Some of you may have heard/read about the previous boss of WeWork: Adam Neumann. Adam was the creator, founder, and CEO of WeWork, a shared working space concept that grew into a billion dollar corporation in 500 locations across 29 countries in the world.
Adam was variously described by colleagues and friends as a Svengali, a visionary, a creative genius, a charismatic maverick leader whose unconventional approach and grand vision built a business empire that he led with flair, unorthodox business methods, and a sense of being untouchable. He was like the ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ on steroids. One of the WeWork business propositions as an example of their purpose was to ‘eradicate world hunger.’ This ambition perhaps unsurprisingly never materialised.
Adam was a business leader who made grandiose statements about achieving huge profits and changing the way people work. WeWork invented its own financial metrics, one of which was termed ‘community EBITDA.’ The business expanded exponentially without a solid base, financial stability, effective scrutiny, and a rigorous corporate governance strategy to ensure its long term growth and success within its marketplace.
It was these working methodologies and various other financial regularities that eventually led to the business declaring bankruptcy as Adam himself exited his CEO and founder role.
Adam acted with relentless ambition. He thrived on excitement, unpredictability, and creating an ethos that opposed conventional corporate culture.
An often riotous work environment was encouraged where people espoused traditional ‘business norms’ and processes designed to manage risk and build stability. These practices often turned into ritualistic public humiliations with burnt out and exhausted people who never were quite sure what version of Adam going to appear that day.
The whole story is a fascinating study of a business leader who embodies what could be described as a ‘messiah complex’ surrounded by people too scared to challenge whilst themselves relishing big rewards, both financial and social, influencing them to continue committing to the culture of the company until it went badly wrong.
What has struck me most when thinking about Adam is how he was someone I would have swerved working for, which made me question myself as to why.
He no doubt had the qualities of a business leader who wouldn’t take no for an answer, relentlessly pursued a vision and model when few others had the foresight and confidence to build, was highly persuasive, fooled most of the people most of the time and was able to secure high levels of investment from prominent global business financiers without concrete evidence of his business strategy and true financial position.
Why would I not want a business boss like this? Why would I actively seek not to be part of this type of company with a non-corporate approach to doing business which was wildly successful in the beginning?
From my own experience of being a business boss, I learned the following (sometimes the hard way):
People (mostly) want and need a predictable boss – they appreciate knowing which version of you is going to show up each day.
People (mostly) want and need to understand that the business is operating from a sound financial position and people at the top have tested experience who can be trusted to make sound strategic decisions for the continued success and stability of the company.
People (mostly) want and need a boss who does not risk their livelihoods and careers due to their desires to achieve global domination in their industry – this may read as extreme and needs to be modified depending on the scale of the business and where/how it operates.
People (mostly) want and need to feel that the culture of their business is one which actively values its employees, enables them to be themselves, recognises individuality whilst creating a sense of security – they appreciate this whilst feeling safe that the business culture will not tolerate a boss who demonstrates bullying and humiliating behaviours towards their employees.
People (mostly) want and need a boss in business who is viewed by other business leaders as having integrity, professional gravitas, a calm and approachable demeanour, who is in touch with their workforce whilst living the business culture that is influenced by everyone who works with them.
One of the biggest wants and needs that people need from a boss is someone who they know will lead effectively when times are tough and support them and their company to come out the other side.
This is coupled with a safe pair of hands with the ability to look ahead and anticipate risks. A person who surrounds themselves with intelligent and experienced people who are empowered to challenge when they do not get it right, who supports others to lead and succeed with an ability to recognise internal talent and delegate effectively.
It is a tough ask to be a boss in business whatever your character and personality.
What type of business boss would you want to work for? Is Adam Neumann the face of the new acceptable maverick business leaders? Am I wrong not to recognise his vision and drive? He is still apparently worth a couple of billion dollars…
I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
Sarah Taylor Hawke Coaching, Mentoring, Advice and Guidance for Business and Personal Development.
linkedin.com/in/sarah-hawke