There’s a southern saying that goes, “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig”. Or loosely translated: you can make superficial changes to fix the symptoms, but it won’t fix the cause or the root of the problem. More often than not, brands that find themselves struggling to connect with their customers or carve out a significant path for themselves have, at their core, a people problem. Is it also a messaging problem? Or a design problem? Yes and yes, but both are symptoms of an internal problem that stems from a cultural cause. It’s a lack of identifying with and understanding who your customer is and what they want - but it’s your people and your company’s culture that shapes that identity and that wants to understand. 

Put simply, the culture you foster internally will be reflected in the image you present publicly. Win at all costs and every person for themselves might net you short term gains and talented people, but they won’t stick around for long, and it won’t foster trust, loyalty or innovation. Study after study shows us that creating a work environment that values employees as people, gives them autonomy, and even allows them to fail (within reason, of course) produces long-term success and productivity. In other words, leading with empathy produces empathy. 

This doesn’t mean a conflict-free, kumbaya, Stepford-like work place where no one ever says what they mean, and nothing ever gets resolved. It does mean differing opinions and ideas are shared in constructive ways, without criticism becoming destructive or personal. Constructive conflict allows for criticism in ways that foster growth and evolution, instead of resentment and fear. This is where you can allow your people the room to “fail”: by creating an environment where they can share a dumb or naive idea and not feel dumb or naive - or that the resulting criticism is a personal attack. 

Let’s sum it up like this: empathic brands can’t be led by unempathetic people, and you can’t put people first if you don’t put your people first.  It starts at the top; always has, always will. You can launch the new brand, debut the new site, and pay lots of money for trust fall situations in the smokey blues, but as Nana always said, “when the ice melts, the shit shows”.

What Do We Do With This? 🤔💭

1. Show your appreciation for both a job well done and just in general.

2. Understand that the people you work with are people with off days and bad moods. In other words, allow them to be human.

3. Encourage a healthy work/life balance when possible.

👋 Join the conversation on Twitter / on Instagram :)