Uber's New CEO Teaches a Lesson in Emotional Intelligence

If you haven't yet heard, Uber recently appointed a new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, (who previously served as the Chief Executive at Expedia), who has received a lot of praise for an email he sent out to his staff last week regarding London's decision not to renew Uber's license to operate in the city.

You can read more about the email via this article from INC. here.

As stated in the article from INC., I believe Dara's email demonstrates the need to put your ego aside, self-reflect, and admit where the company (or you, personally) have failed.

I'm specifically referring to this excerpt from the email:

"While the impulse may be to say that this is unfair, one of the lessons I've learned over time is that change comes from self-reflection. So it's worth examining how we got here. The truth is that there is a high cost to a bad reputation. Irrespective of whether we did everything that is being said about us in London today (and to be clear, I don't think we did), it really matters what people think of us, especially in a global business like ours, where actions in one part of the world can have serious consequences in another."

In this specific section of his email, Khosrowshahi expressed his stance on London's decision while demonstrating the importance of being open to negative feedback, as failure allows leaders to identify holes in their organization and pivot for future success. Instead of attacking London officials for their decision, Dara identified the opportunity to address Uber's past, and change the focus to the future of Uber and how they can prevent this from happening again.

I also think this email speaks to the importance of maintaining company culture and ensuring the entirety of your staff remains on the same page. Although my company, Go By Truck, is a small organization, I constantly strive to keep my team united around the same goals so we are operating as a single, forceful unit. Regardless of the size of your business, you simply cannot achieve long-term goals with a team of people who are not aligned with your mission.

You can learn more about my company at www.GoByTruck.com.