What do Adam Grant, Robert Cialdini and Martin Seligman have in common?

Are you a giver or a taker?

The research work of Adam Grant, Robert Cialdini and Martin Seligman have something significant in common that attracts me.?At a superficial level, they are all popular organizational psychology professors from top US universities.?At a deeper level, they are my heroes because they all stand for?generosity.?It is one of the most important values to me.??

I prefer to be “giver”, using?Adam Grant’s language, someone who gives more than they take. I'd rather give my advice, support, my time and money to those who need, than ask or receive the same.?I think this is because giving and sharing makes me feel good.?How about you, are you a giver or a taker??

If you're reading my newsletter, you're an?#innovator,?#changemaker?or someone who needs to achieve influence in the workplace at scale in order to get things done.

5 tips to influence stakeholders to get things done in organizations

For our work, the principle of generosity has 5 significant implications for influencing #stakeholders and generating #innovation in organisations:

1.??Think about what you can give your stakeholders to develop your relationship with them, and certainly do this before asking them for to support your initiative or business.?I’m not advocating you give them a tangible gift, but instead think laterally about what is important to them.

2.??Ask you stakeholders about their goals, so you can help them succeed.?Adam Grant says “the most meaningful way to succeed is to help others succeed.”

3.??Consider whether the person is looking for a trade of favours. For some people’s personalities, they will always expect something in return.?Robert Cialdini?is The Master of Influence.?I’ve been using his influence techniques since the 1990’s, when I did his program “Influence with Integrity” program I started as a new McKinsey consultant in the US.?One of the key influence techniques that Robert outlines is reciprocity.?He also has posted recently on a?curious Harvard study: when you ask for something, provide the “because”, the “WHY”. It doesn’t matter if you re-state the obvious but give a reason.

4.???Give, AND allow others to give.?Giving enables us to experience more meaning, according to?Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology.?At one of the lowest points in my life shortly after my marriage ended, I attended one of his talks when he visited Australia.?I found huge inspiration in his description of how people get through difficult moments.?To achieve wellbeing, Martin emphasises the importance of finding meaning in our lives, and he says giving is an important part of this.

5.??Value others perspective. My colleague?Julie Lonsdale?is a founding member of the OD Hive, my mastermind community. Julie uses the expression “what you see of the mountain depends on where you stand”. She says her OD Hive group means she has 20 people who she knows who she can reach out to for help and ideas.?Watch this recording?to see Julie’s view of different perspectives, and the OD Hive.?Julie also says “People are willing to help but we’re often not willing to ask”.

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Asking for favours (using the "because" principle described above)

I hope there are some valuable ideas for you in my newsletter this week.?After reading this, you will know how difficult it is for me to ask you for a small favour: can you please forward this email to at least one person you think will benefit. They can subscribe?here.

I’m asking this?BECAUSE?I want to grow my OD Hive mastermind community. Also I will shortly launch the?FutureBuilders Academy: Turbocharge Your Transformation?- this will enable a business manager, change manager or project manager to implement a business, cultural or digital transformation program like a PRO. More on this next week.?I’d love if it you share this newsletter to help me grow my business.

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What's happening in the OD Hive?

In the?OD Hive?this month, our new groups will be exploring the?capabilities and skills for digital transformation. See article?co-authored with my colleague Dr Norman Chorn. In small groups of 20, you explore and make sense of leading-edge disruptive trends, and get support to achieve your work transformation goals. If you haven't yet signed up to attend a trial mastermind session for our subscription-based community, join the waitlist on my page:?OD Hive

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If you're interested in?#digitaltransformation,?#organizationaldevelopment,?#innovation, subscribe to my personal weekly email to your inbox?here.

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About Lisa Carlin

As a scaleup mentor, Lisa works with ambitious digital leaders to turbo-charge their business, cultural and digital transformation.???You know how lonely it can be when need to make bet-the-business decisions. Each choice counts. You don’t get a second chance.?Those working with Lisa have an independent sounding board and expert advice so they have absolute confidence they WILL ACHIEVE THEIR GOAL.

Lisa is Co-Founder and Director of FutureBuilders Group of organisational development specialists, Chair of the University of Cape Town Australia Trust, and on the Advisory Board of Rebelliuz, the Tiktok for jobs. Lisa runs an Organizational Development Community exploring leading edge ideas in digital transformation, culture change and business innovation. Her early career was with Accenture (South Africa) and McKinsey (USA).