Let me tell you this crazy story back in my corporate world job days...
(Be sure to read my last blog How would you define leadership? here).
At A Glance
∎ A crazy story when I worked in the office downtown
∎ Key takeaways - do we need bad things to inspire positive change?
∎ Work Culture pro tips
You'll Never Believe What Happened...
Everyday I would dread when the afternoon huddle came about, debating on if I was going to actually say anything or mouth the words silently like I was lip syncing.
The thing was you didn't want to be called out for not being part of the group. As I write this now, a dragonfly hovers outside my window and a plane's wings catch the sun and flash a bright spot of light.
It's such a contrast to the dudebro environment at my job at this marketing company.
The office building was located off Congress in downtown Austin, Texas so you could easily walk to a hip lunch joint and grab a bite to eat while people watching suites and ties, the homeless, college students, interns, bike messengers, musicians playing brunch gigs or fellow office workers.
I was late coming back from lunch one day and the CEO Luke, a very white dude bro singled me out as soon as I stepped off the elevator. The afternoon huddle had begun.
Luke told me in front of everyone that to go back to work I had to do 25 push ups in front of everyone. There were about 30 people standing in the office.
I got down on the floor and did the pushups.
30 voices chanted in unison, counting the pushups as I did them, each time I came up I heard their voices chant the number until I reached the 25th pushup.
Walking out the glass double doors of that skyscraper on my last day there felt so good. I made a promise to myself to never work in that type of environment again.
I don't mind a little bit of the competitive spirit but this wasn't that.
When you're running a company, one of the most important assets you have is company culture. It's what motivates you and those you work with to go above and beyond just the bare
Let me assure you - there wasn't a lot of greatness achieved at Main Street Hub. It was a toxic place to work on many levels. The positive takeaway is that this experience is informative on how not to be.
From Rat Race to Ship Captain...What Does It Take?
I worked at a few more jobs, including Facebook before I started my firm but it begs the question:
Do we really need bad work environments to spurn industry disruptors and innovation in the startup world?
I can't answer that question definitively as I don't have a magic crystal ball that would show me the alternate life path if many of the jobs I worked at didn't have such terrible work ethics I never wanted to work at a day job again.
Clearly, it doesn't affect everyone the same way as well.
Some stay in a bad situation for years at a job they tolerate, just barely, because risking starting something new seems to be too much to do.
Whether it's a new job or venturing into entrepreneurship many are frozen accepting emotional abuse on a daily basis because we are trained to get a safe job and stick with it.
But there is a movement now, to invest in ourselves and our dreams.
- being your own boss isn't such a far away concept as it used to be.
What happens though, if you become a boss, scale your company as big as some of the jobs you used to work for, and make so many of the same mistakes with soft skills that you are now doing to employees what was once done to you?
Paulo Freire wrote in Pedagogy of the Oppressed that often what happens is the oppressed rise up to become the oppressor in a vicious cycle and we have to create a 3rd role of stepping outside this binary cycle to achieve freedom.
Social Impact Starts At Home
I think that's what motivates many of us in the entrepreneur world to not just start a business but start something special for our communities that gives back.
We seek to rise above hell with fluorescent lighting and cubicles to do something more. To be independent. Not just chase a dream but live it.
The increased connectedness of the internet facilitates good ideas making a greater impact.
In 2021, challenges that once felt hyperlocal are being discussed on national and global levels.
Issues like financial literacy in underserved populations, access to clean water, education for women and girls, and environmental conservation are just a few of the problems that social impact companies are attempting to tackle. [Source: Causelabs]
The increase in social impact organizations means that the people working to solve these challenges have more resources than ever before.
But no matter how grandiose the company mission is - we must take care of those at home first.
Ensuring there is good communication with healthy company culture, lateral leadership approaches to management and intrinsic motivation for projects is how to help ensure success. And employee retention. Don't be Luke at Main Street Hub.
Be someone that inspires, who is curious about new perspectives and genuinely appreciates other people.
This is a good recipe for creating friendships that last, better social networks as well as professional relationships.
If you aspire as an entrepreneur that makes a difference in the world, you'll benefit from developing relational capital not just financial capital, as you never know what opportunities come a-knocking from who you know.
When you build a positive work culture your employees become brand ambassadors once they believe in what you're doing.
That's better than cracking the whip.
What needs to change in the workplace? Comment below!
Check out my hip hop podcast From The Jump
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