Manager, coach or friend? Leading for happiness.

Carlos Saba
Jul 24, 2017 · 5 min read

At the Happy Startup School we’re a tiny team with a humungous mission. We exist to redefine business as a force for good focused on passion, purpose and people as well as profits. While we’ve pivoted from being an anonymous digital agency to a movement with a following of over 100,000 we’ve always stayed true to our values.

Our focus has always been optimising for happiness. Our own, that of our team, and the happiness of our community. And one of our key values is to talk like friends.

Why “talk like friends”?

Because before Laurence and I were founders we were friends. And so that’s the foundation on which we’re building. We need to talk honestly. We don’t want hierarchy or seniority to get in the way of what needs to be said and done. Plus we hate managing people, but we have a go.

Every month I try and sit down with each of our team individually to check in and see how they’re doing. Some would call it a monthly appraisal while I see it as a time for connection and some honest conversations about work.

Some of our friends and family think what we do isn’t even work. Retreats on the beaches of Goa or in the mountains of France or Oregon as well as hosting a festival on a Sussex farm just looks like fun. And it is.

Good work takes hard work

But it’s also a challenging business where no single day is the same. We run retreats, host festivals, deliver online courses, serve an online community and manage a co-working space. It takes a lot of hard work and we rely heavily on the people who work for us. Everybody counts and it’s vitally important that we’re all on point and working the best we can.

Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Mistakes happen and how we deal with them as leaders is critical.

As your manager I could point out your failings, impose penalties and set up KPIs to track your future performance (I could also have a hissy fit and scream at you!). As a coach I could dive deeper into why the mistake happened and see what you can learn from that experience. And as a friend I can offer an ear for you to bend and a safe space for you to share what’s been going on for you recently.

Which approach will create the best outcome for everyone and not just the business?

Leading for happiness

The way I see it my responsibility as a leader is to give our team everything they need to do their job effectively and be happy doing it. This isn’t just giving them feedback and training but also providing a vision to follow, a safe space to fuck up and the encouragement to push themselves. If we have a team who can find their flow then it will be good for the company. If we help our people find their calling, even if it means them leaving to run their own business then we’re being true to our values. That’s optimising for happiness.

Creativity and resilience

I know personally that when I feel safe and free from judgement, when I feel heard and connected to others then I’m a lot happier. And when I’m happy I’m infinitely more creative and as resilient as a brick shit house. I want that for our people.

And in an ever changing world where the capital D of disruption is fucking with the capital C of capitalism then these traits of creativity and resilience are needed more than ever.

One of my first jobs was with an agency in London. We worked from a loft studio in the heart of Soho. It started off being sexy and exciting. But the industry was/is ultra competitive and the quest for growth and more billable hours left us feeling like assets to be exploited. Many of us left that place feeling miserable and drained of creativity.

This taught me that that if you wanted people to be creative they need to be happy. And to optimise happiness we need to show compassion and care. If you succeed I succeed. It’s an abundance mindset and maybe it’s naive.

This isn’t business as usual

And we’re not a usual business.

Our mission is to make business a force for good and not just “a bunch of boring admin” to generate cash. We want a business that puts people before profit and we want to help others do the same.

If we want to innovate the way we work we need to innovate how we come together as humans. While I know that myself and Laurence can become better managers we don’t want to have to JUST manage. We don’t want to tell our people how to do their work, we want to support them to find their own way to do it. That’s because we don’t always have the answers and the way we’ve always figured stuff out was by just trying things. We want our people to do the same. It’s the entrepreneurial mindset.

Honesty and transparency

So when you’re “leading for happiness” should you be a manager, coach or friend?

I don’t know (I’d love to get your comments!).

We’re still working this out.

But my gut feeling is by being honest about our needs, transparent about our motivations and truly care about each other then only good things can happen.

Are you curious about what this new way of working and gathering looks like? This messy mixture of business and friendship. Then you should come to Summercamp and meet the people doing it already. If you believe as we do that “happy is the new rich” then your tribe awaits you! Sign up to our newsletter to get more Happy Startup goodness.

The Happy Startup School

Build a life and business rich with purpose

Carlos Saba

Written by

Co–founder of The Happy Startup School. Lover of learning and using that learning to help others.

The Happy Startup School

Build a life and business rich with purpose

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