With July 5th marking down the final day of Jeff Bezos’s tenure as CEO, many are reflecting on his leadership style and qualities he possessed within the workplace. While most business leaders speak about his customer obsession, there have been new voices echoing his unorthodox twist on mundane meetings. Jeff Bezos follows a “two pizza” rule, which states that there are too many people in a meeting if two pizzas can’t feed all of them. Executives who agree with this idea speak about the costs of having too many cooks in the kitchen and how oversized teams can actually hurt productivity. Amazon Web Services actually published 14 leadership principals that it values and primarily highlighted the importance of being able to respectfully disagree in meetings. This is to stop time-consuming meetings from being extended even more by dominant personalities who bulldoze conversations. While these seem like admirable qualities within the Amazon culture, many vocal advocates have spoken out after unionization attempts failed. Entry-level employees stated that they felt closely monitored or that they were just a minor cog in the bureaucratic machine. With the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, many business leaders wonder how they lead current and incoming employees. This is incredibly highlighted when we see younger workers fear the effects of remote work on potential promotions or how new breakups come into the mix of a flexible work schedule. I reached out to various professionals to discuss their thoughts on this idea.
There’s a study by Taylor & Francis Online on how friendships or “work spouses” influence overall job satisfaction. They found a positive trend where people with close networks were able to exhibit stronger feelings to their daily tasks. Have you ever dealt with low team morale when a significant member left and how did you remedy that situation?
Yes, our company is almost crossing the startup mode and we have had significant members leave. Sometimes these were people who could have taken significant leadership roles in the company. Since it’s a small team we do talk about it and express our feelings and sometimes emotions because of the void. But we get back up immediately and know that we have to move on. We do move forward with lessons learned and come up with top action steps that are needed. We also start identifying the sustainability methods such as cross departmental training so the dependence on one person is reduced. We offer words of strength and encouragement to each other and know that the work must continue. In a day or two, we are usually energized and back to full action.
-Dr. Nazeera Dawood, CEO of Vendorship Inc.
Because you’re asking a question you probably know this as fairly common. We’ve dealt with it in our nine years in business. It’s obvious a certain culture arises with whatever mix of employees any organization has. A culture is merely that. Lucid and dynamic identity built around characteristics and personalities. Cultures are constantly born, dying and changing. So for us we just think about it as a dynamic change or shift that is inevitable anytime specific personalities leave. Best thing to do is give a new culture of push by having a term building event or by a company charity function. It will force people to change their patterns and changing idiosyncrasies in conjunction with building the new culture. Most folks are not comfortable with change. I’m the same. If you don’t think of it as change and you don’t present it as change to them, but instead a subconscious new shift – all while creating new norms, you’ll ease this change.
-Aimee Blake, Founder of Sugar Sugar
During times such as this no one expected us to be totally virtual, and even more so for this long. I do believe there are so me challenges that come with managing a team of people virtually. Depending on what they are doing, and how many people you are overlooking, I believe the most challenging thing could be boosting your team morale and just honestly encouraging them. Of course, you have to double make sure they are doing their job, but I know for myself that does a lot of work virtually I tend to lose my morale quicker sitting behind a screen.
-Sadricka Thomas, Teacher & Lifestyle Blogger
Yes, I believe that it does affect overall job satisfaction because feelings tend to get involved, and that always gets in the way of having a clear mindset and doing your job correctly. I feel that you can have a balance between the two to where you can have relationships but also not let it get too involved in you guy’s job environment. You just need mature and positive energies.
-Jasmine Perry, Makeup Artist
I have dealt with it before and luckily it didn’t result in a crushing blow to the team, even though it tried. No matter how talented a team may be, there’s always that sense of emptiness when a significant member leaves. Everything feels different, it feels colder. It’s similar to when a group of friends gets together, then eventually someone has to leave and it brings about a natural sense of adjournment. Everyone just decides that it’s time to go, because that one person left at the moment when team morale is low, that’s the most important time to work on positive reinforcement. Remind every remaining team member how skilled they are and how important to the team they are. Work becomes easier when you have that sense of camaraderie throughout the office. When you have a fellow team member, wading through the trenches alongside it. It boosts morale for everyone.
-Meshach Berry, Menswear Blogger & Stylist
In my line of work, team comradery is important. In the fitness industry we win, and lose by the energy we provide. Our lives are so intertwined with our co-workers, it’s not uncommon to use the term “work wife,” or “work husband.” I would love the chance to chat with you about this topic, as it’s important for growth, and close to my heart.
-Junior Leoso, Athletic Breathwork Coach
As a business owner I have noticed that sometimes low team morale can come from teammates/employees. Once I started pairing my employees with those that function better with communication things started to flow immediately. For example, one of my best employees left to purse another field. Once she left moral went downhill. She seemed to have an infectious personality that made the other employees feel better and it also helped pass the time. We couldn’t capture that dynamic again until I did a rehire. Once the new hire came in it took some time, but the other employees started to see a new way of doing things and getting to know a new teammate. Everything worked out for the best with our company and employees.
-Jennifer Champagne, Publicist
I can relate to this on two aspects. Personally, I am an executive assistant to the president of our companies. When most hear me say this title, they think Devil Wears Prada. He actually told me from the start it is very much as though I am the work wife. What I will say is the closeness, personality match, and communication (think love languages of work) has made the 2+ years flown by. Now with a team member of mine who I adore leaving it is really hard. At my company we utilize the Enneagram tests on interviews, which has oddly brought a bunch of people who you’d never imagine fitting together to fit seamlessly. It is when we don’t pay attention to that test, or character traits on interviews that our morale drops, and our work environment suffers. It has raised intriguing thoughts for me on if other workplaces did this how their morale/work environments might grow.
-Taryn Shaffer, Wellness & Mindset Coach
Yes, I have dealt with low team morale when a significant member left. I created ways to build stronger rapport with other members. Tea is known to connect humans and bridge gaps. When time permitted, we bonded by sipping in Community. This kind of setting provided a comfortable setting and gave everyone a chance to safely air grievances, discuss feel good moments, triumphs, as well as challenges.
-Laura Cepeda, Certified Tea Sommelier
Teamwork is always a good thing, especially when you have a good and creative system going. One situation I experienced when working in the workforce. It was myself and four other people in the accounting department. My job at the time was entering checks and making collections calls. I had to make sure every account was paid and up to date. This one particular time the department was very busy phones were none stop ringing, the mail came in and there were a lot of checks to deposit, its was end of the month so everyone was on edge. Everyone in the department will extend help if they’re not busy, so the person who answers the phones seems overwhelmed since the beginning of the day, the phones were none stop ringing. All of a sudden, she starts banging her phone and started screaming and just got up from her desk and left the building. That was the busiest day of my life, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone lol. At the end of the day, we all stayed late and helped each other. All the checks were deposited and all the calls were answered.
-Keneshia Pryce-Bashir, Entrepreneur/Actress/Model
I have been managing my lash studio Tenderoni Lashes for 8 years, 5 of those years with my husband Mike. It helps to have someone who cares about you on board because no one will go as hard for your business the way a spouse will. Mike’s duties included checking clients out after their service, ordering new shipment and handling all new salon bookings. When he took a “break” in 2020 it was definitely hard but allowed for me to look closer at our records, business plan and tighten certain areas that needed better leadership. Initially it was difficult to take on tasks I hadn’t done in years, and I felt lonely not having him on site as often but this new way helped the dynamics of our relationship. Mike ended up coming back but I did not allow him to commit to as many salon responsibilities as he once had. We’re at a much better space now and the balance between marriage and business has never been better. Changes in business are inevitable so you have to learn to navigate through it and use your situation to your advantage.
-Candace Suero Hoegemeier, Owner of Tenderoni Lashes
As a seasoned business owner I’ve had my share of experiences dealing with low team morale especially when a significant member left. My remedy would be to have open & closed communications as a team and individually. I feel being fully transparent & being able to share a human connection will make each team member feel safe & assured. I also believe in empowerment and recognizing those with rewards. Rewards can be gifts, assistance, a spotlight, a client & more. When a team feels inspired & appreciated they will go the extra mile. Support & Leadership goes along away.
-Mechelle Tucker, Business Consultant & Strategist
As a relationship therapist and business owner, I feel like this is a great topic. What we know about co-regulation, a fancy term of being surrounded by others that are emotionally safe and comforting, and stress is that being surrounded by others experiencing the same situation can reduce stress and be grounding. Many people note that work is one of their life stressors, so having people “in the trenches” with you can be very comforting. It makes sense that people would want to have a person they can vent to, who understands exactly your experience and can empathize what is going on. This is likely one of the reasons people can become close to their colleagues. In this sense, it is very healthy to have a “work spouse.” As a relationship therapist, I would be remiss to ignore the potential dangers of these relationships. According to Shirley Glass, PhD, and author of Not Just Friends, most affairs start off as innocent friendships- many from work. Little by little, these innocent frienships will disclose information, and at the same time, begin to withhold this information from their partners. This sets the friends up for danger because they only see the positive side of the relationship, and don’t have to hold other life stressors, such as laundry, child-rearing, and chores. Basically, this friendship turns to an emotional affair because you start to tell yourself how much better this co-worker is and don’t realize it’s because you are only navigating the surface of life with them. This can lead to emotional and/or physical affairs. Lastly, let’s talk about how we are already sexualizing these friendships. Instead of using words like “work friend,” it is “work spouse.” This sets up what could be a positive friendship, into a competition. Since work friends are needed to reduce stress, I think it’s important to set-up boundaries. Make sure your partner knows of the friendship and also spends time with them. Make sure you don’t discuss personal information that would feel like a betrayal to your partner. Be open and don’t keep secrets. This will ensure that this positive relationship, doesn’t interfere with any relationship boundaries.
-Amy Rollo, Owner of Heights Family Counseling
At Kanthaka we tried to build a team through our own network of friends and friends of friends. It has been amazing for the team culture and having the excitement to not only be friends but work on something great together. We even had team members coming in over the weekend to help other members of the client service team out, what is amazing to me. We also recently had a team member leave what wasn’t as bad, as she left us to follow her passion but not because she was unhappy. In that case it didn’t demoralize everybody because she made it very clear how much she loved her work. We also made it very clear that she always has a place at Kanthaka. Dr. Sylvia Kampshoff, CEO Kanthaka Trainers on Demand Kanthaka is an on Demand App for at home Personal Trainers and Yoga Instructors with over 500 vetted trainers (www.mykanthaka.com)
-Demand Kanthaka, an App for at home Personal Trainers & Yoga Instructors with over 500 vetted trainers
When I first started the Sugar Land salon, there was one particular employee that wanted to leave solely due to new management. She was a long time employee so some may consider her as a “significant member.” So I had to informed her customers that she’s no longer willing to employ here and I had to find a replacement, which ends up good since she’s still with the salon after all these years.
-Joanne Tang, Cosmetologist
My husband and I worked together for years as entrepreneurs, when he had to go back to work outside our businesses it depressed me, I felt that some of the support I had was gone, and it was harder to stay on task, so he would take designated times to call and give me a boost, he would send texts to see if I needed anything and makes sure my days are productive, now it’s easier, we still practice this connection method to keep my days productive.
-Sonya Dorsey, Executive Chef, Business owner
