees, they need to ask them for help. Give them a chance to give back through their efforts.

Giving is a natural part of who we are, and I am eternally grateful to all who have helped us. I’m going this weekend to help my sister and brother-in-law clean up their property, because that’s what we do. Happiness might just be that easy.