Nine Lies About Work

1. People care which team they're on, not which company they work for

The team is the sun, the moon, and the stars of your experience at work.

Team experience matters most. Research shows that engagement and performance vary more within companies than between them. While companies focus on creating a uniform culture, the reality is that an employee's experience is primarily shaped by their immediate team.

Teams drive retention. People leave teams, not companies. At Cisco, when someone's experience of their team moves from the top half to the bottom half company-wide, their likelihood of leaving increases by 45%. This highlights the critical importance of team dynamics and leadership in retaining talent.

Team leaders are key. The most powerful predictor of engagement is each team member's sense that "I have the chance to use my strengths every day at work." Team leaders who can identify and leverage individual strengths, while fostering a sense of shared purpose and trust, create the most engaging team environments.

2. Intelligence systems trump planning in fast-paced environments

It's far better to coordinate your team's efforts in real time, relying heavily on the informed, detailed intelligence of each unique team member.

Real-time intelligence is crucial. In today's rapidly changing world, static plans quickly become obsolete. Effective leaders create systems that gather and distribute real-time information, enabling teams to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

Empower front-line decision-making. Leaders should focus on providing context and information, rather than top-down commands. This allows team members with the most relevant and up-to-date knowledge to make informed decisions.

Frequent check-ins are key. Regular, brief check-ins between team leaders and members (ideally weekly) are more effective than infrequent, lengthy reviews. These check-ins should focus on:

• Current priorities
• Obstacles and potential solutions
• How the leader can help

3. Cascading meaning, not goals, creates alignment and motivation

The best companies don't cascade goals; the best companies cascade meaning.

Meaning motivates. While traditional goal-setting approaches often fail to inspire, a shared sense of purpose and values can powerfully align and motivate teams. Leaders should focus on communicating the "why" behind the work, not just the "what" or "how."

Three levers for cascading meaning:

1. Expressed values: What you visibly demonstrate and celebrate
2. Rituals: Recurring practices that reinforce core values
3. Stories: Narratives that illustrate and reinforce what matters most

Allow for individual goal-setting. Instead of imposing top-down goals, empower team members to set their own objectives that align with the broader purpose. This approach respects individual strengths and motivations while maintaining overall alignment.

4. The best people are spiky, not well-rounded

Excellence in the real world, in every profession, is idiosyncratic.

Embrace uniqueness. Top performers excel by leveraging their distinctive strengths, not by achieving uniform competence across all areas. Organizations should focus on identifying and amplifying individual strengths rather than trying to create well-rounded employees.

Rethink competency models. Traditional competency models often fail to capture the uniqueness of top performers. Instead of trying to fit people into predetermined molds, focus on:

• Identifying each person's unique strengths
• Finding ways to apply those strengths to achieve desired outcomes
• Creating diverse teams that leverage complementary strengths

Cultivate spikes. Encourage team members to develop their distinctive abilities further, rather than focusing primarily on addressing weaknesses. This approach leads to higher engagement, performance, and innovation.

5. Attention, not feedback, drives performance and growth

People don't need feedback. They need attention, and moreover, attention to what they do the best.

Positive attention is powerful. Research shows that focusing on strengths is 30 times more engaging than focusing on weaknesses. Positive attention stimulates growth, creativity, and resilience.

Replaying "winning plays": Effective leaders:

• Actively look for moments when team members excel
• Describe specific observed behaviors and their impact
• Help team members recognize and replicate their best work

Rethink development conversations. Instead of focusing on fixing weaknesses, help team members:

1. Identify what's working well currently
2. Recall past successes in similar situations
3. Envision future actions that build on their strengths

6. People can reliably rate their own experience, not others'

Although we are not reliable raters of others, people can reliably rate their own experience.

Beware of rating biases. Research shows that when people rate others on abstract qualities or competencies, over 50% of the variation in ratings is explained by the rater's own rating patterns, not the person being rated.

Focus on self-reported experiences. Instead of asking people to rate others, ask them about their own experiences and intentions. For example:

• "Do you turn to this team member when you want extraordinary results?"
• "Do you choose to work with this team member as much as you possibly can?"
• "Would you promote this person today if you could?"

Use reliable data for decision-making. When evaluating performance or potential, rely on data that captures concrete experiences and outcomes, rather than subjective ratings of abstract qualities.

7. Individuals have momentum, not fixed potential

It's not true—or, indeed, useful—to think that people have potential. Instead, the truth is that people have momentum.

Rethink "high potential" programs. The concept of fixed potential is flawed and can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. Instead, focus on each person's current trajectory and how to accelerate it.

Consider momentum: Evaluate team members based on:

• Mass: Their inherent traits, interests, and aspirations
• Velocity: Their measurable skills, experiences, and achievements

Foster growth conversations. Instead of labeling people as high or low potential, have ongoing discussions about:

• Current strengths and interests
• Recent accomplishments and learnings
• Desired future directions and skill development

8. Love-in-work matters more than work-life balance

Love-in-work is less of a mouthful than eudaimonia, for sure, but it might also sound soft, idealistic, and far removed from the real-world pragmatism of the freethinking leader. If it does, then bear with us. Because love—specifically, the skill of finding love in what you do, rather than simply "doing what you love"—leads us directly to a place that is the epitome of pragmatism.

Pursue love-in-work. Instead of striving for an elusive work-life balance, focus on finding aspects of work that bring joy, flow, and fulfillment. This approach leads to greater resilience, creativity, and overall well-being.

Identify "red threads". Encourage team members to recognize activities that:

• They actively look forward to
• Cause time to fly by when engaged in them
• Leave them feeling energized afterward

Weave purposefully. Help team members intentionally incorporate more "red thread" activities into their roles. This may involve:

• Redesigning job responsibilities
• Collaborating differently with teammates
• Taking on new projects that align with passions

9. We follow leaders with distinctive strengths, not well-rounded qualities

We follow spikes.

Leadership is not a uniform set of traits. Effective leaders come in many forms, each with their own distinctive strengths or "spikes." These pronounced abilities inspire confidence and attract followers.

Cultivate your unique leadership style. Instead of trying to conform to a generic leadership model, focus on:

• Identifying your natural strengths and passions
• Refining your distinctive abilities
• Applying your "spikes" to create value and inspire others

Create followership experiences. While leadership styles vary, all effective leaders create certain feelings in their followers, including:

• Connection to a meaningful mission
• Clarity of expectations
• Opportunity to use individual strengths
• Confidence in the future

Focus on cultivating these experiences in your team members, leveraging your unique strengths and approach.

Last updated: January 22, 2025