In a classic study known as the Coca-Cola experiment, participants believed they were evaluating artwork with a new colleague named “Joe.”
The participants overheard Joe on a staged phone call. In some cases, he behaved politely, and in other cases, rudely.
During the session, Joe would leave the room and then return shortly. Sometimes he would return with an extra can of Coke for his colleague. Other times, he would return empty-handed.
Later, Joe would ask each participant if they would buy raffle tickets from him.
The findings were enlightening. Participants who received the unsolicited gift of a Coke bought twice as many raffle tickets as those who did not receive anything from Joe.
People repaid the unexpected small favor by helping Joe, even when their opinion of him was neutral or negative (from overhearing the rude phone call).
The experiment confirmed the power of reciprocity. When someone does us a favor, we’re motivated to return it, even if the initial favor is minor and the ensuing request is larger.
The desire to repay favors or kindness strongly shapes workplace behavior and collaboration. On teams where the leader and team members engage in small acts of kindness, it is common for everyone to begin reciprocating with their own acts of generosity.
Over time, unexpected acts of help, support, and recognition throughout the team create a domino effect of proactive generosity. Not surprisingly, a positive climate of goodwill permeates the team, amplifying trust and cooperation.
It all starts with a leader who understands the power of reciprocity.
Good leaders extend themselves first, offering meaningful, tailored, and unexpected acts of help, support, resources, and recognition before asking anything of others. With each act of reciprocated kindness from the leader, the team begins to extend their graciousness to others.
Once the domino effect has taken a firm hold, the camaraderie and compassion of the team shift into high gear.
Central to this transformation is consistency and genuineness. The leader and team members must sustain their generosity without expecting anything in return.
The reason most teams fall short of this highly positive team climate is because the leader is not genuine or consistent in their giving to others, or because team members think kind acts are expected of them, and they resist as a way of asserting their independence.
Being a good-hearted leader is not enough.
Reciprocity usually occurs with each act of a leader’s kindness, but does not become pervasive across the team until other team members join in without being asked.
This usually requires several good-hearted team members who follow the leader’s example and spread the magnanimity around. This allows the norm of reciprocity to embed itself into the daily interactions of the team.
As with so many team outcomes, it begins with a benevolent leader who understands the power of reciprocity. While there is no guarantee the domino effect of goodwill will materialize, good-hearted leaders think it is worth a try.
After all, the worst case is that kindness becomes an isolated set of actions, which is the reality on most teams.
