Are you a giver or a taker?

Positive Minds | Positive Quotes | Edition 015

Did you read the book "Give and Take" by Adam Grant? I did, and I learned quite a lot. I've summarized below my key takeaway from the book.

The book is based on a survey of over 30,000 people across industries around the world. Grant found three categories of people in the workplace: the givers, the takers and the matchers. Grant made two interesting discoveries:

First, about 56% of people surveyed are matchers; 25% are givers, and 19% are takers. In other words, most people in the workplace try to keep an even balance of giving and taking, i.e. quid pro quo.

Second, in most jobs, givers are both the worst and best performers, and Matchers are in the middle. Takers tend to rise quickly but also fall quickly in most jobs.

For givers to succeed, companies should build a culture of productive generosity where help-seeking is the norm; and make it easier for people to ask for help. And remember, it is equally important to bring in the givers than weed out the takers.

Are you a Giver, a Matcher or a Taker?