Personal connections are the currency of the working world. Like
or not, who we know, who we owe, and who owes us determines our future as much
as talent.
When it comes to when and how we help others, most of us fit
into one of three categories:
· Givers, who help others unconditionally,
demanding nothing in return.
· Matchers, who usually only help
those who have helped them.
· Takers, those who demand help but never
offer.
Penn professor Adam Grant is a Giver. He’s also the youngest
tenured professor at Wharton and is the author of the best-selling Give and Take.
Grant believes that the success of our careers is due to our generosity with
our time and knowledge. Givers, he says, are usually either at the top or
bottom of their field, with Matchers and Takers sprinkled in between.
After publicly proclaiming to the world that he answers any and
all favor requests in the New York Times, Grant is the best test
case for his own theory. However, Grant manages it all well thanks to being
ruthless with his time. I asked him how he handles the deluge and if he has any
advice for those of us who feel too squeezed to be good “Givers.”
—
In the
book, you write that Givers are either at the very top of their field or at the
bottom. How do you make sure your giving helps, not hurts, your career?
Your effectiveness
with giving depends largely on your time management skills. The main thing is
to block out time for individual work and then time to be helpful. I have a
particular day where I don’t answer any phone calls or emails. That day I’m
writing, reading, or pushing forward one of my individual responsibilities.
Then there are days where I block out time just to be helpful. It’s more
efficient, less distracting, and lets me maintain a balance.
I try to focus
on five-minute favors as micro-loans of my time. When something comes in, I ask
myself if I’m in the position to help uniquely or can I pass them along to
someone who might be more helpful. Sometimes, I farm the requests out to people
that are in a better place to help.
I
imagine people constantly want to pay you back.
Well,
especially with the Matchers, but most people feel pressed to pay you back. I
try not to ask them to pay it back, I try to ask them to pay it forward.
Usually in the case of helping me help others. It’s really great to have a
network of people willing to give back to be helpful.
“I try to focus on
five-minute favors as micro-loans of my time.”
It’s
like you’re making a loan and getting interest. But even if they “pay” it
elsewhere that’s emotionally fulfilling for you.
It is. The
other aspect is that, when you encourage enough people to pay it forward,
especially in certain networks [or workplaces], the norm spreads a little bit
and more people get the help they need. If everyone is a taker, you have
widespread paranoia, and you don’t get a lot of help or problem-solving. If
everyone is a matcher, you can only go to the people that have helped in the
past. If everyone is a giver you can go the person who is the best expert or
most qualified to help. That helps everybody. That’s the benefit. You can
create a more efficient exchange of ideas and resources.
Blocking
out days to give sounds good, but what if my job is more regimented?
There are
Fortune 500 companies where a group of engineers would have “quiet time.” Every
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. they’d have a
no-interruption rule. You can negotiate those kinds of policies or practices.
Some people put
up out-of-office replies that say, “I’m working on a really important project
for the next four hours. If you really need me, please call me.” Do that and
you’ll get emails back saying, “Oh we resolved this, don’t worry about it.” Or
“I saw you were out of office, I really respect the fact that you prioritize
important work. This is something I can follow up next week on.” It’s a good
way to get people to respect your boundaries and it means that when you do make
time for them, they appreciate it more.
By Sean Blanda
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