TED Conferences’ Post

Protecting givers from burnout is crucial because they're less likely to seek help once overwhelmed. When they burn out, we not only lose them but also the valuable contributions they make to others.

Perhaps an alternate (i.e non binary) prism to consider is that a professional will contribute in each of these “roles” of “givers-takers-matchers” in varying degrees depending situationally on a host of variables including the overarching goal, the path to the goal, the agility needed for swiftness in response, the skills and experience of team members and colleagues, and the guide/mentor et al. From an organisational perspective, success is strongly influenced by the leaders’ ability to consistently propel an optimal balance; by their keeness to foster holistic people development and workplace vitality; and by them promoting the principle that the true measure of a leader’s success is in nurturing and mentoring their team members to grow and in lifting them up and enabling them to shine and succeed!

I couldn’t agree more to (almost) everything within this TED talk. My only concern is that if you weed out all the ‘takers’… they have to go somewhere, right? Why not build out some training and development that helps those that are slightly more ‘takers’ than ‘givers’ to be more giving so they become ‘matchers’? Win-win-win, especially with the high cost of turnover.

When you are a child, you seek help more often to learn and grow. When you start growing and have aquired some skills, you become more comfortable to provide help and guidance to the ones who are more like the child. At the same time to grow he will still be a taker and seek guidance and directions. When one has grown bit more, aquired expertise, he will more be a giver than taker. The world is changing fast, kids are aquiring knowledge which is vastly different than what one would have been aquiring some 10 or 15 years back. Thus, the older generation cant continue to be just only giver, but will need to be a willing taker of knowledge and expertise from the youngesters. Fully endorse the idea of encouraging a balance between a willing giver and a willing taker to become a matcher depending on the prevailing circumstances. I thank all who provided me knowledge, they are my gurus irrespective of they being junior or senior in age or experience or position in or outside the organisation.

The "theory" that categorizes all people as givers, takers or matchers is not founded in any research.

Givers are desirable for many reasons including frontline marketing and positive team spirit . If they flourish your bottom line does too.

Excellent viewpoint. Givers are sincere, proactive leaders who always sacrifice for to make their organisation better. They share knowledge, exchange ideas and mentor people with proactive and positive intent. But in return organisation doesn't care them. Organisation must recognise the givers and care them to make business successful in the long run.

The fact is that giving effort is worth more towards being actualized, in wherever you set your intentions. More than _? Filling it in, you will discover, if you even care to observe where a valid high output optimistic and efficient worker is being obfuscated in this characterization temporarily, by said blank in-fill, and you as a novice or otherwise aptitude gifted individual, put a focused effort (by which in mean to distinguish the differences~a less qualified background on a more completion focused prioritization) you will find that even this (as you will likely notice too) vastly at ease more thoroughly in awareness and application of task related optimum productivity will be out-produced in the moment by the consideration to be hands on, non-indignant concession to be whom has made themselves present, with the best ability, availability. You can be present and I'm a state of non-compliance to the most pressing needs due to "above the position" attitude holding yourself as having graduated out of the "pay grade" that is reserved for the less white collar, etc, workers OR colleagues. I place this here because, to some of us this is an obstacle having dignity and seizing success as the improvement of the immediate is first!

I have been a Giver all my working life, and have greatly benefited from it. When someone asks you for help at work, and you give what you have in terms of knowledge, advice, mentoring or just time to listen, you gain a lot through that experience: you gain trust, influence, confidence, as well as knowledge about a new problem or innovative ways to solve it… This has created a lot of positive relationships as well…. Ever heard of “reverse mentoring” - an idea that my mentor Sri Shivananda taught me!