Ever heard the saying ‘nice guys finish last’? Do you think it has a place in today’s business world?
The role of the business baddie is familiar to all – from Alan Sugar to Donald Trump, there are countless leaders who have built a reputation for business acumen based on aggression and ruthlessness. Often, this is entirely at odds with their actual business success; Donald Trump, for example, has a pretty poor business track record on paper, but still fostered a reputation as a success prior to his Presidency.
But the reality is that nice guys don’t actually finish last – and they never have. There are countless examples of inspirational leaders throughout history who have built exemplary businesses by treating their people well.
In a modern business, the tough guy persona and iron fist stereotype rarely cuts the mustard. To succeed in business today, leaders need to be more aligned to their workforce’s experience and demands and focus on creating a working atmosphere that’s kind, welcoming and safe. In short, building a place where great things can happen and where people can excel.
Building a business destined for success
Today’s business success environment needs to consider more than merely the commercials. Businesses are judged on far more than financials. They are held up to account over their ESG initiatives, their DE&I performance, their reviews on Glassdoor and more besides. Purely returning a profit is simply not enough to cry business success – it’s now necessary to be commercially successful as well as a good employer with a positive agenda for change.
There’s little room for the business bad guy stereotype in this environment. In fact, what we more commonly see now is these characters being called out and even ‘cancelled’ online by former and current employees. Elon Musk represents a good example of this – his takeover of Twitter has been characterised by a ‘my way or the highway’ approach and this, coupled with his less than caring public attitude to layoffs, has been widely criticised by employees, peers and the media alike.
Few businesses can risk this level of reputational damage, so it’s important that founders and leaders actively invest in understanding how their management technique can have a real-world impact on their organisations’ performance.
Taking a kindful approach to leadership
The matter of kindful leadership is the focus of my next book and it’s a really interesting approach to management style. Kindness is not a new concept – either in business or at home – but the idea of kindfulness (a merger of kindness and mindfulness) is one which has the potential to boost a business’ performance.
The pattern of growth that follows a kinder approach is really interesting. When organisations place emphasis on kindness, they invariably find that there is greater empathy and a growing bond of trust between employer and employee. The employee sees that their employer genuinely cares for who they are as a person – not merely how they perform as a cog in a wheel. This ultimately creates a culture of psychological safety – where the employee feels able to take risks, make suggestions and challenge the status quo, safe in the knowledge that they can try new things and push the boundaries.
How the ‘bad guy’ approach causes lasting damage
People’s desired experience of work has changed. Younger employees, in particular, place high importance on their personal values and will actively seek out workplaces that offer the experience they want, with values aligned to their own, but they are by no means the only employee group seeking a happier work experience.
The pandemic accelerated an existing shift in working patterns and management practices, and the post-pandemic world is rewarding business that put people before profit and demonstrate a genuine care for their employees and their customers.
In this world, authenticity is key and no amount of shiny marketing can cover up poor practices. The advent of platforms like Glassdoor – along with social media channels (and Twitter in particular) – mean that everyone has a voice. Employers will need to consider how best to engage with their people to the benefit of everyone – that’s if they haven’t already!
How do leaders create change in their organisation?
Just as poor management approaches trickle down from the top, so too do positive habits. All leaders should be investing in good management practices as a way of improving their business’ culture, productivity and profitability, and reducing its employee churn.
The fabric of being a modern leader requires a shift in approach. Could it be that we’ve started to see the end of the business bad guy?
Graham is the founder of Think Productive, author of How to be a Productivity Ninja, host of the Beyond Busy podcast. He recently spoke at the People Management Summit, hosted by Technology & Tools provider, Advanced, on the subject of Kinder Leadership.
Uma Rajagopal has been managing the posting of content for multiple platforms since 2021, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune. Her role ensures that content is published accurately and efficiently across these diverse publications.