You’ll Never Make It If You Fake It

Author: Garrett Kelly - Founder and Managing Partner of NextStep Advisory and Consulting

The Art of Operations and Creating a Culture of Value?

Most of us have probably heard the expression, “hurt people hurt people.” I’d like to spend this post convincing you that the opposite is also true. In personal relationships, “loved people love people.” In business, “people who feel valued deliver value.” Thus, I contend that the art of operations is synonymous with creating a culture of value, and I believe this is best accomplished through servant leadership and a deep understanding of what drives and motivates people.?

The Balancing Act of Running a Business?

Running a business is part science, part art. The science consists of strategy and numbers. The art consists of communication and leadership. When a business takes both equally seriously, a healthy culture of engagement, productivity, and success can sustainably flourish. In my time helping startups scale as a strategy and operations consultant, I’ve found that it’s not uncommon for founders to forgo the art in favor of science. This shouldn’t be all that surprising, as we tend to gravitate toward what’s easier to understand. It’s easier to let cold facts drive incremental progress. What’s much harder is understanding how to motivate and inspire a litany of different stakeholders, all with different values and expectations—let alone translate that understanding into effective communication. The problem many run into is that driving monetization often isn’t sustainable without engaged and productive teams.

Make no mistake: at the beginning of a startup’s journey, the priority is science, and it should be. To secure Seed or Series A funding, founders need to prove product-market fit by, well, going to market. When implementing a go-to-market strategy, they will experiment with different customer acquisition channels, double down on the investments that most efficiently convert paying customers, and ax the ones that don’t produce results. Running experiments, tracking metrics, analyzing performance, and leveraging insights to drive quick decisions is the name of the game.?

The art comes into play when considering a prospective customer’s needs and wants. It’s also incredibly important once a company starts scaling and more employees get involved. For example, after a lead enters the sales pipeline, it then becomes the goal of the sales team to qualify them and convert them to a paying customer. A sales team’s ability to convert is directly linked to their ability to clearly articulate value and build trust. In my experience, the things that most effectively drive trust—in both customers and employees—aren’t numbers-based. I’m talking about things like clarity, transparency, authenticity, reliability, understanding the other person’s needs, and genuinely caring about their experience.?

Where do the sales reps learn how to display these qualities? What motivates them to deliver their best work? What inspires them to be top performers? How do leaders hold teams accountable while maintaining trust and psychological safety? Do the reps feel valued themselves? All behaviors are learned, but what makes them stick and become habits? How can a company create behavior changes that permeate across a business to create a culture of productivity and engagement??

Answering these questions, particularly the last one, is the secret sauce to any successful business. Even if you have the best strategy and operating system in the world, it will be a hollow endeavor if you don’t have engaged teams delivering their best work for your company’s mission, customers, and bottom line. And while there is a science to behavior change, how we communicate, build trust, and forge positive relationships is absolutely an art, and it’s not something you can fake.?

I say all this based on lessons I learned the hard way, during my journey from an individual contributor to the global head of a 500-person global operations team at Airbnb.?

Lessons in Leadership: It’s Not About You, and It Never Was?

When I first started as a people manager, I used to be so focused on driving results and outcomes that I had a blind spot when it came to the experiences of my peers and direct reports. I was often more of a drill sergeant than a mentor or motivator. Those who worked like I did thrived, but those who didn’t, or who needed extra support and compassion, struggled. Even though we were able to deliver both quality and volume of work, I started getting feedback that some people felt like I didn’t care about their experiences or input. Some felt that, rather than delegating or trusting them, I would rather double down and go it alone to make sure a project was successful or that we reached a certain outcome. Their perception was that I cared more about my own personal success than about their experience and growth.?

I received this feedback after I had been managing teams and projects for about a year. It hit me hard, because in my mind, I was just trying to help them, the team, and the business be successful, and I was exhausting myself in the process. I would say yes to anything that was asked of me, sacrificing nearly all of my time and energy. It felt like others didn’t appreciate the commitment I had been pouring in. But perspective is reality in the eyes of the beholder. The fact that even a few people felt that way meant I was failing them as their manager.

It was around this point, circa 2018, that I went on sabbatical for a few months. I traveled and surfed all over the world. My travels took me to Bali, Australia, New Zealand, and Oaxaca. It took nearly six weeks for the daily stress and constant influx of stimulus and expectations to fall off my shoulders. Once it did, and my mind was finally able to relax, I was ready to reflect on my relationship with my work and colleagues and have a blunt and honest conversation with myself. While I was sitting on a beach in Oaxaca, the following questions began to flow through my mind:

• What motivates me to work so hard? To what end??
• Who is it for, and why is that important to me?
• What does this say about what I value? About what I believe about myself? About what I believe about others??
• If other people’s perception is their reality, their truth, then I have to accept their experience as truth as well. What am I willing to sacrifice in order to evolve into the peer and manager they need???
• What does the best version of me look like??
• What should my North Star value be moving forward??

As I was reflecting on these questions, I had one of the biggest ah-ha moments of my life. It was like I was seeing something I had been utterly blind to before, realizing that what I had told myself for so long was a lie.

What I realized was that I had been making my work experience perpetually about me. My sacrifice. My commitment. My struggle. I was Sysiphus, perpetually pushing that boulder up that damn hill, taking on task after task but never getting ahead of the work. I had told myself I was doing this purely in the name of the team’s success, but I realized I was also doing it to receive more recognition, promotions, pay, and satisfaction. I wanted to get out of entry-level work and middle management. I was motivated by a competitive chip on my shoulder that made me feel like I had to constantly prove myself, to show that I could be the best at anything I put my mind to.??

That realization made my stomach churn. Most of what drove me wasn’t inherently bad, and I wasn’t undermining people or putting them down to prop myself up. But I wasn’t doing enough to consider their experience or lift them up either. Instead of listening to understand, I would push solutions. Instead of being empathetic, I would see excuses and try to make them push through. Instead of lifting others up, I would double down and go it alone.?

Once I accepted this about myself, I knew exactly what I needed to do, and I was filled with one of the most empowering feelings of conviction I’d ever experienced. I was fully committed that from then on, I would pivot my focus from the destination to the journey. I had accomplished enough for myself. It was time I helped others accomplish what they needed to in order to achieve their goals. Their success would be my success. In the words of moral philosopher Immanuel Kant (who inspired the evolution of my own philosophy quite a bit) I would try my best to “never treat anyone else like a means to an end, but as an end unto themselves.”?

Naturally, this meant completely overhauling my approach. If I was busy focusing on a task and someone walked up to my desk, I would close my computer and give them my full and undivided attention. I would schedule regular office hours once or twice a week so people could come ask me anything. I signed up for Airbnb’s mentor program and became one of the company’s first mentors. I would walk the floor of the office to check in on people and ask how they were doing. If anyone had a question or needed support, I would always close the loop. Before we moved forward with solutions, I would rally the troops and run workshops to get their feedback. If I was running a large project team, I would make sure assignments and roles were clear, trust people to be experts in their respective fields, and do their jobs the way they thought they should be done. If I didn’t agree, instead of trying to “fix” things, I would ask questions to drive engagement. I would always be honest with people, even if the answer wasn’t what they wanted to hear. I would deliver feedback honestly, objectively, with compassion, and with an offer of support.?

What followed was the most transformational experience of my career. Not only did the feedback I had been getting reverse completely, but the culture of the team became even more engaged and productive. No one was quitting, and more people were applying to join the team than ever before. People from the Safety team were promoted into new roles and departments at a higher rate than from any other operations team. We had a unified squad of capable and intelligent performers who took initiative, weren’t afraid to make mistakes, and knew they had the trust and autonomy to get creative and think outside the box. I can’t take credit for all of this, of course—we were really good at hiring A+ people—but by prioritizing the journey and experiences of others, we rallied together and accomplished more in two years than we had in the previous four years combined.?

Through this experience and many more since, I’ve identified five primary drivers that I believe contribute the most to a culture of engagement and performance.?

The 5 Drivers of High-Performing Teams

1. Clarity?
2. Autonomy
3. Growth?
4. Recognition
5. Community?

These are listed in numerical order by design because I believe they are directionally dependent on one another. Clarity gives people the confidence to act with autonomy. Autonomy paves the way for growth. Growth provides a foundation for accomplishment and recognition. Once the first four permeate through the organization, the bonds of a healthy community are able to grow more easily. It’s also critically important that employees feel these drivers come from a place of care. Remember, if you fake it, they’ll know it, and you’ll never make it.?

Below is a deeper look at the defining characteristics of each driver, how I recommend implementing them, and the impact they can have when done well.

Clarity, of…

• Vision and mission, so everyone is aligned and motivated to achieve an inspiring future?
• Values, so there’s a guide for employees to deliver consistently accurate decisions, actions, and experiences
• Goals, so teams effectively prioritize and know what they’ll be held accountable to?
• Impact, so teams know what success looks like
• Roles, so everyone knows what they’re responsible for?
• Purpose, so people understand why their work is important?

Autonomy, by…??

• Encouraging a sense of individual ownership over one’s work and performance
• Making sure employees give input and have influence in shaping the organization
• Treating mistakes as learning opportunities?
• Prioritizing opportunities for creativity and innovation?
• Giving employees access to the training and resources they need to be successful?

Growth, where…?

• Employees have regular opportunities to learn new skills
• Employees are able to grow with the organization because they’re developed and encouraged to pursue a range of roles, levels, and paths?
• Managers are coached to lead and support from behind, rather than direct from in front?
• Individuals know that accountability comes from a place of care, equity, and fairness?
• Barriers to coordination, cooperation, and collaboration are removed

Recognition, so employees…?

• Feel seen, heard, and valued?
• See that the standards for performance and behavior are reinforced and celebrated
• Are incentivized to deliver their best work?
• Gain a sense of fulfillment from their achievements

Community, so everyone…?

• Feels a sense of belonging within the company’s culture?
• Has an opportunity to build personal connections with their colleagues?
• Can experience values alignment?
• Feels psychologically safe and accepted for who they are

Creating an environment that incorporates all of the above isn’t easy. However, through the combination of servant leadership and thoughtful people programming, it’s possible to make it real.

The Most Important Step Is the Next One?

When I talk to founders about how to build a culture of value through productive and engaged teams, they often want tangible examples of actions they can immediately take. If you’re looking to make this change, I recommend starting by providing as much clarity as you can. I also recommend committing to regular transparency, integrating core values into hiring and review cycles, dedicating resources to recognition programs, developing performance management standards, and prioritizing social events that bring people together. At the micro level, you’re giving clear guidelines about what each employee’s responsibilities are and what success looks like in their role. This forms the foundation of accountability and performance. At the macro scale, you’re creating a sense of trust and community while attaching values to your company’s culture, building a foundation of cohesion and alignment.?

While taking these steps can help you promote a culture of value, just implementing them isn’t enough. These programs are just a decal over a deeper science of human behavior. The key is knowing why these actions work, what values they communicate and inspire, and why they are effective in fostering productivity and engagement. It’s the science of human nature and the art of influencing it for the betterment of your company—and your employees’ well-being. If you invest in these drivers and your employees believe that they’re valued, then they'll be motivated to deliver value in turn. This is the art of operations, and how a self-sustaining culture of high-performing and engaged teams is born.?

TL;DR: People who feel valued deliver value. Creating a culture of valued employees is best accomplished through servant leadership and a deep understanding of what drives and motivates people. These five drivers are clarity, autonomy, growth, recognition, and community. Creating an environment where employees believe that they’re empowered by these drivers means you’ve mastered the art of operations.?

Tell us: What personal transformations have you experienced that made you a better leader? What impact did that have on your teams? Are there any drivers of engagement that I missed??

Garrett Kelly is a managing partner of NextStep Advisory and Consulting. He and his partner Ha Nguyen have over three decades of experience building and investing in fast-growing venture-backed startups. They’re now combining their knowledge and expertise to support the next generation of early-stage founders, helping them take the NextStep to becoming master operators, company builders, and people leaders. If you’re a founder or executive struggling to set strategy, hit targets, or align your teams around performance and outcomes, please email us at [email protected]. We’d love to talk with you about some of the challenges you and your teams are facing and see how we can help!