Sync or Sink

Dear Corporate Friend,

Today I attended one of my regular indoor cycling classes and it got me thinking...

The wheels of the bike were spinning and so was my brain. I carefully observed how all CEOs, managers, business owners could learn a thing or two from my cycling coach. Surely, running a multinational and running a cycling class couldn’t be more different...or is that so?

Let’s analyze it:

What did the cycling coach do? What was the goal of the class and the outcome? He was aiming for maximum performance...so should we...he was trying to get the whole class to sync....so should we....he was looking to make all of us have a good time...so should we...he was pushing harder the top performers but also rewarding and mentioning them at the end...so should we. I can go on and on but you get the point by now.

I was honestly a bit tired and didn’t feel like going to the class at all. I wasn’t even feeling up to par but I did my best to sync with the rhythm and to finish each song and not sit down until it was done. To my surprise, at the end of the class, the coach mentioned that some of us are the best and that next time he plans to have a song that will push us to our utmost limit so that only one will remain standing: THE best. And then he pointed out who were the candidates and I was one of them. Didn’t expect that but it felt so good.

Ok so now let’s go back to the corporate environment and remember that profits, promotions and fairness are interconnected. It’s surely not a rule but there are still so many places where promotions are not given to the best candidate but instead to the candidate that the manager likes most...or lives in the same neighborhood or went to the same school. So if this same approach was used in cycling classes, how would that look like?

The coach wants us to sync to the music but Mike is always pushing forward with his right leg instead of the left leg. We’re all now cycling left and right with no alignment. The coach tells us to push harder but Mike couldn’t care less and just sits around looking on his phone. We’re dripping sweat, pushing to not stop...like the coach says...but Mike just stepped down from his bike to drink some water and take an Instagram shot. At the end, the coach congratulates Mike and tells the class we should all follow his lead. Ok, we would probably not be too bothered by that but what if, as a result, Mike would also lose weight while we would be gaining weight? What if Mike started to look better and better while we got more terrible by the day? Ok, we know the theory, other classes might not be like this. We might use our judgement and deduce that it’s impossible to be lazy and careless and still get improved day by day. But, even so, if for the moment this is the class that we are in and those are the results that we are seeing with Mike....wouldn’t any human brain push us to replicate the same in the hope that we too are rewarded?

The exact same thing happens in the corporate environment. While we strive to keep positive, to follow our goals and to be true to our beliefs, it’s impossible not to be distracted and demotivated when seeing that talent is not rewarded and mediocrity is appraised. But not any type of mediocrity, the „preferred” mediocrity, the one that lives next to the decision maker, the one that goes out on lunch breaks with the decision maker...the one that always says the decision maker is right and never dares to challenge any of their ideas even if an obviously better choice is staring them right in the eye.

As annual review cycle is coming soon, I challenge all managers to take a minute and really think this through: who would you want to have in your team....keep...promote...hire... How would you want your team to look like? A well synced cycling team that spins at the same time with pep and joy, a power class that finishes every song and gets to the end of the class looking better than before, a class filled with healthy, strong people..............or...........would you like a class of Mike’s, that are all out of sync, never making it to the middle of the songs, lazy, checking their phones and looking in the mirror...stopping all of a sudden with no reason?

This is why I am disputing favoritism. Because it’s simply bad in every way. The end result will always be bad, there’s no way around it. If you are a manager or a business owner or CEO...start promoting a healthy environment so that your team, your business or your company can stay profitable and grow. You have to push this from top to bottom and regularly check the progress and current state. If not, your business will just be mediocre...at best...that is if it doesn’t go bankrupt.

Before I forget...don’t get confused, if you believe you’ve seen this situation or if you are in this situation, it’s not just management’s fault. It’s all of us, we are all to blame. Why? Because we don’t speak up. By choosing to stay quiet, you unknowingly support any harmful behavior that you are not fighting against. Nothing changes you say? Of course! Because in order for change to happen, we have to stand up...one by one....until the scale tilts in our direction.

I, for one, will never stay quiet. I will always be true to my beliefs and will express my opinion in a polite and smart way. And so should you!

Remember...the change is you!

From my cubicle to yours,

The D.