One of my favourite newsletters comes from Wharton psychology professor and bestselling author Adam Grant. In this week’s edition, he reflects on the things he missed in his book Give and Take, which is about the surprising consequences of being a giver (generous) rather than a taker (selfish).
One area Grant looks at is workplace culture. He feels he paid too little attention to how teams and organisations shift towards norms of generosity. He thinks screening out takers (those who want to be better than others) is more important than hiring givers (those who strive to bring out their best). He says we need to normalise seeking help as well as giving it. And to redesign reward systems in organisations to account for contributions to others, not just individual performance.
The newsletter got me thinking about how many performance review conversations are deficit-based. If our focus is only on areas of improvement, we miss out on celebrating how we’ve helped others.
At Camp Cooinda, a frequent format of our nightly meeting is “roses and thorns”, where leaders share something great about our day and something not-so-great. It’s especially lovely when someone shares a thorn and describes how it was turned into a rose by the actions of another leader.
Maybe we need to build in a moment of gratitude, giving of thanks to colleagues in meetings at work? What do you reckon?
“Success is not about winning a competition. It’s about making a contribution.” – Adam Grant