Would You Want to Work for You?

Managers spend an enormous amount of time evaluating other people. We evaluate performance, communication, attitude, initiative, potential, accountability, and whether someone is contributing to the kind of culture we're trying to create. That's part of the job.

But there's an evaluation managers don't conduct nearly as often: Would you want to work for you?

It's an uncomfortable question because we naturally answer it from our own perspective. We know our intentions. We remember the times we went out of our way to help someone. We know how much pressure we're under and how much we care about the team. Our employees don't experience our intentions, though. They experience our leadership.

They experience what happens when they make a mistake. They notice how we respond when someone disagrees with us. They learn whether bringing us bad news leads to a productive conversation or an unpleasant afternoon. They know whether great work gets noticed, whether poor performance is allowed to linger, and whether talented people are given room to grow.

That's why two teams inside the same organization can feel like completely different places to work. They can have the same CEO, benefits, employee handbook, values, and company mission and still create dramatically different employee experiences.

The difference is often the manager.

Culture Is Closer Than We Think

Daniel Coyle explored extraordinary teams in The Culture Code, studying organizations ranging from Pixar to the San Antonio Spurs. He eventually organized much of what he observed around three ideas: build safety, share vulnerability, and establish purpose.

What I like about those ideas is how ordinary they become when translated into daily management. Can someone disagree with you? Can an employee admit a mistake? Can you admit one? Can people ask for help without feeling weak? Do they understand what the team is trying to accomplish and why their work matters?

Those interactions create culture far more directly than the values printed on the wall.

Gregg Popovich, the longtime coach of the San Antonio Spurs, is an especially interesting example. Coyle found that Popovich invested deeply in relationships with his players. He knew about their lives, created opportunities for people to connect outside basketball, and repeatedly communicated that they mattered as people. Then he coached them hard.

There's an important lesson there. Creating a team people want to join doesn't mean creating an easy team. Talented people often want high standards. They want teammates who follow through. They want honest feedback. They want to improve. What they don't want is to work in an environment where standards are arbitrary, trust is low, politics are high, or the manager doesn't seem invested in them.

Turn the Evaluation Around

Patrick Lencioni describes the ideal team player as humble, hungry, and smart. Those are useful characteristics when thinking about whom we'd like to hire. But turn the question around: Would humble, hungry, smart people want to work for you?

A hungry employee wants to grow. Are you creating opportunities for that growth? A humble employee probably doesn't want a manager who needs all the credit. A people-smart employee will recognize favoritism, distrust, politics, or dysfunction very quickly.

Great employees aren't only asking whether they can succeed on your team. They're deciding whether your team deserves their best work.

So here's an exercise worth trying. Imagine you know everything you currently know about your team, but you don't work there. Would you apply for an opening? If you received an offer, would you accept it? Would you recommend the manager to someone you care about? Would you believe you're likely to become better by working there?

Don't answer as the manager you hope you are. Answer as someone who has watched you lead for the last year.

If one of your answers makes you uncomfortable, don't ignore it. That's useful information. You've just identified a part of your leadership worth improving.

Managers spend plenty of time asking how to attract, engage, and retain talented people. Occasionally, we should ask the question from the other side of the table.

Would you want to work for you?