Why the Most Successful Leaders Are Givers
Inc. editor-at-large Leigh Buchanan talks to organizational psychologist Adam Grant about his new book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success.
Courtesy Subject
Author Adam Grant.
Expect to sit through heated conversations in the next few months about who in your circle is generous to a fault, who expects a quo for every quid, and who is out for what he can get.
That's how Adam Grant categorizes the ways people use interactions to succeed--or not--in their careers and lives. Grant's book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, is already garnering plaudits for the rigor of its science, the freshness of its arguments, and the pleasure of its prose.
Inc. editor-at-large Leigh Buchanan spoke to Grant, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, about how giving can help you lead.
Is it hard for a top leader to be a giver? Because by concentrating on the specific needs of a few he risks letting down the many?
That's a really interesting question. I would say it is harder and easier. Leaders do have broader networks and more requests and stakeholders. The sheer load makes it more challenging to contribute to and support everyone. But leaders have two advantages. First, it's easier for leaders to multiply themselves and create networks of givers. To build cultures where that's the norm and, as a result, to be able to delegate a lot of the giving to people around and below them. That provides an opportunity to spread their giving farther than people who are not at the top.
So it's possible to delegate generosity?
Maybe "delegate" is not the best word. It's possible to spread it. You model it, and that produces legions of matchers who find the best way to pay it back is to pay it forward. I was impressed by how many leaders I interacted with had encouraged their first groups of mentees to mentor people below them and start these pay-it-forward chains. It's a little bit of delegating. But more role-modeling.
What's the second advantage leaders have in being givers?
The other advantage leaders have is it's a lot easier to do these five-minute favors, which are very short bursts of energy and attention that leave a lasting impact on people. In my first real job, when I was about a month in, the president stopped by, shook my hand, introduced himself, and said, "I just want to get together for coffee." We probably had a 15-minute interaction. And the fact that he knew who I was and cared about me and took a personal interest stuck with me for months. I decided that I didn't want to let this guy down. Leaders' status and stature makes it possible to quickly recognize and notice people. Then you're a lot less likely to have hours and hours of the day when all those people are seeking you out.
How do you balance the desire to be a giver with the need to make tough decisions?
It can be difficult, especially for the agreeable givers who really care about being nice and polite. One of the things that impressed me when I was doing research is how many givers in leadership roles drew a sharp distinction between being liked and being respected. They said you don't want to wander around thinking that being a giver means everybody loves you. Then you end up being this insufferable people-pleaser who never makes the right or the tough decisions. Being respected is about doing what is right for the organization or the group as opposed to the individual or certain constituents. There's a lot of wisdom in that.
Is laying someone off harder on the givers of the world?
It is often hard for givers to do layoffs and to make unpopular decisions. But there are a lot of givers who are able to make those decisions precisely because they are looking out for the greatest good. The "greatest good" is probably too flowery. They are at least trying to keep the interest of the majority in mind.
So the John Stuart Mill approach to niceness?
I became a big fan of Abraham Lincoln as I was looking for examples of politician-givers. In her book Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin writes about how, when he started his presidency, Lincoln would literally sit down with every person who came knocking at the White House. People in his own administration criticized him for catering to the whim of a suffering soul while overlooking the needs of the country. He resolved to set boundaries and ask himself, "Is this where I can have the greatest impact?" I think that's a critical question for a leader.
Can you incorporate giving into job and compensation design?
I think that's really hard. A lot of my work has documented the benefits of designing jobs so that people get to see their end users. Especially for technology-oriented firms, that is really important and often overlooked. Beyond that, I would love organizations to figure out: "Are there ways that we can be more effective in recognizing givers and allowing them to see the everyday effects of their small contributions?" Peer bonuses, when managed well, are a great step.
People who run health-care companies can bring in patients to tell stories and motivate the troops. But what if you make plumbing supplies?
Those kinds of customer stories are so much in the water in the helping professions and service organizations. But that means they may also feel less novel. "Yeah, I get that we're helping kids. Now let me get on and do my job." If it happened in other kinds of organizations it could be more surprising or memorable. But it can be hard, especially if your products and services don't make a difference. My data show that the effect is driven less from having a life-changing impact on an end user and more by seeing and knowing what your impact is. If your organization relies on customer service and you've had really bad feedback, bring in a miserable customer to share his or her story so people understand what they can do better. That's also a viable intervention.
You talk about "powerless communication:" the idea that people often prefer those who speak tentatively and stumble a bit to more assertive speakers. I've noticed that myself. In interviews, people warm up to me more when I stammer like Columbo. But how do leaders square that with being confident and passionate and strong storytellers?
