THE LEAFLET
October 19 2023
a clapback on “toxic positivity”, creator v consumer culture, spa v sparta
A CLAPBACK ON “TOXIC POSITIVITY”
There are facts and stories. Facts are facts; they exist independent of us. We do not get to choose them. Stories are of our own design. How we arrange those facts and make meaning of them, how we label and interpret them - that’s all storytelling. It’s an essential practice and good leaders do it really well: with compassion, clarity, big perspective, focus.
Positivity is a story. It’s a way of presenting and labeling facts. What some call “toxic positivity” is very often just old fashioned dishonesty. It’s someone trying to tell you certain facts aren’t facts. I don’t have patience for that. I also want to call it what it is.
Read the rest here.
CREATOR CULTURE v CONSUMER CULTURE
Creators and consumers have fundamentally different attitudes toward created work.
The creator has risked something and realized something. She has skin in the game.
The consumer has received something and, these days, rates that thing.
There are team cultures where everyone runs with the attitude of the creator. It’s zesty, collaborative, and rich in feedback (often quite blunt feedback). People feel like they own what happens around here, even if it’s not in their lane or job description or wing of the building - and they do. Culture is a thing that is built and tuned and made gleefully weird, together. These are really fun teams to be a part of for those who can swallow pride and draw confidence from the unapologetic cycle of shipping stuff, improving it, and then shipping better stuff.
Read the rest here.
SPA v SPARTA
Out of an earnest, righteous desire to see your people as whole people, you tumble into “spa” culture - over time, you optimize for the comfort of your teammates instead of the achievement of your mission. You get caught in a clumsy chase after idiosyncratic teammate preferences.
Wiser leaders avoid this with a different assumption and invitation. They recognize that employment is more than a raw time-for-money transaction - there’s a purpose the work is supposed to realize and if someone has opted into that purpose, it may matter to them out of proportion to the cash. Instead of shielding their people from struggle, they seek out opportunities for their people to take on useful challenges. They prompt their people to grow through productive stress (or “eustress”) - the only thing that builds new skill and durable confidence.
Read the rest here.
Keep going, keep growing,
Ben & Eric
[kool aid man busts in] bonus material - oh yeahhhh
Check out Ben and the magisterial Jerel Bryant on this podcast, talking about inspiring growth in teammates and kids and how hard knocks of their own taught them how to do it.