The place that we choose to work often influences us, professionally and personally. Yes, I’m talking about corporate culture where we want to fit in.
Each of us will have our own values when it comes to work. For example, you might like teamwork spirit, a supportive environment, a culture that promotes diversity - either languages, nationalities, genders, a quest for knowledge, an appreciation for selfless contribution. The list goes on.
But sometimes, we happen to be at a workplace whose culture doesn’t speak well with us. Some of the people I knew, in such situations, quit their jobs after a while as they experienced the taste of what was not theirs.
There is always a tradeoff. You might want to jump into a place because of good money - there is nothing wrong with that, or you might want to suffer some time because you will be under a great boss, just stay some time to learn and move on. Different scenarios emerge.
But let’s just define what we appreciate the most and continue from there. Without some values in mind, we’d wander and get lost in the corporate journey, not knowing what kinds of companies that we want to work for, to spend our years ahead with.
I’m pretty sure you can quickly come up with a list that you really appreciate at work.
To me, a good working environment will be around the following:
A supportive culture: everyone helps other people accomplish their work if they face challenges. At Grab, it’s called “Your problem is my problem” and people are recognised for such efforts.
A culture that promotes learning and development: I often ask HR questions about whether they’d provide training sessions or how people can grow themselves at work, and from what sources. These days, companies can sponsor courses via Linkedin Learning, Udemy, or other more expensive training, depending on your level.
A fair culture: everyone will be judged based on their contribution and impact to promote fairness. The evaluation will be 360 degree - meaning that not just your manager, but your peers and other stakeholders will provide comments on your performance so that you’d have a holistic view of where you are for the final evaluation.
I carry the above with me everywhere I go. Think of any companies you work for as a journey but make sure in that journey you’d grow, learn and become a better person along the way. If there is time when you wonder if everything is right, if some mismatches in your values are there, you feel that you’re getting worse than you should be, it’s time to take a step back and evaluate. Seek advice if needed.
At the end of the day, we want to make it worth our time in every company that we devote ourselves to, because it’s like a boomerang, it goes back right to us, either makes us better, or not.
🔥Links for this week
The techno-optimist manifesto - lies, truth, technology, markets, intelligence, energy, the meaning of life, and more by Marc Andreessen. I’m still reading it - always like his deep thoughts on tech / startups / markets.
How to avoid work: A timeless and ever-timely reminder of the broader essence of creative satisfaction and the life of purpose.
Lessons in leadership (video below)
The importance of self-awareness and how to develop it
The value of difficult conversations and advice for having them
Common mistakes when scaling a company
How to approach firing decisions and the associated internal optics
How to think about low-performing but “well-liked” employees
How to get drastically more out of your team members
Adapting to the challenging new economic environment