Dear Founder,
You can feel energy in rooms. It’s palpable. It radiates. When teams are energized, everything seems possible to achieve.
On your best days, your people feel how the Denver Broncos felt after the Super Bowl or how the Warriors felt after winning the NBA championship. On a scale of one to ten, they feel like a ten. But reducing the workforce by half or cutting everyone’s pay makes them feel pretty different. That’s a one.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably having a lot more ‘one’ days than ‘ten’ days. I’m sorry that the spirit seems to be gone from your team. There’s nothing worse than feeling an energy gap among your people.
Here’s the truth: it’s up to you as the leader to set the tone for what energy is expected. You have to set that example and exude that kind of energy.
A few tips to get your team more energized and enjoy better days ahead:
- First calibrate where you are. What’s the highest energy level your team has ever had? Have you had a ‘ten’ day? What’s an average day like? What’s today?
- Celebrate the wins that exist. Do fun things with your team. Take a break to treat your team to a movie, or do some charity work together. It can be simple: at LiveOps we had random Nerf arrow attacks and paper airplane contests; at AdMob and Everwise, the sales team rang a gong when a big deal was done. It’s especially important to do this when times are hard. When I first joined eBay, nothing was working. Nine days after I started we did a free listing day, where normal fees were lifted for 24 hours. The community loved it—they stayed up all night posting listings and this sparked such an increase in volume in one day that it put us a year ahead on volume projections. While this was a great marketing ploy for the company, it was a nightmare for the people running the system. We worked tirelessly, made it through the capacity problems, and then shared a collective sigh of relief. We had a parade to thank everyone, and this activity turned the relief into positive energy.
- Honor special occasions. Welcome everyone and celebrate every new hire. Acknowledge special occasions such as anniversary dates. IBM used to give a gold watch to celebrate 25 years with the company, but most people don’t stay so long anymore. You don’t have to wait 25 years! You can celebrate every year—and other milestone anniversaries—in small ways by recognizing people’s achievements in all-hands meetings or writing them thank you notes.
- Treat setbacks as learning experiences. If there are problems, address them candidly and openly. Let people ask questions and then enlist their support to fix things.
- Personally model the enthusiasm—even when it’s hard. At eBay, some days were hard and even without saying a word, people could tell that I was troubled by something. They got worried and asked what was wrong. I would say, “Wow, just because I wasn’t smiling you think I’m angry, or someone is in trouble.” But I had to accept that my actions were leading them to worry. I had to maintain more of a sense of calm, even in an urgent situation. I learned that from Meg’s leadership. She made me laugh every day, and these interactions helped me to get through the clutter. As a leader, you need to model courage, candor, and resolve.
- Spend time engaging with people. Say hello to them in the morning and goodbye at night. Be approachable. Ask about their families and show them you care about things other than them getting their work done. When they miss work because their baby is sick, ask about how the child is doing when they come back. Also, enable your teams to enjoy and get to know each other. One great and very simple way to do this is through team lunches and dinners.
- Extend inclusion beyond your employees. It’s important to include the families. People work hard and their families miss them when they’re away—you need their support too. Include them in special events. At eBay, Meg took every vice president and above away for a weekend with their families. This resonated greatly with employees and their spouses.
I’m sorry that your team isn’t energized. When things are tough, it’s time for leadership to be more present and to demonstrate how to get through this bump to better days ahead. Step up into this role and don’t let the team bring you down—you need to lead them to greatness!
All the best,
Maynard