What Peloton’s Ally Love can teach all of us about leadership right now

This is Working Together, a weekly series on the changing face of U.S. business. We're off next week for July 4th and I'll see you back here the following week.

It’s 8 a.m. on a Tuesday and I’m crying, alone, in my bedroom, pedaling on a Peloton bike. Ally Love, one of Peloton’s top instructors, is crying too. 

Through a digital touchpad, the dancer/host/fitness instructor is encouraging me — and thousands of other riders who join her live and on demand — to push ourselves. “Without tribulation and trials, you can’t call yourself a boss,” she says, dabbing the sweat from her brow. 

But Love’s goals go well beyond the bike: She wants her students to reconsider how they show up, at work and at home. 

“I keep telling people to be real. Bring your authentic self to work. If you have to cry at work, if your kid's going through something and you get emotional, you have to do that,” she told me. “Your whole self at work makes the company better. Your whole self at home makes your family better. So you don't want to just bring a subset, a part of you somewhere. And so I do the exact same thing on that bike. I wipe those tears and I keep going.” 

I sat down with Love before the pandemic turned the economy on its head. But her insights on leadership and motivation resonate more than ever. The coronavirus has forced business executives to rethink how they run their companies and talk with their employees. Now, countless CEOs are emphasizing the importance of vulnerable leadership, the idea that real leaders aren’t afraid to share their emotions at work.

Love’s ability to show strength — and compassion — while she leads countless people through a workout can teach us all a lot. 

You can watch our conversation above.

Here are some highlights… 

On her childhood: “Growing up, I got hit by a car when I was nine years old, broke my left femur. I was in the hospital for seven days. And in that moment I didn't want to be... Well, prior to that moment, I didn't have an ambition like, I wanted to be this. But after that experience, I decided that I wanted to be a dancer. I wanted to use my body that had gone through such a traumatic situation. I wanted to position myself to use my body, to encourage people to be joyous, or to be grateful for the fact that they can move.”

On having the courage to be herself: I had many areas of my life of hosting, of modeling, of dancing, of helping, wanting to do philanthropic work. And I was like, ‘Where does this all, you know, fit in?’ And so I decided instead of trying to fit in, I was going to continue standing out and create a career and I'd say kind of a part of this slash generation. It was a result of a slash generation where I can be this, slash this, slash that, and continue to pursue it and do it really well.” 

On not taking time for granted: “Instead of just being alive, make sure you get out there and live your life, because you don't know what's going to happen in the next second minute, hour, next day, next year. And so I've always really held that close to my heart in terms of how I navigate my career, what I want to do, how I spend my time, who I spend my time with, and I say that, ‘I'm going to get out there and do it. If I'm scared of it, I'm going first.’”

On not fearing ‘no’: “As a dancer, you experience ‘no’ so much that it becomes so common and a part of your vocabulary that ... it doesn't dictate your self worth. It's just, ‘Okay, this isn't a right fit for me right now. I'm not what they're looking for right now.’ And so, because I had that experience of hearing ‘no’ quite often, it puts me in the position of like, ‘Okay, I'm going to go out there, I'm going to give it my best. If ‘no’ is the answer, then that's the right answer.’ And in most situations, it works out.”

On facing failure: “The reason why I am positive … is I understand the lows. I know what it feels like to be at the bottom, because some days I feel like I'm at the bottom or the ‘no’ comes in and you feel like, ‘Oh, I'm a little defeated.’ So, because I'm familiar with defeat and it is a part of my weekly routine or my monthly routine, makes me that much better in terms of turning it around the next hour, the next day, the next week, the next month, there's no rush. But turning it around and really opting in to say, ‘You know what, it's looking down right now, but looking up is still an option and so I'm going to go that route.’”

What’s Working

Remotely diverse. With Pride month celebrated against the backdrop of protests against police brutality and a pandemic, companies must be even more diligent to support diverse employees at this time. GLG’s Richard Socarides shares how to do that — including giving more stage time to your employees themselves — in an all remote world. [Fortune] 

This time will be different. After the #MeToo movement came and went, little changed in the tech industry when it comes to diversity. Tech industry veteran Maelle Gavet shares why she thinks this time will be different. “Companies need to look beyond tweaking their recruitment process and start fundamentally questioning how they define what a good job candidate is,” she writes. [Fast Company] 

What’s Not

The dominance of the (typically White) male expert. When it comes to coverage of the COVID-19 crisis, female experts are missing from most discussions. “But if you’re not hearing women’s voices, you’re not getting the best science or representing science as it actually is,” said Caroline Buckee, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. [Nieman Lab]

Who’s Pushing Us Forward