As we all do at the beginning of a new year we level set and make resolutions or goals that we want to achieve for the upcoming year. The past two years have been difficult and trying for a lot of us. So being able to start fresh at the height of a new year is always exciting but also a bit anxiety-ridden.

This year, like many years prior, I set small achievable goals for myself with the intention of being able to make steady progress to the most important goals. With that mindset, I also like to ensure that I am making resolute on things that are important to me. One of them has been being able to provide assistance or be at service to others. Last year at Microsoft I led a Growth Group with a focus on Personal and Professional Development. Conceptually Growth Groups aim to make those who participate, 1% better every day while enhancing communication, promoting vulnerability, and ultimately forging new relationships. One of the key takeaways that I experienced leading my Growth Group was the concept of the 5 Minute Favor. 

Coined by Professor Adam Grant of  Wharton University in his bestselling book Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success, the “five-minute favor” is a simple practice of being in the mindset of carving out just five minutes of your day to do something that will benefit the lives of others in your network – without expecting anything in return. 

What I’ve realized about the 5 Minute favor is that we ALL at some point in time do this. Whether it’s being a sounding board to a friend who’s having a crappy day, or being a resource to a colleague to help solve a work problem. We all offer up our time, and intellectual capital to provide 5 Minute Favors.  The catch with the 5 Minute favor, however, is to offer up the favor with no expectation of getting anything back in return. It’s a selfless offering of 5 minutes of your time but could be the source of happiness or success for someone else. 

So, in keeping with my continuous goals of service and engagement, I’m continuing to practice my 5 Minute favors, with the intention of benefiting those individuals who are NOT in my network, this ultimately will help expand my network (which is not really the intention of the 5 Minute favor) but can ultimately help me connect others in my network together. 

” Our networks should be viewed as a vehicle for creating value for everyone, and not just claiming it for ourselves”. ~Adam Rifkin

xoxo,

BGW

www.browngirlworking.com