Generocity

22 July 2016

Your time at work is marked by daily choices; what urgent thing to focus on, which meeting to go to, whether to check email or focus on the task at hand, head home early to the family or finish that report.  Sometimes our choices are good: sometimes they need work. 

There is one choice I would like I would like to suggest you make - a choice that will have a substantial positive impact on your career success.  A choice that solid research has shown separates those at the top of the success pile and those in the middle. 

This choice is choosing to be intentionally generous to those around you.  Simple as that.  Note though, I say ‘intentionally’ generous.  It is the intentionality that makes the most difference.

Keys to Success

Conventional wisdom holds that the keys to success are hard work, talent and luck.  The research of Wharton Business School Professor Adam Grant challenges this wisdom asserting that something else is also in play.  Grant’s research, outlined in his very engaging book Give and Take, clearly points to a strong link between success (however you define it) and the degree to which you are generous and give to those around you.

Workplaces are collective activities.  Rarely do you work in complete isolation, so our relations with others matter. When being intentionally generous is a cornerstone of the way you interact with others you build the advantage of having a strong giving network around you.  The byproduct of this is that you have easier and more consistent to the influence of diverse sources knowledge, expertise and influence to stretch you, inform you and help you. Every career needs this.

Those, who with each and every interaction, make the choice to give more, to contribute to the success and well being of the other person, to generously share their time, energy, knowledge, skills, ideas and interconnections, create ripples where everyone around them experiences success, including them. 

In fact the presence in a group of a person who Grant calls a ‘Giver’ has the effect of lifting the level of contribution that all members of the group make, creating success all round.  This builds a sense of reciprocity and virtuous behaviour that enhances everyone’s experience of the workplace.

How it Works

How it works is that the presence of a ‘Giver’ creates a sense of psychological safety for others in the group.  This safety makes it OK for others to try new things, to experiment, to fail well, learn more and be creative without the fear of being overly judged or criticized.  This occurs even if the ‘Giver’ is not the manager.

Typical behaviour that givers engage in include:

Creating opportunities for others to contribute
Linking like minded people together
Opening the space in discussions for opposing views
Encouraging all to at least look at the other perspective
Generously giving small 5 and 10 minute favours
Passing on knowledge they know others will value
Expressing their own doubts and vulnerabilities
Having the courage to ask generative, open and curious question
Genuinely asking for help, advice and seeking feedback
Providing others with the opportunity to be givers
Standing up respectfully for the rights of others
Most people want to be givers in the workplace, but typically three things hold them back from being so.  They are concerned about how their giving will be perceived, they worry people will take advantage of them and they think they don’t have the time.

Know Your Own Needs

Being a giver is not selfless though.  You need to know what your own needs and interests are so you don’t engage in behaviours that undermine your own ambitions.  To give successful you need to know what constitutes success for you - to have at least some ideas of the next step or two in your own career.  Without this your generosity can be something that is taken advantage of by others.

You Don't Not Have Time

One of the biggest objections against the idea of increased generosity and giving behaviour is the argument that it takes a lot of time, and time is something that most people feel they lack.  A sense of feeling stretched, harried, and constantly on the hamster wheel is common, but not reaching out to others is not the answer.

Barbara Fredrickson’s research has shown that when we interact positively with others a surge of feel good chemicals flood our brain.  These chemicals work to broaden our thinking and open us up to new possibilities and ideas.  This makes us more creative and better problem solvers.  When we help others we feel better, have better ideas, and are more resilient.  In fact you don’t have time not to be generous at work as the reciprocal benefits that will come back to you from those around you will save you more time than you would ever invest in giving.  

There is one caution that needs to be taken into account about the benefits of giving behaviour.  You still need to be competent.  Without competence giving behaviour is seen as a weakness and less generous souls will see you as either someone to ignore or someone to take advantage of.

Generosity is a cornerstone of a successful career.  Give it a try this coming week and test the impact it has on how you feel about your work, how much you get done, and how others respond to you.

An action you can take is to assess the degree to which you are a giver.  The companion web site for the book Give and Take by Adam Grant has two assessments.  One is a self-assessment, or you can ask others to rate you through a 360 process that can be a great process for a team to do.

Being a giver is one of the 5 behaviours I highlighted in an earlier article on what I believe are 5 Core Principles for career success.  Link through to the article here to check out the other 4. 

As ever wishing you a Flourishing Career

Katherine