{"id":5788,"date":"2023-01-06T21:32:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-07T01:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/?p=5788"},"modified":"2023-02-24T21:34:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-25T01:34:01","slug":"the-new-hardcore-empathy-over-ultimatums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/2023\/01\/06\/the-new-hardcore-empathy-over-ultimatums\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Hardcore: Empathy Over Ultimatums"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When Elon Musk took the reins at Twitter, he gave engineers an ultimatum: Be extremely hardcore or get out. From his perspective, righting Twitter\u2019s ship required working long, intense hours. In other words, Musk believes time in the trenches translates to great performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I disagree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve followed me for even a short period of time, you\u2019ll know this \u201call-in\u201d approach goes against everything I believe in. Expectations like Elon\u2019s perpetuate dated, unwritten hierarchy rules, positioning employees as indentured servants to executives. It also equates time spent in the office to commitment, which, as I wrote about here<\/a>, is just plain wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after Musk\u2019s memo, a photo of him holding court in Twitter\u2019s office at 1 a.m. went viral. Sure, business realities require odd hours from time to time. And of course, we\u2019d hope CEOs weather the occasional storm alongside their team. But as one Washington Post column<\/a> put it, \u201cTwitter is not a scrappy start-up operating out of someone\u2019s mom\u2019s garage with three employees and a minifridge of Red Bull. It is a well-established, 16-year-old tech company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not part of a leader\u2019s job description to ask employees to put the rest of their lives on hold, stir up anxiety or make threats. No company needs a Chief Fear Monger. In my experience, strong leaders are the exact opposite, guiding their team by creating a safe, supportive environment and inspiring action through clear, reasonable expectations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Redefining hardcore<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elon\u2019s not alone in his \u201chardcore\u201d expectation. The Musks, Bezoses and Jobses of history created dangerous corporate fairytales. As their intense leadership styles gained traction, young employees began to see unfair demands as a necessary evil while investors started to see \u201chardcore\u201d as a valuation point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But many of these executives built companies simply to make a splash. What if instead, leaders built mission-driven companies that prioritize their people? One such business leader here in Durham, North Carolina, comes to mind. Even though he\u2019s not a household name, Jim Goodnight, founder of Sas<\/a>, caught the attention of Google\u2019s founders when they started out. They had heard about Sas\u2019 culture driven by curiosity, innovation and authenticity, which led many employees to remain at the company for years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To me, Jim Goodnight\u2019s version is a healthier\u201chardcore\u201d \u2014 constantly pushing for better. Not in profit or growth, but to be an all-around better company. This approach doesn\u2019t require ultimatums or forcing people to stay at the office after hours. Leaders that encourage employees to buy into their mission and show up as their full selves don\u2019t need performative late-night meetings. They know this level of commitment is what moves the needle. Leaders can build these dedicated teams by practicing a new hardcore. Here\u2019s how:\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Champion the anti-hustle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not good enough to just reject hustle culture. You need to actively fight against it. Even at organizations that set up boundaries for balance, people still work late, work weekends and don\u2019t take advantage of benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders can\u2019t just say they\u2019re against unhealthy work habits. They need to help teams fight the urge to undo positive guardrails every day. This could mean reminding team members to avoid after-hour pings \u2014 it\u2019s not just unfair to them, it’s unfair to others. You can also include relationship-building opportunities in team meetings. Time together should be as much about connecting as it is about broadcasting information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees appreciate policies that encourage deeper connections and work-life balance, but for these changes to actually take hold, executives need to lead by example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Democratize innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most leaders\u2019 personalities inevitably shape the organization\u2019s vision, but this can be a trap. As the CEO, I may steer the boat, but I rely on others to help paddle it downstream. Organizations that hinge on just one person are dangerous \u2014 it takes a chorus of ideas to succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovative ideas can come from anywhere, you just need to make room for them. Think back to your first ever job. For me, I was 16 years old, working at McDonalds. Although I came up with lots of ways to improve the operation, without the opportunity to share them, the only person who heard my ideas was the kid next to me at the register. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not easy to capture every idea that emerges from your team. You have to be intentional and solicit them, which is what makes this a hardcore initiative. Not everyone feels comfortable volunteering, so you can\u2019t just wait for people to bring you fully formed ideas. You need to engage people often \u2014 and know when to shut up. I try to invite ideas and perspectives through recurring, agenda-free meetings with individuals or groups. Great ideas are out there \u2014 we just need to make room for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Fail often<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Status-quo corporate processes have a way of thwarting innovation. If you can\u2019t test new initiatives hard and fast, you\u2019re just wasting time. When an idea fits your vision, you need a stable environment that enables you to test its legitimacy before you put too many resources behind it. Otherwise, you\u2019re only incrementally improving with one-offs. To be hardcore, you need to constantly pursue innovation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Brooks Bell, we\u2019re devising a standard cycle that efficiently tests ideas with little risk. Our goal is to create a path that we can fly down, bringing new ideas, for our clients and our own business, into practice with greater confidence and speed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Establish \u201cwe\u2019re great\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Tribal Leadership<\/em>, Dave Logan, Halee Fischer-Wright, and John King discuss the five stages to assess, identify and upgrade organizational culture. I think about the fourth stage often: \u201cWe\u2019re great,\u201d or tribal pride. It\u2019s the belief that individuals cannot personally succeed unless the collective succeeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to stop at the previous stage, i.e., \u201cI\u2019m great,\u201d and reward star performers. But a group of lone rock stars is a culture reminiscent of the Hunger Games. Everyone competes with each other, taking accountability only for what\u2019s specifically assigned to them. However, accountability naturally occurs in cultures that reward the group. When employees feel like they\u2019re part of a larger movement, they\u2019re motivated to become better versions of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Brooks Bell, we establish tribal pride by creating well-rounded metrics for evaluation. It\u2019s not just about how many wins you have, it\u2019s also about your ability to function as a team player. We also award bonuses as a percentage based on business outcomes, not as individual handouts. If you say your company \u201cis in it together,\u201d your policies should reflect that. When they don\u2019t, employees notice.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Pursue real diversity <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diverse ideas come from a diverse team. Too often, organizations view diversity as a quota to fill. But it\u2019s not good enough to tout an executive team that represents a number of generations, races and gender identities. That\u2019s not diversity, it\u2019s demographics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diversity is a commitment to not just include, but celebrate different backgrounds, schools of thought and perspectives. It\u2019s the relationship between the ideas your team brings forth and your willingness to hear them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new hardcore relentlessly pursues diversity, going beyond table stakes policies like granting cultural holidays and adjusting language. As leaders, we can create a safe space for diversity of thought through willingness to discuss anything, even criticism. We can embrace diversity by not just welcoming new perspectives, but by responding with \u201ctell me more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growth is not everything<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listening to the Elons of the world, you\u2019d think success requires unhealthy demands. But by re-evaluating success and how you get there, we can start unraveling these hustle-glorifying myths.  The quest for growth itself is what enables these oligarchs. And its flashiness doesn\u2019t necessarily lead to success, as Musk sees resignations<\/a> and potential legal battles<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all enable these toxic leadership styles when we revere riches over progress and people. As we enter a new year, let\u2019s shift how we measure success, championing those who make good companies over those who make good headlines. I\u2019d argue the latter is a fast track to mayhem for employees, customers and stockholders. If each of us strives to be the Jim Goodnights of our industries, we can make \u201cthe new hardcore\u201d take hold \u2014 embracing a people-first culture that dethrones bad leadership once and for all. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Elon Musk took the reins at Twitter, he gave engineers an ultimatum: Be extremely hardcore or get out. From … Continue ReadingThe New Hardcore: Empathy Over Ultimatums<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_social_preview_title":"","wp_social_preview_description":"","wp_social_preview_image":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5788"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5790,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5788\/revisions\/5790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}