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Give More, Be Happier, Increase Team Performance

Posted October 22nd, 2010 in Giving, Networking | View Comments share1may2008

I have a mantra that the secret to successful networking is to give way more. New research by psychologist Elizabeth Dunn suggests that deploying resources for others not only makes people happier, but can even make teams perform better.

Dunn got interested in the relationship between money and happiness when she moved from the chain gang wages of graduate student life to the comparatively luxurious salary of a professor. Particularly, she wanted to know how people could maximize their happiness with the resources they had.

The first study she conducted to figure this out was giving people on her University of British Columbia campus $5 or $20 and instructing them to either spend it on themselves or on others. When her research team called the participants back that night, the people who had spent money on others reported significantly more happiness.

Her next step was to figure out whether this was a phenomenon restricted to the cultural context of excess wealth that exists in North America. Working with collaborators in Uganda, she ran simultaneous studies where she asked people to remember times that they had spent the equivalent of $20 on themselves or others. Even though the actual purchases were extremely different, in both countries, the experience of buying things for others was associated with significantly more happiness.

But here’s where it gets really interesting. Dunn wanted to know whether this phenomenon of giving would hold across teams, and if it did, whether the impact of that happiness would translate to increased team performance.

To figure this out, she gave teams of pharmacy sales people and a dodgeball team money to spend on other members of their teams. In both cases, the act of giving to other members of the team increased performance: the sales teams sold more and the dodgeball team won more.

Think about this. These studies suggest that integrating active giving into your life and team will not only make you happier but more successful. My bet is that this link between giving, happiness, and performance is even stronger when the giving is social capital resources that significantly advance people’s careers or projects.

We know these things. It’s time to structure our teams and organizations around them.

  • http://twitter.com/nlw/status/28408216245 Nathaniel Whittemore

    Research suggests that giving more not only makes you happier, but increases how well teams perform http://bit.ly/aDyCNr (via @assetmap)

  • http://twitter.com/assetmap/status/28408426081 Assetmap

    Give More, Be Happier, Increase Team Performance http://bit.ly/aDyCNr

  • http://twitter.com/mediathirsty/status/28408533726 Mediathirsty

    RT @nlw: Research suggests that giving more not only makes you happier, but increases how well teams perform http://bit.ly/aDyCNr (via @ …

  • http://twitter.com/kindlysaffron/status/28410164037 Saffron

    RT @nlw: Research suggests that giving more not only makes you happier, but increases how well teams perform http://bit.ly/aDyCNr (via @ …

  • http://twitter.com/daniloleao/status/28410865666 daniloleao

    RT @nlw: Research suggests that giving more not only makes you happier, but increases how well teams perform http://bit.ly/aDyCNr (via @ …

  • http://twitter.com/nurturegirl/status/28414247084 Jean Russell

    RT @nlw: Research suggests that giving more not only makes you happier, but increases how well teams perform http://bit.ly/aDyCNr (via @ …

  • http://twitter.com/socialentrprnr/status/28432970080 Nathaniel Whittemore

    Research suggests that giving more not only makes you happier, but increases how well teams perform http://bit.ly/aDyCNr (via @assetmap)

  • http://twitter.com/tastewart/status/28433443195 Thomas A. Stewart

    RT @socialentrprnr for @dogoodinstitute Resrch says giving not only makes u happier, but incrses how well teams perform http://bit.ly/aDyCNr

  • http://twitter.com/davidgljay/status/28436535254 David Jay

    RT @socialentrprnr: Research suggests that giving more not only makes you happier, but increases how well teams perform http://bit.ly/aDyCNr (via @assetmap)

  • http://twitter.com/socialvest/status/28439592329 SocialVest

    RT @assetmap: Give More, Be Happier, Increase Team Performance http://bit.ly/aDyCNr

  • http://twitter.com/karinagrotz/status/28442710986 karinagrotz

    RT @SocialVest: RT @assetmap: Give More, Be Happier, Increase Team Performance http://bit.ly/aDyCNr

  • http://twitter.com/socialentrprnr/status/28502237000 Nathaniel Whittemore

    Give More, Be Happier, Increase Team Performance http://bit.ly/aDyCNr via @assetmap

  • http://twitter.com/rminstitute/status/28772853210 RMInstitute

    RT @assetmap: Give More, Be Happier, Increase Team Performance http://bit.ly/aDyCNr

  • http://twitter.com/godparents/status/28862460707 Godparents.in

    "Studies suggest that integrating active giving into your life and team will not only make you happier but more… http://fb.me/KTEtyiZn

  • http://twitter.com/osowskiv/status/29495254486 osowskiv

    RT @tastewart: RT @socialentrprnr for @dogoodinstitute Resrch says giving not only makes u happier, but incrses how well teams perform http://bit.ly/aDyCNr

  • http://twitter.com/kareanderson/status/29624576257 Kare Anderson

    act of giving to other members of yr #team increases performance @assetmap: http://bit.ly/aDyCNr #collaboration

  • http://twitter.com/missmdubs/status/29624738777 Melissa Westbrook

    RT @KareAnderson: act of giving to other members of yr #team increases performance @assetmap: http://bit.ly/aDyCNr #collaboration

  • http://twitter.com/krisschaeffer/status/29632279052 Kris Schaeffer

    KareAnderson Act of giving to others on yr #team increases performance and happiness. @assetmap: http://bit.ly/aDyCNr #collaboration

  • http://twitter.com/whos_listening/status/902201522266112 whos listening

    Give More, Be Happier, Increase Team Performance http://bit.ly/aDyCNr

  • http://twitter.com/positivelytweet/status/1793113555210240 Mike

    RT @assetmap: Give More, Be Happier, Increase Team Performance http://bit.ly/aDyCNr

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Marcelo-GIletta-Marconi/100001337951281 Marcelo GIletta Marconi

    UNA RED SOCIAL, DEBE SERVIR PARA EL BIEN COMUN DE LA HUMANIDAD, PARA CRECER, Y CRECER, TRABAJARLA A FONDO, QUE ASI SEA, QUE DIOS BENDIGA ESTOS INGENIOS Y A MI ME CONCEDA LA GLORIA,GRACIA DE LA MUERTE, POR EL CAMINO DE LA CRUZ.-AD ASTRA PER ASPERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • http://twitter.com/mommafix/status/7059550922342400 Julia Gersen

    RT @assetmap: Give More, Be Happier, Increase Team Performance http://bit.ly/aDyCNr

  • http://twitter.com/allison811/status/13726496111722496 Allison

    RT @assetmap: Give More, Be Happier, Increase Team Performance http://bit.ly/aDyCNr

  • http://www.emergentfool.com/ Kim Scheinberg

    It’s good to see science catching up with what some hedge fund managers have known for years.

    Julian Robertson’s Tiger Foundation is an interesting case study.

    http://www.bridgespan.org/learningcenter/resourcedetail.aspx?id=402

  • http://twitter.com/JustinHayslett Justin Hayslett

    There is no doubt about that fact. True fulfilment in life is found when we are living for more than ourselves. We have a created purpose woven inside of us to make a difference. To live lives of impact. Unfortunately, many people suppress it and focus only on themselves. 

    Social Entrepreneurship is opening up that door to say, “Look, now I can make a difference with my life AND make a decent living.” 

    It doesn’t get much better than that. 

    I’m seriously not trying to be spammy here, but I wrote an article about this. Why Social Entrepreneurs Should be the Most Successful in the World. Check it out if you want. http://wp.me/p1zNpi-4m

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