Successful Givers, Toxic Takers

http://onbeing.org/program/adam-grant-successful-givers-toxic-takers-and-the-life-we-spend-at-work/transcript/8064#main_content

From transcript of radio program "On Being" on Oct. 22, 2015.
Krista Tippett's interview with organizational psychologist Adam Grant. His extensive and innovative studies show that most of us can find meaning in any kind of work when we perceive ourselves to be of service — whether we realize this is our motivation or not.

•••••

Ms. Tippett: Adam Grant is the youngest tenured and highest-rated professor at the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. And he’s consulted for numerous organizations including Google, the United Nations, and the U.S. Army. He became known to many through his popular book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success.

•••••

I think this is something we all experience when we receive unexpected and meaningful gifts — we want to pay it back, but there’s really nothing you can do to pay it back. So the next best thing is to pay it forward.

•••••

The worst performers and the best performers are givers; takers and matchers are more
likely to land in the middle.

•••••

I want to explore what separates the champs from the chumps. The answer is less
about raw talent or aptitude, and more about the strategies givers use and
the choices they make.

•••••

Successful givers recognize that there’s a big difference between taking and receiving.
Taking is using other people solely for one’s own gain.
Receiving is accepting help from others while maintaining a willingness to pay it back and forward. We all have goals for our own individual achievements, and it turns out that the givers who excel are willing to ask for help when they need it.

•••••