Category: culture

Excited by the process

FabrizioLeave a comment

The world is full with emails that lay out brilliant plans.

And it is full (though admittedly less so) with excited replies to those emails, expressing a convinced “I am in!”.

But the difference is in what comes after that.

Some people are excited by the process of getting things done, bringing the team together, convincing the skeptics, repeating the details over and over again, changing their minds, changing other people’s minds, navigating the ups and downs, waking up to failure, presenting in front of a crowd, putting in the work.

Some people are excited by the idea and see all of the above as an insurmountable obstacle.

You are probably part of one group or the other depending on circumstances. Just be aware that it is a choice you can make, an attitude you can change.

Fitting in

FabrizioLeave a comment

The problem with fit is that it tends to average.

And the even bigger problem for you is that it prevents you from being you.

When you try to fit – by using a jargon that everyone else is using, by going through a career trajectory that everybody can recognize, by telling a story that everyone feels comfortable with – you essentially hide your differences for the sake of harmony. It is normal to want to do that, even advisable in some instances.

But what happens once you are in, feel at ease, and attempt to express that part you hid? Here is a strong risk of a life of misery.

There are two things you can do to mitigate that.

First, you have to be selective with the groups you want to be part of. Not all groups are worth fitting in – which is, again, essentially losing a little part of you. Some groups are more open to differences than others – which means having to hide less, or nothing.

Second, you need to work on your story in a way that eases you into fitting in (the groups you selected). You own your story, you choose what to tell about, how to tell about it, and by making your story an expression of yourself, you signal to the group who you are and what they can expect from you.

Zero-sum

FabrizioLeave a comment

If you want people in your team to truly work as a team, help each other, keep each other accountable, and achieve common goals, then stop leveraging your position of power to get things done.

When you do that, people will think that the only way for them to get ahead is to take from their peers.

Dominance does not set a good example.

Patagonia

FabrizioLeave a comment

Imagine approaching your team with the suggestion that this year, for Black Friday, you could dedicate your site’s home page to a message of social responsibility.

Imagine suggesting that the headline could stick to the version your team crafted after months of customer research, rather than make space for the latest look-at-me PR sensation.

Imagine recommending to continue with something that has been planned for months, rather than replacing it all with some shiny hack that will boost one of the vanity metrics.

They would look at you and think you are crazy.

Unless you work at Patagonia.

Promotion

FabrizioLeave a comment

There are two ways organizations promote employees.

One is by tenure. The employee has been in one role for long enough that they kind of outgrew it. The promotion is often formal and comes at the end of a process. It is about dues and achievement.

The other is by stretch. The employee is given enough space that they can grow into it. The promotion is often informal and comes at the beginning of a process. It is about responsibility and potential.

The way your organization does this has much to do with whether the general belief is that trust should be earned or that trust should be given. And it says a lot about many other aspects of the culture.