艰难对话指南:建立高信任团队、设计你热爱的生活 | Rachel Lockett
A guide to difficult conversations, building high-trust teams, and designing a life you love
The Biggest Leadership Gap
Lenny Rachitsky: When clients come to you, what is the biggest gap they have that is keeping them from being successful as leaders?
Rachel Lockett: Most leaders, especially technical leaders, assume they have to have all the answers. People have climbed the ladder because they’ve been dependable, reliable, the smartest person in the room. But great leaders know that when you try to advise and have the answer all the time, you’re not actually equipping your team to go solve the hard problems. You’re training your team to come to you with all of the hard problems.
Making Difficult Conversations Easier
Lenny Rachitsky: Difficult conversations are difficult. How do we help people make them less difficult?
Rachel Lockett: We operate in tech. We’re supposed to give all of ourselves, all of our time, all of our energy to this endeavor, and it’s purely logical. That’s not at all true. It’s completely emotional. Professionals have feelings. People, when they want to have a conflict, they come in ready to prove their point. There’s a misguided view that the goal is to convince the other person that what they’re doing is wrong. Actually, the goal of any conflict is to create mutual understanding.
How to Avoid Burnout
Lenny Rachitsky: Talk about what you’ve learned about helping leaders in tech avoid burnout.
Rachel Lockett: When people are in their gifts and their strengths, they have more energy. We all have more energy when we’re operating from the things we naturally are good at. It’s no one else’s job to help you live in your gifts. What I notice in big companies is people are often annoyed or frustrated with their management for not making their job more interesting. No, your manager’s job is to help you perform in the job you are hired to do. It’s your job to navigate your career.
Expectations for This Conversation
Lenny Rachitsky: The power of this is this makes your life so much better.
Rachel Lockett: Lenny, let’s try it. So, I want you to tell me a challenge, something that you’re struggling with.
The Human Side of Business
Lenny Rachitsky: The main thing I struggle with these days is just… Today, my guest is Rachel Lockett, an executive coach and former longtime HR leader at Pinterest and at Stripe. She works with CEOs, and founders, and leaders at tech companies on both ways that they are, emotional and positive intelligence, resilience and courage, and what they do, setting vision and strategy, prioritizing, and building trusted and accountable teams. She’s someone I’ve heard a lot about over the years from other podcast guests, and this conversation is powerful. It’s jam-packed with advice, and tips, and frameworks that’ll make you a better leader and also a better person. We even do a couple live coaching sessions to demonstrate some of Rachel’s approaches. And as you’ll see, I had a number of epiphanies during this conversation. If you enjoy this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe and follow it in your favorite podcasting app or YouTube. It helps tremendously.
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Rachel, thank you so much for being here and welcome to the podcast.
Rachel Lockett: Thank you so much for having me, Lenny. I am honored to be here.
Coaching vs Directing: A Critical Gap
Lenny Rachitsky: I’m honored to have you here. I was going to start with a different question, but we were chatting ahead of this conversation and I always like to ask guests, what do you want people to get out of this conversation? And I loved your answer, so I just want you to share this. So, let me just ask you, what are you hoping people get out of the conversation we’re about to have?
Rachel Lockett: Genuinely, I hope that your listeners take away that the human side of business building is incredibly fun and impactful and that it’s easy to do. They can do it with simple tools. So, I’m hopeful that through this conversation, heads of product, heads of engineering, founders walk away feeling more empowered and more motivated to attune to the people around them.
Monkeys on Your Back
Lenny Rachitsky: So, what I’m hearing is just if you’re struggling with the human side of building a product, building a team, building a company, there are answers. You can do it.
When to Advise Instead of Coaching
Rachel Lockett: Yes, exactly. It is achievable, and it’s actually most natural. Leaders want to care about the people they work with. They want to empower those around them. But sometimes the busyness of our world gets in the way and the urgency of the litany of things to do distracts you from the people in front of you. And actually, if you really understand the talent around you and you create an environment where they can be successful, your business will thrive.
Lenny Rachitsky: I think the hardest part of this for people is just there’s the knowing this can be helped with. The other is just being vulnerable enough to seek help and to take this on because it’s so hard. Just like, “Oh, maybe I’m not a great manager.” That doesn’t feel good.
Powerful Questions and the GROW Model
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, that’s true. I mean, it’s vulnerable to seek help, but I think your audience, I know to be incredibly committed to growth. I hear of people who come on your podcast and they’ve spent decades focused on self-improvement. And I actually want to tell you a story about one of my clients who loves your podcast, and I was talking to him last week. He’s a client I’ve seen for 10 years, and he’s a person who exemplifies a commitment to personal growth.
I started working with him when he was a frontline engineering manager at Coinbase, and we talked about who he is, what his strengths are, and his bigger picture why. And he talked about this dream of creating a global movement one day. He was really focused on building community, and he thought the path for creating possibility in the world around him was creating a strong community around him. And he continually worked on his leadership capacity. And over the 10 years, at some point, he created a tattoo on his arm that’s a sun with a redwood grove around it that reminded him of his core strengths and his purpose. And today, guess what he’s doing, Lenny?
Lenny Rachitsky: Killing it.
When to Coach, When to Advise
Rachel Lockett: He’s not only killing it-
Lenny Rachitsky: [inaudible 00:08:02] vision.
Applying This in Talent Conversations
Rachel Lockett: … but he’s running a community, a global community for Coinbase called Base and the Base app.
Shifting from Solving to Coaching
Lenny Rachitsky: Oh, wow.
A Live Coaching Demonstration
Rachel Lockett: It’s the largest Ethereum L2 in the world, and it’s a community of creators and developers, and he’s having a great time. He’s having more fun than ever. And so, I think for the people who are committed to excellence and impact, recognizing that if they lean into their gifts and they get back into their purpose, they can have more fun while having an impact on the world.
Lenny Rachitsky: This story reminds me of just why I love these sorts of conversations because the sort of stuff we’re going to be talking about, and we’ll get into it right after this final preamble, is stuff that’s usually locked away in these very small rooms, are only accessible to folks with a bunch of money. This is stuff people pay tens of thousands of dollars, hundreds of thousands of dollars for over the course of their career. And I just love the idea of sharing all this with everyone to help all learn from the stuff that you’ve learned from all these people you’ve worked with. So, I’m really excited to be digging into stuff. The first thing I want to dive into, I actually asked you, when clients come to you, what is the biggest gap they have that is keeping them from being successful as leaders? And you told me it’s essentially knowing when to coach versus knowing when to just tell people what to do and learning to coach. Talk about what you see there, why this is so important, and how you help people develop the skill.
The Ideal State
Rachel Lockett: I think that most leaders, especially technical leaders, assume they have to have all the answers. People have climbed the ladder in whatever realm they’re in because they’ve been dependable, reliable, the smartest person in the room. But when you’re leading a quickly-scaling company, you quickly have less context than the people you’re around. And the way you were operating before doesn’t work because you don’t have the ability to wrap your arms around every problem in a deep way. So, I’ve seen leaders at every phase from frontline managers up to running an 8,000-person company struggle with knowing when do I have to have the answer, and when I don’t have the answer, what options do I have?
But great leaders know that when you try to advise and have the answer all the time, you’re not actually equipping your team to go solve the hard problems. You’re training your team to come to you with all of the hard problems. And coaching is a different way. It’s an alternative path that unlocks brilliance in your team and is way more motivating for the people around you. So, coaching is actually a learnable skill, obviously, because there’s tons of coaches around Silicon Valley, but you don’t have to coach in the same way that an executive coaches. You can shift your energy into curiosity when someone brings you a hard problem to solve, and create space to get curious, and help them solve their own problem.
So, obviously, sometimes advising is the right path. If there’s an urgent issue, the person coming to you doesn’t have the skill they need, that’s a time to advise and help. But leaders over-rotate, assuming the people that they’ve hired who are experts in their domain need them to solve the problem. So, I think it’s useful for your listeners to actually know that coaching’s an alternative, and I can help them learn some basic skills around this.
Lenny Rachitsky: Okay. I’d love to learn those skills. What this makes me think about is there’s this famous Harvard Business Review piece. I don’t know. It’s like 30 years ago maybe about the monkey on the back. You know this piece, where it’s-
Operations That Block Free Time
Rachel Lockett: Say more. I think I do.
Lenny Rachitsky: Okay, we’ll link to it. It’s this idea that as a leader, people always just coming to you trying to give you their monkey that’s sitting on their back. And they’re like, “Hey, this monkey is causing me all this problem. I don’t know what to do. But this monkey, here you go. You take it, and feed it, and help it, figure out what it needs.” And the role of a leader is to keep the monkey on the back of the person and help them figure out how to solve the problem, exactly what you’re describing.
Exploring Priorities and Creating Space
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, that’s a great analogy. I love that. I think leaders make things up when they don’t have answers sometimes. A person comes to you with a problem and you just want to help. But the best way to help is actually doing something that most leaders don’t do well. It’s attuning to what is the context? What does this person need? What are they blocked on? And ask them with those questions so that they can solve their own problem.
Lenny Rachitsky: Let’s talk about how to get better at this. But first of all, when you said, “When is it actually smart to just tell them what to do?” You said it’s when they don’t have the skills to do it. Is there any other kind of heuristics of like, okay, just tell them what to do in these cases?
The Power of Coaching Questions
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, it’s an urgent issue and you actually have an answer that you want to drive. So, don’t coach and make it a game. You want your person on your team to guess what’s in your mind. That’s not a good time to coach. You have something you absolutely want them to do. You know the right answer. You want them to be motivated to go do it. Advise them. Help them see the path. But most leaders over-index on that solution. So, I want to share. Maybe Lenny, I can teach you two skills that I think are the basics of leader coaching-
Dealing with Career Burnout
Lenny Rachitsky: Let’s do it. I’d love that.
Rachel Lockett: … that you can use in your own life tonight with your wife-
Practical Ways to Discover Talents
Lenny Rachitsky: She’s going to love this.
Designing Teams Around Talents
Rachel Lockett: … or anyone you operate with.
Aligning Current Work With Your Talents
Lenny Rachitsky: Let’s do it.
Rachel Lockett: And hopefully, your listeners can use them too.
The 80/20 Rule of Talent
Lenny Rachitsky: Let’s do it.
From Product Manager to Executive Coach
Rachel Lockett: Okay. So, the first skill is active listening. And Lenny, you’re probably a good listener because this is what you do for a living is you listen to the people who come on your podcast. But I don’t know if you’ve seen Fight Club. There’s a quote, “Most people aren’t listening. They’re just waiting for their turn to talk.”
From Individual Growth to Team Collaboration
Lenny Rachitsky: Absolute-
Rachel Lockett: This is rampant in tech. And great leaders flip that script and tune in. They’re the kinds of leaders who walk into a room, and they can see the elephants. They can name them. They can ask the hard questions to get people collaborating. So, there’s actually three levels to listening. So, the first level listening, level one is internal. Let’s say you’re talking to me about a problem. I’m thinking about the implications of that problem on me. I’m completely distracted with my own inner dialogue. That’s level one. Most people go through their world rushed and in level one. Level two listening is focused. So, you’re talking to me, and I can repeat back what you’re saying. So, I am listening to the words you’re describing, and that’s typically what happens in a good one-on-one. We’re problem solving together and focused on your words.
Level three listening is global listening. So, that’s what I’m hearing beneath the words. I’m hearing what you’re communicating, not just what you’re saying. I see your body language. I notice your tone of voice. I know the context around what you’re talking about, and I can reflect back more insight about what’s happening than you’re aware of because I’m understanding everything you’re communicating. So, dropping into level three listening is what great leaders do when they’re influencing, when they’re selling, when they’re pitching a vision, and definitely when they’re coaching. So, do you want to try it?
Navigating Co-Founder Relationships
Lenny Rachitsky: Let’s do it.
Co-Founder Commitment and Regular Check-Ins
Rachel Lockett: Okay. How about this? I’ll demonstrate some level three listening. I’m going to ask you a question.
What to Do When Tension Arises
Lenny Rachitsky: Okay. Uh-oh.
Love in Co-Founder Relationships
Rachel Lockett: You told me earlier, you’re a father.
Practical Advice for Improving Relationships
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah.
The Nonviolent Communication Framework
Rachel Lockett: What is it like to be a dad?
Reviewing the NVC Framework
Lenny Rachitsky: Wow. What is it like to be a dad? It’s amazing. It’s like the most amazing thing I’ve ever done in many ways. I love it so much. It’s also quite challenging at times dealing with setting boundaries and knowing when to just let him do the thing he’s really excited about or just saying, “no,” and just letting him cry for a while. That’s something I’ve been dealing with recently, but it’s like everything people tell you it is basically in every way except the joy is so much higher, so much higher than you hear from other people because people always talk about all the downsides, all the pain and challenges.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, and I see you when you talk about being a father, initially, I saw you really squirm in your chair. Well, this is a big question. And you looked up and down and kind of avoided my eye contact at first because my sense is you love being a dad, and it’s so challenging. It’s so tiring. And I’m hearing both of that in your answer. The high joy and the discomfort in having to sleep train, and having to disappoint, and navigating challenging behavior.
How to Have Hard Conversations
Lenny Rachitsky: Nailed it. That was very nice to hear. Clearly, you listened to everything I said and that was a really good example of active listening.
Rachel Lockett: What does it feel like to be seen that way?
The Enthusiastic Rehire Test for Talent
Lenny Rachitsky: It feels really nice. It feels really nice to be heard. And it’s not just like you’re repeating back my words. It’s here’s what I got out of the level below what you’re saying, and the gist, and the bigger picture.
Talent Iteration in Fast-Growing Companies
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, there’s some emotional connection when you listen actively, and that took less than a minute. So, what I want to invite listeners to understand is that active listening doesn’t mean you’re setting up an hour coaching session with every person on your team. No one has time for that. But even in the time you’re already spending, just focusing on the other person in a way that is novel and really gives them your full attention so you can see their feelings under what they’re saying goes a long way to motivating your team and helping them understand what’s actually happening under the surface in this situation.
Lenny Rachitsky: I think there’s just so much power in different words, repeating back what they said. That’s almost implied in what you’re describing. It sounds like… So, I don’t know, like a trick they’ll see through. But knowing that you’re listening to me and you’re going to show me active listening, it still feels really nice to just hear back what I said. There’s a lot of power in that and it’s subtle.
Facing Feelings Rather Than Avoiding Them
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. Great. Yeah, there’s an element of synthesizing what I’m hearing verbally. That’s the focused listening part, and then, mirroring back the emotions that I’m noticing.
One-Page Plans: Simplifying Company Alignment
Lenny Rachitsky: The emotions.
Impact of the People First Rhythm
Rachel Lockett: And even things that I’m guessing, and I can say, “Is that right?” And you can say, “No, actually, I’m not conflicted about the challenges of being a dad. I just am so joyful.” And then, now, I understand where you’re coming from and so do you.
Lenny Rachitsky: Awesome. Okay, so this is a core skill of coaching is active listening.
The Importance of Operating Rhythms
Rachel Lockett: Yes. So, that’s listening. Second skill, powerful questions. So, asking powerful questions means I’m curious about what’s really going on, and there’s not one right answer. So, a powerful question helps you gain insight and it takes you to a new solution set you didn’t have before. But it’s not me leading the witness. I’m not trying to guide you to a specific answer. That wouldn’t be a powerful question. So, something that I like to equip leaders with is four kinds of questions that you can ask to unlock insight.
So, the first kind is I use a GROW model. So, the GROW model just is four different categories of kinds of powerful questions. So, the G in grow is goal. So, what does success look like? What’s the outcome that you want to have? Any question that’s around defining the best case scenario. The R in the GROW model is about your current reality. Where are you stuck? What are your current challenges? What have you tried? The O is about your options. So, let’s expand the opportunities that you can understand of the choices you have in front of you. What are the various paths you could take? And the W in the GROW model is the way forward. What are you going to do next? So, this sounds simple, and it is simple if you take the time and space to listen carefully and ask any of these questions. The people on your team will appreciate the space and time to unlock an option that they didn’t think of before and walk away with a concrete next step.
AI and the Coaching Profession
Lenny Rachitsky: So, just to reflect back what you’re saying, so someone comes to you with a monkey on their back. Here’s a problem I’m trying to solve. This percent of my team is just not doing something right or this feature isn’t working, something like that. So, first of all, it’s listen, be very active in your listening. Reflect back what you’re hearing, their emotions. And then, ask them questions around what does success look like for this? What is the goal? What is the goal? What does success look like for the thing you’re trying to do here? What does success look like? Two is just what’s today’s reality? What’s happening today? Then, options. Here’s options that you think exist. So, this is you asking them what are the options?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, what are your paths forward? What could you do next?
The Future of AI-Assisted Coaching
Lenny Rachitsky: What could you do next? And then, this is organic. So, it’s not just like one, two, three, four, I imagine.
A Few Final Words
Rachel Lockett: Yeah.
A Quick Lightning Round
Lenny Rachitsky: But the final step is just, okay, what’s the way forward? What do you want to do?
Wrapping Up the Conversation
Rachel Lockett: That’s exactly right. And you don’t have to do it in this order. These are just four kinds of questions.
Lenny Rachitsky: I see.
Rachel Lockett: So, you might come and someone’s super clear about their outcome. You know that. You don’t need to spend any time asking them questions about that. Maybe you just want to really dig in on where are they stuck? And once they start talking about their reality and where they’re stuck, then they realize, oh, I’m stuck because my cross-functional partner is blocking me, and I don’t have any relationship with them. I need to go meet with them actually and just have a breakthrough conversation, tell them where I’m stuck. So, sometimes talking this out loud, just creating that space for them is going to help them tremendously.
Lenny Rachitsky: And there’s kind of an implication here that the person often knows the answer or can come to the answer, and they just need a little bit of nudge to get there.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, this is definitely you want to coach when you think the person you’re talking to has the right context and can solve their own problem. That’s a premise of coaching. You wouldn’t coach if someone needs your guidance and comes to you and says, “Hey, I’m trying to take my company public. You took your company public. Can you tell me exactly the steps you took to get there?” Not a good time to coach.
Lenny Rachitsky: This begs the question, what if they just come to a terrible conclusion and you’re just like… Advice on when to actually just like, “What about this instead?”
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, okay. I think that’s great. So, if you have a really strong negative reaction to what they’re sharing, of course it doesn’t behoove anyone to hide that. I think you get curious. “Hey, help me understand how you came to that conclusion because here’s my reaction to that.” So, you’re honest, but you’re also curious. So, coaching in a manager or a leader context is not the same as in an executive coaching conversation. You’re managing this person. You’re responsible for their outcomes. You’re not setting up an hour-long coaching session, you’re just using coaching as an additional tool in your toolkit from advising. And you’re creating more space, maybe 15% more space in your one-on-ones, in your meetings for open-ended questions.
Lenny Rachitsky: I love this phrase, help me understand. One of my managers used to be really good at this, just like… You could tell, he’s like, “Help me understand this part of your thinking.”
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. And the other thing that does when you’re curious and you don’t just shut down someone’s idea, is you’re helping them think. You’re not helping them realize they’re going to screw it up unless they come to you for advice. You’re helping equip them with the right questions to ask and the right skepticism to have. And so, it’s always useful to be in conversation when someone who reports to you has a different worldview than you do. There’s some reason they came up with this great idea that you think is a terrible idea. And actually, that’s where the learning happens.
Lenny Rachitsky: And you may actually be wrong and you may realize, okay, they actually have the better solution. I get it now.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. This actually happens to me all the time in talent conversations. Because I have a background in being an HR business partner, and I’m working with CEOs and they’re thinking about building their leadership team. And I want everyone to have a very rigorous stance on their talent because if you have an A plus squad, you’re going to do great things in the world. And sometimes, they come up with an idea to performance manage someone who’s clearly not working in the role, but think, oh, maybe I’ll wait six months, and then, we’ll have a conversation. I have a strong point of view. I’m not going to let that slide, but I’m going to say, “Help me understand why that is a good idea,” and I’m going to press on that. And if they don’t come to an idea that I’m aligned with, I’m going to share openly my perspective while still empowering them to solve their own problem.
Lenny Rachitsky: To close the loop on this piece of advice, is there an example you could share to make this super concrete for folks?
Rachel Lockett: Well, I’m going to give you an example of a client, I’m going to call him Jeff, who runs an AI company. And he was essentially playing the role of the head of product also. And he had a growing number of engineers and designers, and his customer base was growing rapidly. And he started to feel completely overwhelmed. So, he came to me and we started coaching together. And soon, he realized that he was the blocker on every decision, every business decision, every product decision. And he was resenting it. He wanted his team to take more ownership. But with some coaching, he realized he was training his team to come to him with every decision because he had always operated that way. So, he decided to create squads and have small pods of engineers, product leaders, and designers focus on subsets of the team. Very normal as you have a small startup scaling. But he didn’t have an engineering manager and a product leader for every one of them.
So, this was a little bit earlier than he was equipped for because he did it out of necessity. And he also realized he needed to create some behavior change for the way he was interacting with that tech lead on each project so that they would take more ownership. So, we really invested in this idea of I’m going to start to set the system up so we have a product review every two weeks, they each have clear KPIs they’re driving to that we co-design, and for this next quarter, I’m shifting from the role of deciding on everything to coaching. I’m going to really ask good questions in our check-ins. I’m going to align to the KPIs, ask how things are going, ask where they’re stuck. And I just had a session with him last week. It’s amazing to see him because he’s so much more energized. He said, “The squads are moving so much faster. The teams feel more empowered and motivated.” And he has time to pick his head up and plan for 2026…
And he has time to pick his head up and plan for 2026, and spend his time and his gifts. Which are product, vision and strategy. So that’s more of a global example of what results from leaders shifting from the mode of solving every problem to coaching.
Lenny Rachitsky: That’s such a great example of just the power of this, this makes your life so much better. Because other people can start picking up the slack and not come to you for everything. And it’s like, listen better, ask a few powerful questions and so much improves, so much changes.
Rachel Lockett: Exactly.
Lenny Rachitsky: Everyone around you gets better.
Rachel Lockett: Lenny, let’s try it.
Lenny Rachitsky: Okay, let’s try it.
Rachel Lockett: So I want you to tell me a challenge. It could be a personal challenge, a professional challenge. Just bottom line, something that you’re struggling with.
Lenny Rachitsky: Whoa. The main thing I struggle with these days is just endless work. I feel like this newsletter, I started this newsletter six, seven years ago at this point, and originally it was like, I’m just going to build this chill newsletter, do this on the side. Just kind of chill out for a while. And now it’s just like, it just grows. I couldn’t help but make it more awesome and bigger and have this podcast now and other stuff I got going on. So it’s always this.
So I’m in a world now where it’s just this … the way I think about it is the Indiana Jones boulder is constantly in my back rearview mirror just coming at me. Because I need to get a newsletter post out, get podcast episodes out, do all the things associated with that. I’m also just in the middle of … I have this large Slack community at Twitter and LinkedIn, so I’m just constantly being barraged with small little asks and things and all these little things that never … it’s hard to just ignore and say no to. So what I struggle with just endless work. I joke that be careful working for yourself if your boss is a workaholic.
Rachel Lockett: I totally relate to that. Okay, so I’m hearing noise, barrage of needs and just constant requests of you online, in your work life. There’s always something that you need to be doing. And you designed it that way yourself. So you’re kind of aware of, I had this one intention of a path to freedom, insight. I imagine the newsletter was a fun passion project. And you couldn’t help but make it this all-consuming full-time job.
Lenny Rachitsky: That’s right. Let me just add, it’s like in so many ways the most awesome thing I could ever imagine doing also and extremely fulfilling. And I couldn’t think of anything better I’d rather be doing.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah.
Lenny Rachitsky: So I think that’s an important element.
Rachel Lockett: Absolutely.
Lenny Rachitsky: It’s this Indiana Jones boulder constantly chasing me.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, I can feel the gratitude and the resonance with what you get to do every day. And yet I hear you questioning, why does it have to feel like I’m fighting for my life while I’m doing this thing I love?
Lenny Rachitsky: That’s one way to put it, yeah. This boulder is squishing me.
Rachel Lockett: I mean, the Indiana Jones boulder is coming for you.
Lenny Rachitsky: Oh man.
Rachel Lockett: That’s a fight or flight instinct we all have.
Lenny Rachitsky: That’s true. That’s true.
Rachel Lockett: Okay, so thank you for being vulnerable enough to share that with your listeners and with me. I want to ask you, what would dream state look like? So let’s say in six months you’re still running this beautiful business that you’ve created. And you feel differently. What is happening?
Lenny Rachitsky: What I imagine is the same thing mostly, just much more free time. So more time to experiment and play with other things. And at the same time, the newsletter continues to be awesome and high quality, the podcast continues to be awesome and high quality. So it’s continuing to put out the same high quality stuff, just more free time, less … the boulders may be smaller.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, okay. So what does free time enable for you? When you think about … I hear your deep commitment to quality products and quality output. But this longing to feel a little bit more playful or flexible with those parts that are essential to you.
Lenny Rachitsky: Very practically, it’s time to play around with AI tools. Just explore and just kind of tinker. Versus, okay, all the time I have, I need to focus on the newsletter, make it better for next week. Oh, it’s coming out, here’s things I got to do. Oh, this podcast, got to prep for that, got to edit this thing. So it’s just time to tinker and explore and just like that kind of stuff.
Rachel Lockett: That makes sense. And what’s important about exploring and tinkering to you?
Lenny Rachitsky: Because in the work I do, I need to stay ahead on where things are going. I can’t just sit around and pontificate from a cloud. I need to really understand how things work, what’s working, what’s not, what’s real, what’s not. So being on the ground as much as I can with what’s actually going on versus just putting out content.
Rachel Lockett: That makes sense. Your voice is moving really fast. I kind of hear you feeling behind, even in the way you’re describing what you’re doing.
Lenny Rachitsky: A good [inaudible 00:32:09] listening.
Rachel Lockett: What’s interesting to me is when you’re talking about exploring and tinkering, when you first said it, you said it in kind of a spacious way. It’s fun to explore and tinker. You’re deeply naturally curious. You find new insights. But then I also heard you say, “And it’s a way to stay ahead, I have to do it in order to feel like I’m informed.” So what do you make of that difference?
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah. Yeah. Those are two sides of the coin. There’s another element of … I guess let me answer that question. I think those are both true, I don’t know. The reason I got into this is because it was so fun and so interesting. Just like, here’s what’s happening, here’s what the future-
Rachel Lockett: Yeah.
Lenny Rachitsky: Here’s advice, here’s ways to improve in the work that you do. So I still love it. It’s just I have less time to do that part and more it’s just the machine of the treadmill of content, content, content. There’s also just spending more … I didn’t even mention this. But just spending more time with my son and my wife, that would be really great just to have more freedom to go do stuff. Which we have a lot of that, but more is great.
Rachel Lockett: That makes sense. Okay, so the goal that I hear is not so dramatically different from today. It’s that you hold on to this high quality output, but you have space for exploring and tinkering. And for spending quality time with the people you love most.
Lenny Rachitsky: Yes. One way I’m thinking about as you reflect that back is 25% more free time while everything else continues to be awesome. And the challenge I run into is I sometimes get that extra time and then I fill it with more projects and opportunities. That’s the problem right there.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, there’s that inertia of moving fast, taking advantage of the moment that’s coming.
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah, yeah.
Rachel Lockett: So that’s a perfect shift into, what are your current ways of operating that get in the way of having that 25% of free time?
Lenny Rachitsky: It’s just agreeing to more things. Just like, oh look, I’m kind of free right now. Oh, okay, let’s do this talk here. Let’s agree to this thing here. So it’s just once I feel freedom, I’m like, “Okay, I could do that other thing.” And so I commit to more stuff.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. And how is that commitment to saying yes to things that come at you serving you?
Lenny Rachitsky: Not great.
Rachel Lockett: Well, it’s serving you in some ways. You’re doing it for a reason.
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah.
Rachel Lockett: What benefit does it have to you?
Lenny Rachitsky: Well, it depends on the thing. I actually have a rule of never doing a talk or going on another podcast or going to events really, because I find I never really get much out of it, and it distracts me from the stuff I could be doing. So I’ve set up a lot of policies of just turning down things that don’t serve me. But I still crumble and say yes to stuff.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, that’s smart.
Lenny Rachitsky: So to your point, there’s value here and there when I take on more work. And then I end up overworked again.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, I’m hearing there’s just a pattern, it’s like a reflexive pattern of even though you set a rule for yourself to say no to certain things and you seem proud of that boundary. You naturally break it or you fall into filling it with other things.
Lenny Rachitsky: That’s right. Exactly.
Rachel Lockett: Okay. So you’re stuck in this kind of addiction to doing more and signing up for more, which is so normal in our world, and probably most listeners can relate to that. That’s kind of the soup we swim in. So we have to be conscious of what inputs we have around us.
So let’s explore your various options that you have in front of you. One that you mentioned already you tried was to make a list of the things you don’t want to be doing anymore, like things you want to say no to. And really committing to that and sticking to that. What are the other kinds of things you could do to help you prioritize and create that sacred 25% of extra time for yourself?
Lenny Rachitsky: Something I’ve already done, which hasn’t kicked in fully yet, but that I’m really excited about is I reduce the cadence of my newsletter and podcast. Which in theory, should be a massive change. But the cadence of the podcast hasn’t shifted down yet, it’ll happen next year. The newsletter cadences, I basically changed my promise to readers instead of, you’ll receive a newsletter every week. Now it’s, two to four times a month depending on what’s going on.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah.
Lenny Rachitsky: Which felt huge. The problem is I still like every week I’m like, “Oh, I want to write about this thing. Oh, every week there’s nothing’s happening, I got to put this out.” So I’m almost not taking advantage of that opportunity. So something I could do is actually not publish every week.
Another is just bring on some more help. Which is difficult because I’ve got a lot of good help and there’s only so many things other people can do for me that isn’t writing an awesome newsletter and recording conversations like this. But I’m always thinking about, and I should think deeper about where can people take more load off my plate?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, I love that insight. What I’m hearing is do less in certain areas and think about your team and really expanding the capacity of your team. And be rigorous about the things you can hand off, that you may have limiting beliefs around the things you need to do versus the people on your team.
Lenny Rachitsky: I might, I might. And then your point I loved, which is just improve my policies of what I say no to that don’t serve me.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. What are the things you could be saying yes to if you said no to more things?
Lenny Rachitsky: Just playing around with stuff. Just space to explore and tinker, and just sit around and think. Versus just go, go, go, go, go.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. I just see you feel so light and excited in that. Like you almost are giddy when you think about that spaciousness.
Lenny Rachitsky: That’d be so nice.
Rachel Lockett: And I just want to name reflect back to you how special that is and how much more creative you could be in your work when you have that space and time.
Lenny Rachitsky: I love that.
Rachel Lockett: And your bucket’s full with care.
Lenny Rachitsky: I feel that, I feel that.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. So what’s one thing you could do in the next two weeks that would help you get closer to the kind of spaciousness you want to create?
Lenny Rachitsky: I love that … as we go through this, I’m thinking about this growth framework and I love how you’re executing it. Like I see it in action, it’s so good.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, I’m trying to do very simple coaching right now, just [inaudible 00:38:25]-
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah, yeah. No, this is great
Rachel Lockett: … that it’s really easy to follow for your listener.
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah, yeah. This is great. Okay, so what’s the one thing I could do in the next couple of weeks to help you move forward on this? I think one is at least skip a week or two of the newsletter and just actually stick to that plan. But it’s tough because the next two weeks I got already planned. I got to write a gift guide, that’s my … okay, so the week after, I’ll take a break. Okay, cool. So two weeks from the recording this I won’t publish a newsletter. And then I’m going to revisit my policies on what I say yes and no to.
Rachel Lockett: I love that. Think about everything you’re saying yes to and what are things you want to say yes to that you could treat it with. So really consider that it’s a trade off every time you say yes to something. The more resonant you are with the end state and what’s possible for you, the easier it is to be disciplined in the near term.
Lenny Rachitsky: I love just that element of here’s what you’ll get out of this. It’s not just no, no, no, no. It’s like yes to this other thing you really, really want to do.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. Exactly. Yes, say it like a resonant full body yes to the things that are in [inaudible 00:39:32].
Lenny Rachitsky: Hell yes.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, hell yes. With an exclamation, exactly.
Lenny Rachitsky: Awesome.
Rachel Lockett: Well thank you, Lenny, for letting me just demonstrate what powerful questions are. And the reason I wanted to do that with you is you brought an example that’s actually pretty big. It’s an emotional thing, it’s a cultural norm, it’s a way of being that we’ve all learned to be through growing up and operating in tech, especially. So even with that kind of topic, using a simple grow model can be useful. But people are coming at your listeners with topics that are very complicated, technical, urgent. But the same kinds of questions unlock new opportunity when it’s about how to build technical infrastructure or how to influence the executive team or how to ship the go-to-market strategy. So I just want a name that’s very transferable.
Lenny Rachitsky: I love that I got great advice in this conversation already.
Rachel Lockett: Good.
Lenny Rachitsky: What a great ROI for me at least.
Rachel Lockett: What did it feel like to be coached on your own podcast?
Lenny Rachitsky: It was unusual. I’m just like, wait, I got to get back to asking you questions. That’s where our minds are right now.
Rachel Lockett: Okay, all right, all right. We can flip it, we can flip it. I do want to name that typically when you’re coached versus told what to do, you’re more bought in. So if I told you, Lenny, I’ve heard all kinds of leaders come to me talking about being too busy. Here’s what you should do. Write a list of all the things you’re doing, write the things you’re going to delegate, cut out 25% of the things on your calendar. I could have given you a laundry list of things that I thought you should do without much context. But you’re the expert on your own context and actually what resonates. And you’re much more likely to do it if you came up with it.
Lenny Rachitsky: I was going to mention that earlier. That is so incredibly true. No one wants to … unless you ask for advice, very few people are like, “Please tell me what to do.”
Rachel Lockett: Yeah.
Lenny Rachitsky: I really love just unsolicited advice. That doesn’t go well.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. And great leaders often say, “Do you want advice or do you want some space to think about it? Can I help you think it through? Or would you like me to tell you what I would do?” And both are fine in certain situations. So asking is useful too.
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah. Okay. That’s such an important element of this that we should have mentioned and I’m glad you did.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah.
Lenny Rachitsky: Okay. So I’m going to go back to asking you questions.
Rachel Lockett: Great.
Lenny Rachitsky: This is a good segway to something I wanted to spend a little time on, which is burnout.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah.
Lenny Rachitsky: What I’m talking about is stuff that often leads to burnout. I’m definitely not burnt out, but this is a common problem in tech. Where people feel depleted and just go too hard. So many people I’ve worked with just left tech. I had a colleague at Airbnb, he’s like a park ranger now near woods. That’s how far tech-
Rachel Lockett: So peaceful.
Lenny Rachitsky: So peaceful and so wonderful. But I think that’s just people go so hard sometimes and then just get burnt out and never want to do anything like this again. I know that you’ve spent a lot of time on this with founders and you have a really helpful approach. So just talk about what you’ve learned about helping leaders in tech avoid burnout and feel energized and excited about their work for a long time.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. Well first of all, I’m glad you brought it up. It’s a huge problem. I remember when I was coaching top talent at Stripe, Patrick Collison is really committed to retaining top talent. And I created a program with my team for the top 50 executives in the tech side of the house. And we looked at their engagement scores, we did coaching circles. And it was so sad to see how exhausted that group of incredibly creative and committed leaders was in that moment.
And it’s so common that people who start with incredible inspiration and incredible capacity start to feel like they’ve been pushing and pushing and pushing for years. They’re parenting, they’re leading, crazy things are happening to the business. And they just can’t muster the same kind of motivation they once had. And I see this with my clients all the time.
So I’ve also witnessed people who are still inspired and continually energetic and seem to have some secret well of some diesel battery, or I guess I should say a Tesla battery that helps them through really hard challenges, and they’re still having a good time. And so what I make of that is that when people are in their gifts and their strengths firmly, most of the time, they have more energy. We all have more energy when we’re operating from the things we naturally are good at and the things we innately love doing.
So I try to help my leaders see that they can design their lives so they’re spending 80% of their time in their gifts. That seems really ambitious because you’re stuck within a context that requires a lot of you. Especially when you’re executive at a huge company. But I also interact with founders who started a company with great inspiration, an entrepreneurial vision, and their job has obviously changed every six months. Once you fundraise, once you grow a team. And sometimes, especially technical founders will start solving a technical problem they’re absolutely obsessed with. They spend three years doing it, the product ships, and then they’re stuck managing a board and a team. And they don’t even realize they’re doing a completely different job than the one that played to their strengths.
So one tool I like to give is for people to actually take two weeks and every night reflect on, what are the five things today that gave me the most energy? And what are the five things that depleted my energy the most? If you do that for two weeks and you look at patterns, you can tell, what are the natural gifts that I’m living in? And what are the things that I’m stuck doing that are exhausting? And they’re just slowly … it’s like a slow leak in your gas tank that over time shows up in your daily amount of energy.
Lenny Rachitsky: I so believe this advice is so effective. This is the way I actually approach when I left my job. I very actively did this. I paid attention every day, what gave me energy? And what sapped my energy? And let me just do more of the thing that gave me energy and less of the thing that saps me. I want to talk about just like, there’s only so much you can change, but I want to talk about that. And so initially I was like, maybe I’ll become an advisor and consultant kind of person. I actually found that was super depleting for me.
Rachel Lockett: Interesting.
Lenny Rachitsky: Doing these calls and talking to people because it’s like surface level, here are some things I would do. And it was just so unexciting and energizing. But writing was really energizing, which I’d never expected.
Rachel Lockett: I love that.
Lenny Rachitsky: And that’s what I did, and I just followed that pole.
Rachel Lockett: And it sounds like maybe you need a refresh, Lenny.
Lenny Rachitsky: Oh, interesting.
Rachel Lockett: There’s always more tuning you can do to your gifts. You’re in this amazing … you’ve clearly been successful for a reason, you’re in your strengths and you’re paying attention to what brings you energy. We can always do that more throughout our life. I think it’s a process of continually tuning in to where your spark is. And protecting that spark, feeding it.
Lenny Rachitsky: I love that insight, that just blew my mind.
So very tactically, the way you would do this is for two weeks every night is the idea, reflect back on that day and write down five things that gave you energy, five things that sap you of energy.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, there’s so many different activities you could use. So that’s one. I like an activity of actually asking five to ten people in your life with a very simple email. When I walk in the room, what shows up? What are my strengths? What are the gifts? If you really don’t know them and you haven’t spent a lot of time in this realm, that’s also an opportunity of actually asking the people who know you best, what your core gifts are? And when do you have the most inspiration?
You can also look through your calendar and note themes. Okay, over the last month, what are all the things I look at on my calendar that I’m excited to do? What are the things I dread? Okay, why do I dread those things? What do those things have in common? So there’s various ways you can get to what is your zone of genius? But what my invitation is to take that really seriously. It actually takes risk taking, it takes intention to design your life around your gifts.
Lenny Rachitsky: Is there any advice for actually doing this? Say someone’s just like, “Yeah, I got to do this.” But most people don’t actually do this. Is there a buddy you can nominate, just help you do this? Is it like if you have an EA, they can maybe help you with this? Is there anything you’ve seen?
Rachel Lockett: That’s a good question. Yeah, I love your ideas. I think that the people around you need to be on board and know what are your gifts. So for example, when I was an HR business partner, my boss bought into this and I explained to her, “Hey, I started at Stripe because I actually know I’m going to be a coach. I’m not going to be Head of HR. But I love working with leaders. So I’m going to do all the compensation strategy and all the org design, and I’m going to help product and engineering leaders. But what I have in the back of my mind is I’m honing my coaching skills.”
And so when this opportunity to work on top talent retention came about, it was very aligned in the realm of coaching and L&D, background that I had. So she put me on that. So it’s useful to name it to the people around you. What are your gifts? What are your interests? What skills are you really excited to hone? So that they are in a contract with you to help you and really apply your gifts to the business’s needs. So that’s one thing.
When you’re a founder, a CEO, when you have the autonomy to consider, what are the role scopes around me? Then you can really hire around it. So I have some CEOs that I work with who are incredible visionaries, great strategists, really good at managing the board, hiring, et cetera. Terrible at managing their team. They hate it. So they hire a COO. And they work in partnership, they have one person who’s really internally focused, they get to be externally focused. That works well, it’s a symbiotic relationship. If you’re honest about your strengths and you’re weaknesses, then you can start to manage around them.
Lenny Rachitsky:
Persona is also offering my listeners 500 free services per month for one full year. Just head to WithPersona.com/Lenny to get started. That’s WithPersona. com/Lenny. Thanks again to Persona for sponsoring this episode.
It’s really nice to know what you want to do and understand what your dream life looks like. You also have a job, you have manager, you got things to do, you got responsibilities. So I guess first of all, as you have seen people that are not founders actually make a change to do the things … to spend more time on their gifts, to actually not just be like … like there is … you have agency to move in a direction that’ll make you happier.
Rachel Lockett: Absolutely.
Lenny Rachitsky: Is kind of an implied piece of this.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, I think sometimes people hire a Chief of Staff to help them and compliment them. Sometimes people design their team with strengths and gifts that they don’t have. So it’s really … you can get creative once you really understand, oh, these things give me a ton of energy and these things are exhausting. But I still need to fill this need for the business. What are all the ways I can do it?
Lenny Rachitsky: And telling your manager, I think, is such a simple and important part of this. Telling them-
Rachel Lockett: Absolutely.
Lenny Rachitsky: … here’s where I want to go, here’s the things I want to get better at, here’s the things that give me energy. Can we just try to make as much of my role that?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. Especially if you’re executing well, people want to retain you. They want to know, what’s going to keep you here for the next five years? And typically they think that means moving up the ladder. But maybe it doesn’t for you. I think it does take the courage to move horizontally sometimes to get into your strengths. I mean, I’ve moved horizontally a number of times and I love what I do, I feel like I’m in my natural gifts. But it took me a few risks and some uncomfortable jobs that didn’t feel like they were worthy of my experience in order to get there.
Lenny Rachitsky: What’s a good percentage of your work life that should be in gifts and things that energize you versus, okay, I actually got [inaudible 00:52:48] stuff.
Rachel Lockett: My litmus test is 80%, that’s the goal.
Lenny Rachitsky: 80%.
Rachel Lockett: That’s the aspiration. You’re always going to have 20% of things you don’t love doing. There’s just the logistics of getting into the zone that you need to be in. But I really try to push people to think aspirationally, that if you’re 80% of the time in your gifts, how much energy you have to give to the world. It’s so much more inspiring.
So I want to tell you why I’m passionate about this topic because it actually is how I ended up as an Executive Coach. So 10 years ago, I was working at a small company called Remind, and I was running the UX Research team. And the CEO asked me to move into the Product Manager role for the Core Product team. And I was excited for the opportunity. I had non-technical background, but I thought, “Hey, all these strategists are up there creating the roadmap. I can do that. I know exactly what our users need.” So I was excited for this.
I came into the team, there was I think 12 senior engineers, very opinionated, very skeptical, this non-technical PM, but we worked together. And what I did was I listened. I learned what do our users need? What does this team need? What’s working and not working? And with-
What does this team need? What’s working and not working? And within a month, this team was working well together. They were reviewing each other’s code base. They were really disagreeing in a healthy way in our team meetings. They felt more connected to users. And I felt like, “Okay, this rhythm is working.” But what I was also doing as I was at home stressing in the middle of the night about the new user experience, I couldn’t decide which of the designs to go with. I was always over leveraging our data scientists, and I found myself swirling on decisions that didn’t need to have so much stress involved. And one day I went for a walk with my colleague Zach Abrams, and he was a great product manager and he was listening to me ask all these questions about how to sell the vision of what this product would look like in the future.
And he said, “Rachel, you’re a zone of genius or your gift is not being a product strategist, but I’ve watched you over the last few months, and you have gotten the team more motivated than I ever could, and you’ve influenced the entire executive team behind your ideas, and that’s impressive. You’re a people person.” And at first I was offended. What? You think I don’t have the ability to be a great product leader? And yet I sat with what he said, and I knew he was right. Both my parents are therapists. I never wanted to be a therapist. Here I am. I’m basically a work therapist. I love entrepreneurial energy, I love big vision, but I’m a people person.
And I left that, and I realized I love what my coach does. I got trained as a coach. I went into HR leadership. And Zach, who was a gifted product strategist, went on to lead product at Coinbase and BREX and most recently Bridge, which was acquired by Stripe, and he’s still my client. And we’ve watched our journeys over the last decade, and we’ve both been honing our gifts. Life is more fun when you’re in your gifts, and you have more inspiration and capacity to offer the world. So I just want to share that story because it’s helpful to be honest with the people you care about when they seem energized and when they seem depleted because sometimes it’s a wakeup call for people to really think about what is their spark and to protect it and to feed it.
Lenny Rachitsky: I love that story because I think most people when they hear this advice and this topic of, “Okay, I am feeling depleted, I’m feeling burnt out,” I feel like most people jump to, “Okay, but I can’t actually do anything about it. I have a job. I got responsibilities.” What I’m getting from this is the most important step is jump to figure out what you actually should be doing. What gives you energy? What your gifts are. It feels like that’s the biggest gap for people because once you know that, there are ways to do that. Talk to your manager. “It may not be possible today, but here’s where I want to be going. Here’s what I want to be spending time on.” I love your point you made though about you actually have to be doing well for your manager to listen to you. You can’t just be sucking and then like, “Oh, but I want to work on strategy.”
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. Well, it’s no one else’s job to help you live in your gifts. And what I notice in big companies is people are often annoyed or frustrated with their management for not making their job more interesting. It’s like, “No, your manager’s job is to help you perform in the job you were hired to do. It’s your job to navigate your career.” So over the arc of your career, how do you match your gifts with the world’s needs? And if the world right now is your company, how do you understand the needs enough so that you can apply your strengths to those needs?
Lenny Rachitsky: This reminds me, there’s a couple of guests I’ve had on the podcast who did this. They’re both founders, so this is specific to founders, but Rahul Vohra at Superhuman, he realized he’s not the best executor operations person, so he hired a president that took all that office plate. And then Darmesh, co-founder of HubSpot, he knew from the beginning he didn’t want to manage people, so he made a rule with his co-founder, “I will never have reports.” And he’s the CTO, I believe, and has zero reports, has no one-on-ones.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. And I think that it’s a beautiful thing to recognize that, but then to actually address the needs of those reports also. I think often people know, “Ugh, I don’t want to have one-on-ones,” but just not having anyone to manage those people is not going to be healthy for your company. So you have to both take your strength seriously and actively manage around your weaknesses.
Lenny Rachitsky: Is there any maybe last piece of advice on this topic of helping people get to a place where they’re feeling much less depleted and just more energized at work?
Rachel Lockett: I would start small. You don’t have to leave your job and redesign your life. You can stop going to the optional things that are exhausting. You can leave space between the things that are depleting that you have to go to outside and go on a 30-minute walk and refuel your tank. Start with tomorrow. What are the three things you’re going to do to plug up that gas leak and re-energize your spark? It might even be you love to read and you’re going to start reading 30 minutes before you go to sleep every night. It doesn’t have to be a dramatic life change, but recognize that only you know what is resonant and what is depleting, and it’s your job to take that seriously if you want to show up purposeful and impactful in the world.
Lenny Rachitsky: I love that advice. I’ve actually started reading before bed for 30 minutes, and that’s been so joyful, like a physical book with a little nightlight.
Rachel Lockett: I agree. I love a physical book. I have a Kindle, I got all the things, but a physical book on the couch is the best.
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah, it’s just that nightlight is key because sometimes at nighttime you need a night book. So we’ve been talking mostly so far about individual improvement, how to figure out what you should be working on, just helping learning to coach, things like that. I want to take us up a little level above and talk about team skills, how people get better at working with other people. Something that you are in many ways known for is helping co-founders build better relationships. And in my experience one of the most challenging parts of starting a company is the co-founder relationship. A lot of people don’t realize what they’re getting into. You’re basically getting married to this person in a very high stress situation, and you sometimes don’t know much about them.
Rachel Lockett: Exactly.
Lenny Rachitsky: And then you not working well together is just a huge issue because that all trickles down, and everyone sees it. And when co-founders leave, it’s really bad for everyone. So let me just ask you this, what have you found most helpful in helping co-founders build great relationships, stay happy and productive?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, thanks for asking this. I love working with co-founders because I think your core values as a person come out when they interact with someone else’s core values. Conflict, healthy conflict or otherwise, is actually where your core values come out. So it’s fascinating to watch people try to do something incredibly hard in the context of someone else’s vision, someone else’s strengths and weaknesses and navigate that together. So there’s so much energy in the co-founder dynamic for me and for co-founders themselves. It’s actually something that people don’t feel comfortable going to their board about or talking to that many people about because it’s a private matter. It’s almost like in a marriage you go see a couples’ therapist, but you don’t tell all your friends that you can’t stand your partner, but it keeps you up at night. So it’s a really tender, important relationship, and there aren’t enough supports for co-founders to navigate it. It’s very normal.
In fact, I know you probably know this stat, 65% of startups fail because of co-founder conflict, and co-founders are in a moment where they’re trying to build the future for their business, but also trying to build their own livelihood. So there’s so much at stake to get along with your co-founder. I think the core at its core, what you need in a healthy relationship is, one, self-awareness. What do I bring into this dynamic, and how am I being experienced by the other person? What does this other person bring into the dynamic, and how am I reacting to that? So the first is just collective awareness about what is our dynamic. I like to use the Enneagram for this, but there’s all kinds of tools, self-awareness tools that you can use to give a common language to what is my thing and what is your thing.
A very classic one has to do with roles. CTOs tend to be skeptics. They love facts, they seek knowledge. They want depth of awareness and understanding, and they also like to be self-sufficient. This is a total generalization, but I’ve seen this pattern over and over again. The CEO is the person who had to sell the vision. They’re a person who loves big picture vision strategy. They often are great at influencing others. They love to sell ahead of the reality of what the company’s actually built. This creates an inherent tension between blind optimism and skepticism, and it’s a dance that these two roles play together. So the first part is knowing the dance you’re in, so you’re not just stepping on each other’s toes blindly.
The second step is actually being conscious about the commitment you’re making to your relationship. In a marriage, for example, I talk about co-founder vows and recommitments and renewals because in a marriage you get married, and a lot of times people build a family and then they think, “Oh, the relationship will just continue around each other all the time. We’re doing this thing together.” But just like couples need a date night, co-founders need time and space to connect with each other to come together and say, “How’s this working for you? Are we still aligned on our vision and our strategy? How are we working together? What am I doing that’s pissing you off? What are the things that have gone unsaid and that we need to talk about?”
But if you’re just in the hustle and bustle of running and scaling your startup, you don’t make time for that conversation. So I think it’s incredibly important for co- founders to make space for their relationship, whether that’s a dinner every other week, whether that’s going out to lunch regularly, whether that’s just touching base business-wise, but having an in-person quarterly check-in. That space is critical for the health of a co-founder relationship.
Lenny Rachitsky: On that second piece, the vows idea is such a good idea. Is that something you actually recommend, here’s what I vow to do?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, here’s what I commit to do. So recently I actually wrote an article with First Round, and we created a document to help co-founders think about what to integrate into their check-in. So we put out weekly check-in, monthly check-in and annual and just questions to sit down and ask each other. Active listening skills will come in handy in those conversations, but it’s about taking space out of hustling and running the business to think about the business from a like to say, instead of being on the dance floor, you need time on the balcony to look down at what’s happening. How are we doing? Is this still working for both of us? And the vows are really about, how are we going to be together? How are we going to show up? What’s our culture that we’re creating?
Even if you don’t want to go through a whole culture exercise early on in building your company, you should have some sense of how you want to show up for each other. How are we going to make decisions? How are we going to deal with conflict? These are things you can go into intentionally and design with your co-founder.
Lenny Rachitsky: Awesome. We’re going to link to that post The first step, Enneagram sounds like that’s what you recommend, and this is basically a personality profile that a lot of people love.
Rachel Lockett: I really like the Enneagram. I think you can also simply tell each other, “Here are my strengths. Here’s what I see as my weaknesses, and what do you think? Give me some feedback. Do you agree?” And you can do that with each other without any personality assessment. If you want to just be scrappy and have an open connected conversation about, you could even say, what are the gifts I bring and the weaknesses I have, and how will I cover those? How will I lean into my gifts? How will I cover my weaknesses, and how will you? And then I think it’s worthwhile having a conversation about, what are the gaps neither of us cover that we’re likely going to need as we build this business?
Lenny Rachitsky: What do you recommend people do when they are just like, “Our relationship isn’t working great. There’s a lot of tension”? All this advice we’ve been talking about, at the beginning, here’s things you can do to set things up for success. Understand what you’re good at, what you’re bringing to the table. Consciously commit to, here’s what I’m going to do, here’s what you’re going to do. Have these dinners or lunches. I love this metaphor of going out on the balcony and just reflecting on how it’s going. So that’s all really great. What if you’re just already in it and it’s really annoying, I don’t like this person that much or so much tension constantly. What are a couple things they can do this week, next week?
Rachel Lockett: Co-founders typically come to me either in this early phase where they want to intentionally build something great and they want to set it up for success. More often co-founders come when they’re really frustrated with one another. They feel the tension is palpable. They can’t stand it anymore, but they’re still really deeply committed to the business so they don’t see an out. And they knew that at some point they really loved this cofounder, so they see a possibility of recovering, and that’s why they want to go get a coach. I’m going to give you an example of this PR duo running a fierce business scaling really fast. And at one point when they started, you had the visionary who was great at selling business. They were both incredible with PR, and the partner was incredible operationally.
So as the business scaled, one took on a lot more business development and the other took on all the internal things, but was exhausted by all this people management and all of the elements of running a scaled team that she didn’t expect to have to do. And when they came, I think both of them weren’t sure, can we figure this out? Do we want to just sell this thing? Do we want to keep going? And I think someone said, “End it or send,” was what one co-founder said to me. They’re coming at this decision point. And what I saw them do is, one, they named current state really well. They were both able to share. We did use a 360. So they got feedback from their teams and then shared it with one another, but they were able to be open and vulnerable in what was working and what wasn’t working. Not immediately, but over time.
And they realized they used to love being partners in this work, but as they began to lead different teams, they grew very distant from one another. They were living on opposite sides of the country and actually just coming together and realizing what each other was missing and how lonely it is to lead this scaling company without each other’s support and how they actually needed the counterbalance to their strengths and didn’t have it was a important start to their healing.
And over our coaching, they turned back towards each other and they created more of a rhythm of how they would get together without me involved. And they ended coaching after our arc feeling renewed and really recommitted. They made some changes on their leadership team to fill their gaps. They also started, I think, meeting once a week virtually, and they started a cadence of getting together in person quarterly. And I don’t mean to say that just that time means you’re going to heal, sometimes coming together and really grappling. I had one last week where we all came together, we had a great full day in-person discussion about how they were making this co-founder duo, how they were making decisions.
And after that conversation, it was really clear that one of the co-founders was unhappy and didn’t appreciate the other one and was not going to change and realized he was a big part of the problem and I think is going to leave the business. But that’s still success because it’s clarity. You’re not muddling in the dark, frustrated, unconscious about the interpersonal dynamics you’re in, you’re making a choice based on your strengths and what the business needs and this relationship dynamic that you’re in to either be in it or to lovingly step out of it.
Lenny Rachitsky: I love how similar this is to just the marriage, all this stuff. This is the same sort of thing you would do.
Rachel Lockett: Totally. I mean a marriage, you’re building a life with a partner. So the only difference is a marriage is rooted in sexual attraction and love, and that’s not the case always in the co-founder dynamic. But I have worked with couples who are also co-founders, but there should be some element of love for your co-founder. In fact, I think that when you work closely with colleagues and you really are able to see their gifts and enable them, you can’t help but love them.
Lenny Rachitsky: That’s a big statement. The other takeaway here is that just get coaching. It feels like that’s the solution if things are just not working great. There’s only so far you can get just talking.
Rachel Lockett: It takes an evolved facilitator, one of the co-founders, being able to hold space for both their frustration and their empathy in a dynamic that is challenging. So outside support is useful. Sometimes it’s actually a team member, it’s an HR leader. It’s the GC who happens to have great people skills. You don’t always need a coach, but you need space to be vulnerable, open, and curious. So if you can create that on your own, that’s great. I think it’s definitely possible.
Lenny Rachitsky: Outside of the co-founder relationship, do you have any just tactical tips for people to improve their interpersonal skills with just team members, anyone they work with, just people that may struggle like, “Man, I have a hard time with this person. I just have a hard time with a lot of people”?
Rachel Lockett: First of all, people when they want to have a conflict or they want to engage in something that’s not working, they come in armored and ready to prove their point. It’s natural. You’ve been thinking about this, perseverating over whether you should mention it. You finally get to the point of engaging, and often there’s a misguided view that the goal is to convince the other person that what they’re doing is wrong. Actually, the goal of any conflict is to create mutual understanding. So when I go in to have a conversation with, let’s say my husband who’s not doing his share of the parenting, my goal is to help him understand what I’m struggling with so that he can empathize, see clearly what’s happening, and perhaps meet my needs in some way. But it’s not for me to prove to him how little he’s doing in the house because he might have a totally different story about what’s happening.
So I’m going to give you a framework that I like that many of my clients use. It’s from Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication. It is a book and a framework. So it’s four steps. The first step is observations. So my job is to note what is happening factually. For example, I noticed that in the last three sprint planning meetings, you didn’t invite me to those conversations or share with me the roadmap. That’s an observation. It’s a fact. I could take a picture of it, and no one would argue with it. The next step is feelings. So I’m going to express my feelings without blame. So I felt anxious not knowing what was on the roadmap for the week. I felt confused about whether that meeting happened or not because I wasn’t included. So this is me sharing my feelings so the other party can empathize and understand what I’m going through without being defensive.
The third step is needs. What are my universal human needs related to this topic? We all have needs. This is not requiring anything of the other person, just helping them understand my needs that are not met. So I have a need for clarity, I have a need for collaboration, I have a need for connection, whatever that is. And lastly, the step is to make a request. Now, in this model, the request is an olive branch to help the other person meet you and see you. It shouldn’t be something that’s impossible to do. It should be actually something quite small and easy to achieve for the other person to feel successful in connecting to you and understanding you. So in this case, I might make a request. I’d like to ask you next time you have a sprint planning meeting to include me as optional or to send me the roadmap afterwards that you align on.
Now, the other person doesn’t have to meet my request. They might make a counter proposal, but the most important thing of this model in this conversation is that the other person understands what I’m going through and they don’t feel reactive so that we can have a mutual conversation about what’s going on.
Lenny Rachitsky: Wow. This point about how when you’re trying to convince someone of something, when something is going wrong, this point that your goal is not to convince them, that your goal is to have mutual understanding, that just blew my mind, and I think it’s going to change my life. Wow.
Rachel Lockett: Lenny, try this with your wife tonight. NVC is a powerful tool, and actually it’s very akin to most models that are about connection. The Stanford Business School course that has a T, it’s called Touchy Feely that everybody loves.
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah, we’ve had Carol on the podcast.
Rachel Lockett: Great. Yeah, so Carol Robbins created this movement. There’s lit. A lot of founders go to her model that’s for founders.
Lenny Rachitsky: And tech.
Rachel Lockett: And this is all about, they talk about a net that you can talk about your feelings and your reaction, but as soon as you cross the net to blaming someone else or making an assumption, they’re going to have a defensive response. But you can be incredibly bold and brave if you stay on your side of the net. So this model helps you do that because it’s really about sharing your emotions and your needs and making a request without blame.
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah. So what I was going to say as you were going through this framework is here’s me, here’s what I saw, here’s what I’m feeling, here’s what I need. And then now that you have that in context, here’s something I’m asking for versus you did this and you’re feeling this and you thought this.
Rachel Lockett: Exactly. It also acknowledges that professionals have feelings. I think that we operate in tech. We’re supposed to give all of ourselves, all of our time, all of our energy to this endeavor. And it’s purely logical. It’s not at all true. It’s completely emotional. And if we ignore our feelings, they will bubble up, and we will be unconsciously acting from them.
Lenny Rachitsky: And there’s this implicit power here that if the person cares about you and loves you or values your relationship, knowing that this makes them feel bad will make them want to change. It’s not like you need to tell them, “Change this thing. Oh, I didn’t realize this made you upset or that you have this need. And now that I know that, okay, now I see why this is important to you.”
Rachel Lockett: That’s exactly right. And sometimes the other person will hear that and have a different story or a different perspective. So they might say, ” Okay, I can honor that request,” or, “I hear that request, and I hear your feelings, but let me explain what happened for me.” And one way you could do that is, are you open to hearing that? So they’re able to share their side too. You don’t have to just agree with the person’s request. As long as you’re setting this tone, the other person’s more likely to contribute in a way that achieves mutual understanding because once you’re vulnerable, they’re going to share their vulnerability.
Lenny Rachitsky: Let me remind folks of the framework. I’m going to try using this. I wish it was a handy acronym off. So the framework is share what you’ve observed, just the facts of what is happening. Just simply, I saw you didn’t close the fridge fully. Your feelings of how that made you feel, the needs that your core human need that drives that feeling, I imagine. And then the request you have of the person.
Rachel Lockett: Yes. And I want to make one note I forgot to say, which is feelings are emotions. So sometimes people say things like, “I feel like you’re being a jerk.” That’s not a feeling, obviously. A feeling is a sensation in your body that results in an emotion. So naming a feeling is actually not easy for technical leaders sometimes. I want to make that point because emotions are what get you to the underlying humanity of connection. Emotions are the key to soliciting empathy.
Lenny Rachitsky: Are there phrases that are just examples of non-feelings, like using the word “you” in the way you describe a feeling probably is not a good sign?
Rachel Lockett: Exactly. If you can say, “I feel like… ” even if you add like or, “I feel that… ” you’re probably going to add a fact. It should be an emotion word after I feel.
Lenny Rachitsky: So don’t say like, don’t say you, don’t say that?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, exactly.
Lenny Rachitsky: Awesome. Along this topic, I chatted with a number of clients that have worked with you over the years, and one of the most common themes that they said you help them with is having difficult conversations. And I think we covered actually much of this in what we just talked about, but I’m curious if there’s any other advice you have for helping people have difficult conversations. Let me read a quote from one of your clients.
Rachel Lockett: Oh, wow. I love this.
Lenny Rachitsky: So she said, “Rachel is exceptional at making difficult decisions clear and making it feel possible to get these decisions actualized.” Is there anything more-
… these decisions actualized. Is there anything more there for, because difficult conversations are difficult. How do we help people make them less difficult? Any tips?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. Well, first of all, difficult conversations makes you want to run away. The marketing on conflict is poor, so I want to reframe that. My belief is when we feel internally ambivalent, we have two inner parts at war. And there’s something really beautiful and important to pay attention to, there’s something to learn, when we have ambivalence. When we are in conflict, something important is at stake. We care deeply about what we’re building, about the person that’s letting us down. So the reason it’s hard, is because there’s such an emotional component to it. And there’s something to learn from it.
So first, I want leaders who are listening to think, “This is hard, because I have something to learn here, and because it matters. So instead of avoiding it and running away, I’m going to lean into this moment. And I’m going to come out of it not just having solved this dynamic, and not just having said my piece, but having built a skill.” The reason I focus on interpersonal dynamics is because the quality of our relationships determines the quality of our life. I really believe that. And if you cannot have conflict, you can’t have healthy relationships. We are going to disagree with the people we love, or care about, or are building a business with. So first, I just want listeners to reframe ambivalence and interpersonal challenge, think of them as a growth opportunity.
Second, there is always something that we’re doing to contribute to the conflict, even if it feels like the other person is insane, and is driving us crazy, and we’re the innocent party. So entering any conflict conversation with humility, and curiosity about the other person’s experience, is critical to setting the table for a commitment to come out better and stronger. So no model, NVC or otherwise, can fix a person who’s coming in rigid and full of blame. I really love the 15 Commitments to Conscious Leaders, I don’t know if you know that book, but one of the concepts is about taking a hundred percent responsibility. Not being in the world of blame, being a victim, or being a hero. And I see many leaders, when they’re in a challenging interpersonal conflict, being in victimhood, being in blame, or being in hero. “I’m just going to do it for them, and forget it. They’re having such a hard time getting this done, I’m just going to do it.”
Instead, take responsibility for your part. “What is my piece in making this dynamic happen and how can I address it?”
Lenny Rachitsky: That makes me think about, Jerry Colonna was on the podcast, and he has this famous line that I’ve always remembered. How are you complicit in creating the conditions that you claim you don’t want?
Rachel Lockett: Yes, I love that. Love that question.
Lenny Rachitsky: And there’s so many, there’s three parts to that whole question, I won’t get into it. But what you’re sharing here is, think about that, figure out how, because your point is, you’re always somehow complicit in creating the issue you’re complaining about. And use that to help kind of put down the defense of the person like, “Here’s what I’ve contributed to this problem.” Do you use the nonviolent communication framework? And I don’t know, is that just a general way of trying to have difficult conversations, or is there not a framework?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, no, I think that’s a great framework for when you want to go interact with someone around something that’s not working for you. I think typically a difficult conversation arises because some feelings are coming up for you, and you have a need that’s not being met. And so, that’s the instigator to know, “Okay, I need to talk to this person. We need to clear this up.”
For example, I was working with a CEO whose co-founder was constantly undercutting his decisions, and criticizing him. And there was something happening, where they’d gone from being this great dynamic duo, fundraised, hired a few leaders, and then all of a sudden he was getting daggers thrown at him all the time. And it was exhausting, and frustrating, and confusing. That was a time where he used NVC to address, “What is happening, here?” And it turned out that the co-founder was really frustrated with how he was spending his time. He didn’t want him to be off selling, he wanted him to be helping him with product vision. And they had a totally different conception of how the CEO should be spending his time.
Lenny Rachitsky: Awesome. Just remind folks of the NVC framework, because this is the thing that’s hard in the moment. Like, “Oh, what should I be saying?” Observe, feelings, needs, request.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, exactly. And there’s a nonviolent communication book, if folks are into the framework, and want to check it out.
Lenny Rachitsky: People need a little… Who was it, you said one of your client’s tattooed the vision he had, on-
Rachel Lockett: Yeah.
Lenny Rachitsky: Okay, there’s, let’s just get something.
Rachel Lockett: Maybe don’t tattoo NVC.
Lenny Rachitsky: Because that may be [inaudible 01:26:25]
Rachel Lockett: It doesn’t have a good acronym. You could just print it out, and put it right next to your screen, or something-
Lenny Rachitsky: All right, okay.
Rachel Lockett: … if you want.
Lenny Rachitsky: No tattoos. I just want to highlight the first point you made in this answer, of having difficult conversations. And then I have one more question for you. Just this point about, if there’s something you’re afraid of, that is a sign you should do that. There’s a quote I often think of. “The cave you fear contains the treasure you seek.” And the advice there is just, the thing you’re afraid of is a compass too, the thing you should do. Because there’s something important there.
Rachel Lockett: I love that. Yeah. It’s like, “What’s important here? What do I have to learn here?” Is a question you can ask yourself when you’re avoiding something. I often see this in talent management situations. A CEO has an underperforming COO. They’re avoiding a conversation, because they keep getting let down, and actually they kind of know deep down, this is not working out. They don’t want to face it. It’s too much work. They need to just keep plowing forward.
And when we really take space to think about their feelings and needs, they realize, I ask them, “Would you enthusiastically rehire this person for the same role?” Which is the question we always asked at Stripe. And when the answer is no to that, no matter how many difficult conversations you have, this is not going to work. So then you have to take action. And even engaging in the hard conversation, and seeing what happens, can lead you to the clarity that you need to take action on talent that’s not working.
Lenny Rachitsky: That is a really cool tip. I did not know Stripe operated that way. We had the CTO of Netflix on the podcast, Elizabeth Stone, and this is very much how they operate. They’re always asking a question like that. The way you phrased it was, “Would I enthusiastically rehire this person for the same role?”
Rachel Lockett: Exactly. It’s very clarifying, because it’s binary. People have a physical sense, just like we talked about a full body yes, before? You have a immediate reaction that is honest, to that question, that provides clarity.
Lenny Rachitsky: And the answer isn’t, if it’s no, it’s not, “Fire them.” It’s, “You need to do something about it.” It could be talk to them about it, put them on a performance plan, put them in a different role. It doesn’t mean you have to fire them immediately, so it’s not necessarily as scary as it sounds, if you say no.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, I think that also it depends on the stage of business you’re in. So I see a lot of companies build a leadership team, and then a year later, the size and stage of their business is dramatically different. And they start to realize, “Oh, the CFO that was really fine back then, is now completely wrong. He should be the controller.” Okay, great. So reckon with that. Recognize that in how you’re interacting with your current CFO, put out a search. There’s many things you can do that aren’t firing someone. But in quickly scaling businesses, it’s natural that the leadership team’s job will change, and that you’ll have to make some evolution over time.
Lenny Rachitsky: And I guess it’s very important to highlight the importance of operating this way, if you’re trying to build a really successful company, is that should be the bar. Is, if you would not enthusiastically rehire this person for this role. If you’re trying to build something that’s never been built before, and build a company that actually works out really well, you need to really only have people around that are hitting that bar.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. My perspective, I talked at the beginning about how I’m obsessed with the human side of business building, and my belief is that talent and the environment that you put your talent in is everything. Yes. Building a product and a business is about building something that users need. It’s about product market fit, and then the wave you’re on. Timing is important. You’re going to build a different size business, if you’re in a sector that’s not growing, than right now, if you’re in the middle of AI. True. You’re riding a timing wave, and you’re solving a core need. But everything besides that is so human. It’s about talent, and it’s about the environment that you put that talent in. So you need to create the conditions such that your talent can thrive.
Lenny Rachitsky: Such a simple concept, that I think people overlook, is just everything you do is going to be the people that you have around you, and the environment you create for them to operate. I think your point about when you’re doing something difficult, just to close out this element, I love this idea that if it feels hard, think of it as a learning opportunity. I think anyone listening to this is like, “Oh, cool, I’m going to learn something. I’m going to get better.” It’s such a easier, more motivating way of approaching something that’s difficult.
Rachel Lockett: And I want to make a distinction between that and what we talked about earlier, which was, lean into your strengths. Because I don’t believe people should suffer through the day grinding, doing work that’s depleting. That’s not a learning opportunity. Interpersonally, when you’re avoiding something, it’s because you care about something. Avoiding your emotions is what I want to encourage people against. We have to feel our feelings all the way through, be present to our feelings, and interact with others in a way that acknowledges our feelings. That’s what I want to encourage, because actually that’s not deadening, that’s enlivening. And there’s learning there.
Lenny Rachitsky: A final area I want to spend a little time on is, something that I’ve heard from everybody that you work with, which is the way that you help them operate. So you just talked about the importance of the people you hire and the environment you create for them. And something that you help leaders do is create a very specific way of operating around a one-page plan, and how that kind of trickles down and just makes everything at a company more effective. Talk about this one-page plan, how you recommend companies operate with this.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, thanks for asking that question. I think, typically, companies have complicated the process of aligning their vision, their strategy, their goals, and the way people behave with each other, their values. So that all of these things live in different places, are talked about to a different degree, resonate to employees differently. And if you asked anyone at the company, “What are your top three priorities, and how do they relate to the vision?” It’s not an easy answer.
So the reason I like the one-page plan concept is, it’s simplifying. It’s a way for the leadership team to come together and align around, ” What are we doing here? What is our role in it? And how do we communicate it, so that the whole company has clarity, and knows how the work they’re doing ladders up to our big picture vision that we’re all committed to?”
So I actually got this idea of the one-page plan from Alpine Investors. They have something called the People First Operating Rhythm, and they’ve successfully implemented that at their portfolio companies. And I work in concert with Alpine, so I work with some of their portfolio CEOs. To execute this rhythm. So it’s not just about a one-page plan. It puts your vision and your values on the first column, your strategic intentions and your KPIs on the second column, your annual goals on the third, and your quarterly goals on the fourth. So that no matter what you’re talking about, in terms of, “What are we doing for the next year, or the next quarter? How do we prioritize?” It’s always in tandem with your core KPIs, your strategy, and your vision.
And I love how they instituted that with their portfolio, and I saw the power of it. They’ve collected some data that their portfolio companies that actually institute the People First Operating Rhythm result in higher returns. So they’re very committed to this strategy, and after operating with CEOs in their rhythm, I took some of those ideas and started to help other founders and other leaders with some of the same concepts, in my own way.
Lenny Rachitsky: We’re going to hopefully link to a template of this one-page plan?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, sure.
Lenny Rachitsky: Okay, cool.
Rachel Lockett: Happy to share.
Lenny Rachitsky: Okay, so let’s do that. And then, what kind of impact do you see from companies starting to operate this way to motivate people to do this?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah. What I see is clarity and alignment. And I also see more connection. So I want to name that it’s not just about having a plan, it’s about how you create it, how you reflect on it, and how you come together around it to celebrate wins.
So in my opinion, a very under- attended to part of building a business is an operating rhythm. When do you come together to kick off the year, and share your strategy and vision again, and talk about the goals? When do you come together to reflect on what’s working and not working, and how do you do that? And in what groups? And are you honest, or are you just kind of doing it as a quick exercise to move on to what’s pressing?
So just like I said in co-founder dynamics, a key is to step out of the dance floor and to get onto the balcony. Executive teams leading a complex business need time away from being in the business to work on the business. So around this one-page plan, the reason I like a rhythm, is you can kick off the year with the plan. That’s really simple, easy to understand. Everyone can have it accessible and every quarter, you can get together to reflect, “What worked, what didn’t work?”
I really like the question, “What’s an inconvenient truth?” Air the things that need to be talked about, that no one’s talking about because you’re too busy. That’s the power of combining a simple plan, whether it’s one page or not, that aligns you from the top to the bottom, your vision all the way down to your quarterly goals. And a time where you stop, pause, discuss, reflect, have a little spacious energy.
It’s not unlike what you said about your own time. You are the executive team. You want a little bit of spacious time to tinker, reflect, create, and come back to the meaningful work you’re doing more energized. And leadership teams need that too.
Lenny Rachitsky: Wait, Alpine Investors, Graham Weaver. He was on the podcast.
Rachel Lockett: I saw that. I saw that.
Lenny Rachitsky: I love that. Okay, final, final question. I want to take us to AI corner before we get to the very exciting lighting round. I’m going to do kind of a tweaked version. Usually I ask people just, how has AI impacted their work and life? I guess that is the question here, just how has AI changed, I guess coaching, as a coach? But also just, from a client’s perspective, how are people using AI to help them in their, I guess life, from a coaching perspective?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, it’s a great question. So as a coach, I use AI in a couple of key ways, that I’m grateful for. One, I use Granola, which I saw you give away to your listeners.
Lenny Rachitsky: One free year of Granola, for becoming an annual subscriber of Lenny’s Newsletter, lennysnewsletter.com.
Rachel Lockett: There you go.
So I use Granola to take notes in our session so I can be fully present with my clients, and I can give them a synthesis of what happened and the next steps they committed to after our session. I also use it, I put them in a folder for every client, and so I can look at insights across our work together. What are the deeper things that are happening? What are the patterns that are taking place? I have these in my head, but actually it’s a great tool, to see over time. “Oh yeah, we talked about that in our first session. Let’s bring that back, because that’s what you’re struggling with now.” So it helps me create the kind of transformation that I want for all my clients.
Secondly, I just use ChatGPT to help me plan my retreats. I run a women’s organization, and we have eight retreats a year, and it’s a great tool to think expansively about new activities. Once I’ve gotten the core objectives down, and I have a bunch of ideas about what I want to do, it gives me new creative ideas. So I can put in like, “Here’s my objective, here’s my goal, here’s my audience, here’s my last retreat that I ran. I kind of want three new ideas for this session.” So it’ll give me creative energy that I otherwise would need to get together with other coaches to discuss. And I do that, too.
Finally, I’m experimenting with AI in a way to support my clients between sessions. So I’ve gotten some feedback from my clients that they would like more interaction between our sessions, and they’re always allowed to email me, or text me. I’m available to them. But I think they want to be really respectful of my time, and so some people do reach out and ask me questions, and other people wait for our session.
So I’m curious about the future of coaching, how in between sessions, clients can get access to more of an AI support, where the bot has all of their context, their development plan that we create at the beginning. So that’s their goals, for our work together, how they want to grow. Some of my core frameworks, and my beliefs, and my training. And the Granola notes from all of our sessions, so that they can access between, just some extra spot support. They’re going into this conversation, how should they approach it? They’re anxious about this team meeting. How can they make the most of it? More tactical support. I see personal coaching as still critical for, “What is your vision of your life? How do you want to shift your core behavior to align with that vision?” But then, AI can play a real helpful role in between, on the tactics.
Lenny Rachitsky: That is super cool. So that’s something you already do, where they have access to this kind of GPT-
Rachel Lockett: It’s something I’m building right now.
Lenny Rachitsky: You’re building, that is-
Rachel Lockett: My clients don’t have that yet.
Lenny Rachitsky: Okay. That is great. That is a really good idea. It’s not replacing coaching and therapists, let’s say, but it’s adding a lot more in-between time where you could just talk to us, based on everything you’ve talked about, all the frameworks that you use. That is extremely cool. All right. There’s a billion-dollar company coming.
Rachel Lockett: I don’t want to build that.
Lenny Rachitsky: It’s not your zone of genius.
Rachel Lockett: Exactly.
Lenny Rachitsky: Rachel, is there anything else that you want to share or leave listeners with, before we get to our very exciting lightning round?
Rachel Lockett: What I want to share is that the world is getting more lonely. There’s a lot of research on this, but it’s also obvious in my coaching sessions, that people feel more alienated from one another. And actually, building businesses is an inherently human endeavor. So I am a fan of this AI boom, I appreciate that we have more technology at our fingertips than ever before. But I want to encourage listeners to think of themselves as leaders who bring humans together to self-actualize, and that they have to actively overcome the default state, which is blind, grind, and loneliness. So I think this is a call to action for your listeners, to connect with the people around them, lead healthier teams, create environments where connection is inevitable. And that they will have more fun, and build better businesses, because of that.
Lenny Rachitsky: What a beautiful way to end it. With that, we’ve reached our very exciting lightning round. I’ve got five questions for you. Are you ready?
Rachel Lockett: I am ready.
Lenny Rachitsky: First question, what are two or three books that you find yourself recommending most to other people?
Rachel Lockett: One of them I said before, The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leaders. And I love Designing Your Life, by Bill Burnett.
Lenny Rachitsky: I love that book, too. People don’t talk about that book enough. Next question. Favorite recent movie or TV show you really enjoyed?
Rachel Lockett: Oh, God. I just went to KPop Demon Hunters with my daughter. It’s so embarrassing, but that’s what we dressed as for Halloween, like everyone else in the world.
Lenny Rachitsky: I have not seen that. I hear everyone talking about it. I am going to try to avoid it, I think. Next question. Favorite product you have recently discovered that you really love? Could be an app, could be a gadget, could be clothes.
Rachel Lockett: I really love Loom.
Lenny Rachitsky: Amazing.
Rachel Lockett: I’ve been recording trainings on Loom for some of my clients that are, it’s a scaled holding company, so I’m able to scale training in a really human, connected way.
Lenny Rachitsky: Do you have a favorite life motto that you often come back to, in work or in life?
Rachel Lockett: I have a quote that is on my desk. And I love it. Ready? “If you can see your path laid out in front of you, step by step, it’s not your path. Your own path, you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.” That’s a Joseph Campbell quote.
Lenny Rachitsky: Beautiful. Final question. You’ve got two kids, you said. Do you have any favorite children’s books that you most love reading to them, that they’ve loved most?
Rachel Lockett: Oh my gosh. So my daughter is really into Roald Dahl. I love Roald Dahl, because he’s completely irreverent, and he has a crazy imagination. So we’ve been reading Witches, Matilda, all of his books. And both my kids love it. So, they’re five and seven.
Lenny Rachitsky: Have you seen the Wes Anderson stories of his stories, where he takes [inaudible 01:43:58]-
Rachel Lockett: Some of them, yeah. They’re great.
Lenny Rachitsky: Yeah, they’re so amazing. Oh my God. And it’s like Roald Dahl is like, I think it’s personifying him. He’s like a character in the story.
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, he’s a character, from what I hear about his life.
Lenny Rachitsky: Rachel, this was incredible. I feel like we’ve very much accomplished what I set out to do, which is just give people all this advice that they never have access to that, costs tens of thousands of dollars. I think we’re going to help a lot of people improve their lives and their careers. Thank you so much for being here.
Rachel Lockett: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
Lenny Rachitsky: I almost forgot to ask you two final questions. Where can folks find you if they want to reach out, maybe consider working with you? And how can listeners be useful to you?
Rachel Lockett: Yeah, find me at lockettcoaching.com, and how can listeners be useful? Listeners should turn towards each other, build great relationships, and send CEOs and co-founders my way if they need coaching.
Lenny Rachitsky: Thank you so much for being here.
Rachel Lockett: Thanks for having me. Take care, Lenny.
Lenny Rachitsky: Bye, everyone.
Thank you so much for listening. If you found this valuable, you can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Also, please consider giving us a rating, or leaving a review, as that really helps other listeners find the podcast.
You can find all past episodes or learn more about the show at lennyspodcast.com. See you in the next episode.
Glossary
| English | 中文 |
|---|---|
| 15 Commitments to Conscious Leadership | 《有意识的领导者的 15 项承诺》 |
| 360 | 360 度评估 |
| active listening | 积极倾听 |
| Alpine Investors | Alpine Investors(私募投资公司) |
| Carol Robbins | Carol Robbins(人际动态领域专家) |
| Chief of Staff | 幕僚长 |
| controller | controller(财务总监/会计主管) |
| COO | COO(首席运营官) |
| Core Product | Core Product(核心产品) |
| cross-functional partner | 跨职能合作伙伴 |
| date night | 约会之夜 |
| Designing Your Life | 《设计你的人生》(Bill Burnett 与 Dave Evans 合著) |
| Enneagram | 九型人格 |
| executive coach | 高管教练 |
| Fight Club | 《搏击俱乐部》 |
| GC | GC(总法律顾问) |
| gift guide | 礼物指南 |
| Graham Weaver | Graham Weaver(Alpine Investors 创始人) |
| Granola | Granola(AI 会议笔记工具) |
| GROW model | GROW 模型 |
| HR business partner | HR 业务合作伙伴 |
| HR leader | 人力资源负责人 |
| inconvenient truth | 不方便的真相 |
| Jerry Colonna | Jerry Colonna(高管教练、Reboot.io 联合创始人) |
| Joseph Campbell | 约瑟夫·坎贝尔(美国神话学家、作家) |
| KPI | KPI(关键绩效指标) |
| limiting beliefs | 限制性信念 |
| Loom | Loom(视频录制和异步沟通工具) |
| monkey on the back | 背上的猴子 |
| Nonviolent Communication | 非暴力沟通 |
| NVC | NVC(非暴力沟通的缩写) |
| on the balcony | 走到阳台上 |
| on the dance floor | 在舞池中 |
| one-on-ones | 一对一沟通 |
| operating rhythm | 运营节奏 |
| People First Operating Rhythm | People First Operating Rhythm(人才优先运营节奏) |
| performance manage | 绩效管理 |
| PM | PM(产品经理) |
| pods | 小组 |
| positive intelligence | 积极智力 |
| product market fit | 产品市场匹配 |
| reports | 直属下属 |
| resonant | 共鸣的 |
| retreat | 静修活动 |
| Roald Dahl | 罗尔德·达尔(英国儿童文学作家) |
| spaciousness | 宽裕感 |
| sprint planning | sprint planning(迭代规划会议) |
| squads | 小队 |
| synthesis | 总结 |
| Touchy Feely | Touchy Feely(斯坦福商学院课程名) |
| UX Research | UX Research(用户体验研究) |
| vows | 誓言 |
| Wes Anderson | 韦斯·安德森(美国电影导演) |
| zone of genius | 天才区 |
Reformatted by reformat_english.py
A guide to difficult conversations, building high-trust teams, and designing a life you love
Rachel Lockett
对话记录
领导者最大的差距
Lenny Rachitsky: 当客户来找你时,他们最大的差距是什么——是什么阻碍了他们成为成功的领导者?
Rachel Lockett: 大多数领导者,尤其是技术领导者,都认为自己必须掌握所有答案。人们之所以能步步高升,是因为他们可靠、值得信赖,是房间里最聪明的人。但优秀的领导者知道,当你总是试图给出建议、掌握答案时,你实际上并没有让团队具备解决难题的能力。你只是在训练团队把所有难题都带到你面前。
如何让困难对话不再困难
Lenny Rachitsky: 困难对话确实很困难。我们如何帮助人们让这些对话变得不那么困难?
Rachel Lockett: 我们在科技行业工作,人们觉得我们应该把自己的一切——所有时间、所有精力——都奉献给这份事业,而且这纯粹是理性的。但这完全不是事实。职场是充满情感的。专业人士也有感情。当人们想要进行冲突时,他们带着证明自己观点的准备而来。人们有一种错误认知,认为冲突的目标是说服对方做错了。实际上,任何冲突的目标都是建立相互理解。
避免倦怠
Lenny Rachitsky: 聊聊你在帮助科技行业领导者避免倦怠方面学到的东西。
Rachel Lockett: 当人们发挥自己的天赋和优势时,他们拥有更多能量。当我们做自己天生擅长的事情时,我们都会有更多能量。帮助你发挥天赋不是别人的责任。我在大公司中注意到,人们常常对管理层感到恼火或沮丧,因为管理层没有让他们的工作变得更有趣。不是这样的——你经理的职责是帮助你在被雇佣的岗位上表现出色,而驾驭你的职业生涯是你自己的事。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这样做的力量在于,它能让你的生活变得好很多。
Rachel Lockett: Lenny,我们来试试。你告诉我一个你正在面临的挑战,一些让你感到困扰的事情。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我这些天挣扎的主要事情就是……今天的嘉宾是 Rachel Lockett,她是一位高管教练,曾在 Pinterest 和 Stripe 担任人力资源负责人多年。她与科技公司的 CEO、创始人和领导者合作,帮助他们改善”为人之道”——情绪管理、积极智力、韧性和勇气——以及”做事之道”——设定愿景与战略、确定优先级、建立值得信赖且负责任的团队。多年来,我从其他播客嘉宾那里听说过她很多,这次对话非常有力量。充满了建议、技巧和框架,会让你成为更好的领导者,也会让你成为更好的人。我们甚至做了几段现场教练示范,来展示 Rachel 的一些方法。正如你将看到的,在这次对话中我有好几次顿悟。如果你喜欢这个播客,别忘了在你最喜欢的播客应用或 YouTube 上订阅和关注,这会有很大帮助。
关于本次对话的期望
Lenny Rachitsky: Rachel,非常感谢你来做客,欢迎来到播客。
Rachel Lockett: 非常感谢你邀请我,Lenny。我很荣幸来到这里。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我也很荣幸。我本来想以另一个问题开头,但我们在这次对话之前聊了聊,我总是喜欢问嘉宾一个问题:你希望人们从这次对话中获得什么?我很喜欢你的回答,所以想让你分享一下。我就直接问了:你希望人们从我们即将进行的对话中获得什么?
Rachel Lockett: 我真心希望你的听众能明白,商业建设中的人性面向是非常有趣且极具影响力的,而且它并不难做到。他们可以用简单的工具来实践。所以我希望通过这次对话,产品负责人、工程负责人和创始人能够感到更有力量、更有动力去关注身边的人。
商业建设中的人性面向
Lenny Rachitsky: 所以我听到的是,如果你在构建产品、建设团队、打造公司的人性层面遇到困难,是有答案的,你完全可以做到。
Rachel Lockett: 是的,完全正确。它是可以实现的,而且实际上是最自然不过的事。领导者天生就关心与他们共事的人,他们希望赋能身边的人。但有时我们这个世界的忙碌成了阻碍,待办事项的紧迫性让你忽视了面前的人。实际上,如果你真正了解你身边的人才,并创造一个让他们能够成功的环境,你的企业就会蓬勃发展。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我觉得对人们来说最难的部分在于,一方面是知道这些是可以得到帮助的,另一方面是有足够的脆弱感去寻求帮助、去正视这件事,因为这太难了。就像——“也许我不是一个好管理者”——这种感觉不好受。
Rachel Lockett: 是的,确实如此。寻求帮助确实需要展现脆弱,但我认为你的听众,我知道他们非常致力于成长。我听说过来你播客的人,有些已经花了几十年时间专注于自我提升。我 actually 想告诉你一个我客户的故事,他很喜欢你的播客,我上周还在和他聊天。他是我服务了十年的客户,他就是一个全身心投入个人成长的人。
我开始在他还是 Coinbase 的一名一线工程经理时与他合作,我们聊了他是谁、他的优势是什么、以及他更大的目标是什么。他谈到有一天要创建一个全球运动的梦想。他非常专注于建设社区,他认为在自己身边创造可能性的路径,就是在自己身边建立一个强大的社区。他持续提升自己的领导力。在这十年中,他某个时候在手臂上纹了一个纹身——一轮太阳,周围环绕着一片红杉林,提醒他自己的核心优势和使命。现在,猜猜他在做什么,Lenny?
Lenny Rachitsky: 干得风生水起。
Rachel Lockett: 他不仅干得风生水起——
Lenny Rachitsky: [听不清] 愿景。
Rachel Lockett: 而且他在运营一个社区,Coinbase 旗下的全球社区 Base 以及 Base 应用。
Lenny Rachitsky: 哇哦。
Rachel Lockett: 这是全球最大的以太坊 L2,一个由创作者和开发者组成的社区,他非常享受其中,比以往任何时候都开心。所以我认为,对于那些致力于卓越和影响力的人来说,如果能认识到:只要发挥自己的天赋,回归自己的使命,就能够在影响世界的同时拥有更多乐趣。
教练 vs 指示:领导者最关键的能力缺口
Lenny Rachitsky: 这个故事让我想起我为什么喜欢这类对话。因为我们接下来要聊的内容——在这段最后的开场白之后马上进入正题——通常是锁在很小的房间里,只有花一大笔钱的人才能接触到的东西。这些是人们在职业生涯中花费数万甚至数十万美元才能获得的东西。我非常喜欢把这些内容分享给所有人,让大家都能从你和所有你合作过的人身上学到东西。所以我非常期待深入探讨。我想深入聊的第一个话题,我之前问过你:当客户来找你时,阻碍他们成为成功领导者的最大差距是什么?你告诉我,本质上就是知道什么时候该教练(coach),什么时候该直接告诉别人该做什么,以及学会教练。请谈谈你在这方面的观察,为什么这如此重要,以及你如何帮助人们培养这项技能。
Rachel Lockett: 我认为大多数领导者,尤其是技术领导者,会觉得自己必须拥有所有答案。人们在各自的领域里一路晋升,是因为他们靠得住、可靠、是房间里最聪明的人。但当你领导一家快速扩张的公司时,你很快就会发现,你身边的人比你掌握更多的上下文。你以前的运作方式不管用了,因为你没有能力深入地掌控每一个问题。所以,我看到从一线经理到管理八千人公司的各个阶段的领导者,都在纠结:什么时候我必须给出答案?当我没有答案时,我有什么选择?
但优秀的领导者知道,当你总是试图建议和给出答案时,你实际上并没有让你的团队具备解决难题的能力。你只是在训练你的团队把所有难题都拿给你。而教练是一种不同的方式。它是一条替代路径,能够激发你团队中的才华,并且对你身边的人也更有激励性。所以,教练显然是一项可以学习的技能,毕竟硅谷到处都是教练,但你不需要像高管教练那样去教练。当有人带着一个难题来找你时,你可以把能量转换成好奇心,创造空间去好奇,帮助他们自己解决问题。
显然,有时候建议是正确的路径。如果是紧急情况,来找你的人还没有所需的技能,这时候就应该建议和帮助。但领导者过度偏向了这个方向,他们假设自己雇佣的那些领域专家需要自己来帮他们解决问题。所以我认为,让你的听众了解教练是一种替代选择是很有用的,我可以帮助他们学习这方面的一些基本技能。
“背上的猴子”
Lenny Rachitsky: 好,我很想学这些技能。这让我想到《哈佛商业评论》有一篇很有名的文章,大概三十年前发表的,讲的是”背上的猴子”(monkey on the back)。你知道这篇文章吗——
Rachel Lockett: 请多说一点,我想我应该知道。
Lenny Rachitsky: 好,我们会在节目笔记里放链接。核心观点是,作为领导者,人们总是来找你,试图把背上的猴子交给你。他们说:“嘿,这只猴子给我造成了好多麻烦,我不知道该怎么办。这只猴子,给你,你来养它,帮它弄清楚它需要什么。“而领导者的角色是让猴子留在那个人的背上,帮助他们自己想出如何解决问题——这恰恰就是你描述的。
Rachel Lockett: 对,这是一个很好的比喻,我很喜欢。我觉得领导者有时候在没有答案时会编造答案。有人带着问题来找你,你就是想帮忙。但最好的帮助方式实际上是大多数领导者不太擅长的事情——去感知:上下文是什么?这个人需要什么?他被什么卡住了?然后用这些问题去引导他们,让他们自己解决问题。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我们来聊聊怎么在这方面做得更好。不过首先,你刚才说”什么时候直接告诉他们该做什么是明智的”,你说的是当他们没有这个技能的时候。还有没有其他经验法则,比如在这些情况下就直接告诉他们该做什么?
何时建议而非教练
Rachel Lockett: 有的。就是紧急情况,而且你确实有一个想要推动的答案。这时候就不要教练了,不要把它变成一个游戏,让你团队里的人去猜你心里在想什么——这不是教练的好时机。你有一件绝对希望他们去做的事,你知道正确答案,你想让他们有动力去做。那就建议他们,帮助他们看到路径。但大多数领导者过度偏向这个解决方案。所以我想分享——也许 Lenny,我可以教你两个我认为是领导者教练基础的技能——
Lenny Rachitsky: 来吧,我很期待。
Rachel Lockett: 你今晚就可以在自己的生活中用,对你的妻子——
Lenny Rachitsky: 她肯定会喜欢的。
Rachel Lockett: 或者任何与你共事的人。
Lenny Rachitsky: 来吧。
Rachel Lockett: 希望你的听众也能用上。
Lenny Rachitsky: 来吧。
Rachel Lockett: 好。第一个技能是积极倾听(active listening)。Lenny,你大概是一个很好的倾听者,因为这就是你的工作——你在播客上倾听每一位嘉宾。但你有没有看过《搏击俱乐部》(Fight Club),里面有一句台词:“大多数人不是在倾听,他们只是在等轮到自己说话。”
Lenny Rachitsky: 绝对——
Rachel Lockett: 这种现象在科技行业非常普遍。而优秀的领导者会扭转这个模式,真正投入地去倾听。他们是那种走进一个房间就能看到房间里的大象的人。他们能点破问题,能提出尖锐的问题来推动大家协作。实际上,倾听有三个层次。第一层倾听是内部倾听。假设你在跟我说一个问题,我却在想这个问题对我的影响。我完全被自己内心的对话分散了注意力。这就是第一层。大多数人都在匆忙中、在第一层倾听的状态下度过每一天。第二层倾听是专注倾听。你在跟我说话,我可以复述你说的话。我在听你描述的内容,这通常也是一次好的一对一沟通中发生的情况。我们在共同解决问题,专注于你说的话。
第三层倾听是全局倾听。我听到的不仅仅是言语之下的东西,我听到的是你在传达的,而不只是你在说的。我看到你的肢体语言,注意到你的语调,了解你所说内容的背景,并且我能反馈出比你意识到的更多的洞见,因为我理解你所传达的一切。所以,当你想要影响他人、推销方案、描绘愿景,以及在做教练辅导时,沉浸到第三层倾听就是优秀领导者的做法。你想试试吗?
Lenny Rachitsky: 来吧。
Rachel Lockett: 好,这样吧。我来演示一下第三层倾听。我问你一个问题。
Lenny Rachitsky: 好的。糟糕,来了。
Rachel Lockett: 你之前跟我说过,你是一位父亲。
Lenny Rachitsky: 是的。
Rachel Lockett: 当爸爸是什么感觉?
Lenny Rachitsky: 哇。当爸爸是什么感觉?很棒。在很多方面,这是我做过的最了不起的事情。我太爱这个角色了。但同时,有时候也很有挑战性,比如如何设定边界,如何判断什么时候应该放手让他去做他真正兴奋的事,还是直接说”不行”,让他哭一会儿。这是我最近一直在应对的事情。但基本上,就像人们告诉你的那样,方方面面都是如此,只是快乐比人们说的要强烈得多,强烈得多,因为人们总是谈论各种负面、各种痛苦和挑战。
Rachel Lockett: 是的,我看到你谈到当父亲这件事的时候,一开始你在椅子上明显坐不住了——这确实是个大问题。你上下看来看去,一开始有意回避和我眼神接触,因为我的感觉是,你热爱当爸爸,但这确实太有挑战性了,太让人疲惫了。我在你的回答中同时听到了这两样——那种极大的喜悦,以及需要进行睡眠训练、不得不让孩子失望、应对各种棘手行为时所带来的不适。
Lenny Rachitsky: 说得完全正确。听起来真让人舒服。显然你听进了我说的每一句话,这是一个非常好的积极倾听的示范。
Rachel Lockett: 被这样看到,感觉如何?
Lenny Rachitsky: 感觉真的很好。被听到感觉真的很好。而且你不是在简单复述我的话,而是——这是我从你言语之下的层面捕捉到的,是那个要点,是更大的图景。
Rachel Lockett: 是的,积极倾听时会建立一种情感连接,而这花了不到一分钟。所以,我想让听众理解的是,积极倾听并不意味着你要和团队里的每个人安排一个小时的教练对话。没有人有那么多时间。但即使在你已经花的时间里,只要把注意力集中在对方身上,用一种全新的方式真正给予对方全神贯注的关注,让你能看到他们言语之下的感受,这对激励你的团队、帮助他们理解表象之下到底发生了什么,会产生很大的作用。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我觉得仅仅用不同的词语复述他们说的话,本身就有很大的力量。这几乎是你说这些时所隐含的。听起来就像……我不知道,像某种会被他们看穿的把戏。但即使知道你在倾听我,知道你要向我展示积极倾听,听到你复述我说的话还是感觉很好。这里面蕴含着很大的力量,而且是微妙的。
Rachel Lockett: 是的,没错。其中有一个把你口头听到的内容进行综合的要素。那是专注倾听的部分,然后,把你注意到的情感镜像反映回去。
Lenny Rachitsky: 情感。
Rachel Lockett: 甚至包括我在猜测的东西,我可以说”我说的对吗?“你可以回答”不,实际上,我对当爸爸的挑战并不纠结,我只是很快乐。“然后,我就理解了你的立场,你自己也理解了。
Lenny Rachitsky: 太棒了。好的,所以教练的核心技能就是积极倾听。
强有力的问题与 GROW 模型
Rachel Lockett: 是的。这就是倾听。第二个技能,强有力的问题(powerful questions)。所谓提出强有力的问题,就是我对真正发生了什么感到好奇,而且没有一个标准答案。一个强有力的问题能帮助你获得洞见,带你到达之前没想到的新的解决方案集合。但这不是我引导证人。我不是在试图把你引向一个特定答案。那不叫强有力的问题。我喜欢给领导者配备的是四种可以用来开启洞见的问题。
所以我用的第一种框架是 GROW 模型(GROW model)。GROW 模型就是四种不同类别的强有力的问题。G 代表目标(goal)。成功是什么样的?你想要的结果是什么?任何围绕定义最佳场景的问题。GROW 模型中的 R 是关于你当前的现实(reality)。你卡在哪里?你目前面临什么挑战?你尝试过什么?O 是关于你的选择(options)。让我们扩展你能理解的各种面前的选择。你可以走哪些不同的路径?GROW 模型中的 W 是前进方向(way forward)。你接下来要做什么?这听起来简单,而且如果你花时间和空间仔细倾听、提出这些问题的任何一个,它确实简单。你团队的人会感激有这个空间和时间来解锁一个他们之前没想到的选项,然后带着一个具体的下一步离开。
Lenny Rachitsky: 所以,复述一下你说的——有人带着背上的猴子来找你,“这是我正在解决的问题,我团队里有多少人就是做不对某件事”,或者”这个功能不工作”,之类的。所以,首先是倾听,非常积极地去倾听。把你听到的、他们的情感反映回去。然后,围绕这些问他们问题:这件事的成功是什么样的?目标是什么?这件事上你想达到的目标是什么?成功是什么?第二就是今天的现实是什么?今天发生了什么?然后是选择。你认为存在哪些选择。这是你问他们有哪些选择——
Rachel Lockett: 对,你面前有哪些路可以走?你接下来可以做什么?
Lenny Rachitsky: 你接下来可以做什么?然后,这是有机的过程。所以不是简单的一、二、三、四,我猜。
Rachel Lockett: 对。
Lenny Rachitsky: 但最后一步就是,好的,前进方向是什么?你想怎么做?
Rachel Lockett: 完全正确。而且你不必按这个顺序来做。这只是四类问题。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我明白了。
何时辅导,何时建议
Rachel Lockett: 所以,有人来找你的时候,可能对自己的目标已经非常清楚了。你知道这一点,就不需要花时间再问相关的问题。也许你只需要深入挖掘他们卡在哪里。一旦他们开始谈论自己的现实处境和遇到的瓶颈,就会意识到:哦,我之所以卡住了,是因为我的跨职能合作伙伴在阻碍我,而我跟他完全没有关系。我需要去找他谈一谈,进行一次突破性的对话,告诉他我卡在哪里。所以,有时候仅仅是把事情说出来,为他们创造那个空间,就能带来巨大的帮助。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这里面隐含的一个前提是,当事人往往其实知道答案,或者能够自己得出答案,他们只是需要一点点推动。
Rachel Lockett: 没错。当你认为对方拥有足够的上下文,能够自己解决问题时,你才应该辅导。这是辅导的基本前提。如果有人需要你的指导,跑来问你:“嘿,我想让公司上市,你之前做过,能告诉我你具体是怎么做的吗?“——这不是辅导的好时机。
Lenny Rachitsky: 那就产生了一个问题——如果他们得出了一个很糟糕的结论呢?你就是觉得……有没有建议说,什么时候应该直接说”不如试试这个”?
Rachel Lockett: 好,这个问题很好。如果对方的分享让你产生了强烈的负面反应,当然,隐藏这种反应对谁都没好处。我认为你应该保持好奇——“嘿,帮我理解一下你是怎么得出这个结论的,因为这是我的反应。“你既坦诚,又保持好奇。所以在管理者或领导者语境下的辅导,和一对一高管教练的对话是不一样的。你在管理这个人,你要对他们的成果负责。你不是在安排一个小时的辅导会话,你只是把辅导作为建议之外的又一个工具。你是在一对一会议、日常会议中多创造一些空间,也许是多留出 15% 的时间来问开放式问题。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我很喜欢”帮我理解”这个说法。我以前有个经理特别擅长这个,就是那种……你能感觉得到,他会说,“帮我理解一下你这部分的思路。”
Rachel Lockett: 是的。而且当你保持好奇,而不是直接否定别人的想法时,另一件事也在发生——你在帮他们思考。你不是在帮他们意识到”除非来找我要建议,否则就要搞砸了”,而是在帮他们装备正确的问题和应有的质疑精神。所以,当你的下属和你世界观不同的时候,对话永远是有价值的。他们之所以得出一个你觉得糟糕的想法,背后是有原因的。而实际上,学习就发生在那个地方。
Lenny Rachitsky: 而且你可能确实是错的,然后意识到,好吧,他们其实有更好的方案,我现在明白了。
人才对话中的实际运用
Rachel Lockett: 对。这在人才对话中对我来说经常发生。因为我有 HR 业务合作伙伴(HR business partner)的背景,经常和 CEO 一起工作,帮他们搭建领导团队。我希望每个人才问题上都有非常严谨的立场,因为如果你有一支 A+ 的队伍,你就能做成很棒的事。有时候,他们会对一个明显不胜任角色的人提出绩效管理方案,但想的却是,哦,也许我再等六个月,到时候再谈。我有很强烈的观点,我不会让它就这么过去,但我会说,“帮我理解一下为什么这是个好主意”,然后在这个点上施压。如果他们没有得出一个我能认同的想法,我会坦诚地分享我的观点,同时仍然赋能他们去解决自己的问题。
从解决每个问题到辅导的转变
Lenny Rachitsky: 为了把这条建议收个尾,你能不能分享一个例子,让大家更具体地理解?
Rachel Lockett: 我给你讲一个客户的例子,我叫他 Jeff,经营一家 AI 公司。他实际上同时也在扮演产品负责人的角色。他的工程师和设计师队伍不断扩大,客户群也在快速增长。他开始感到完全不堪重负。于是他来找我,我们开始了辅导合作。很快他意识到,自己在每一个决策上都是瓶颈——每一个业务决策、每一个产品决策。他对此感到不满,希望团队能承担更多责任。但通过辅导,他意识到是自己在训练团队把每个决策都拿到他面前来,因为他一直都是这样运作的。于是他决定创建小队(squads),让工程师、产品负责人和设计师组成小型小组(pods),各自聚焦团队中的某个子领域。这在小型初创公司规模化的过程中非常常见。但他并没有为每个小队都配备工程经理和产品负责人。所以这个步伐比他能力所及的要早了一些,因为他是出于不得已才这么做的。同时他也意识到,需要改变自己与每个项目技术负责人的互动方式,让他们承担更多责任。于是我们真正投入了这个想法:我要开始搭建一套系统——每两周做一次产品评审,每个小组都有我们共同设计的关键绩效指标(KPI)来驱动,在这个下个季度,我要从”决定一切”的角色转变为辅导者。我要在沟通中问出好问题,对齐 KPI,了解进展如何,问他们卡在哪里。上周我刚和他做了一次会话。看到他的状态真的很棒,他精神焕发多了。他说,“小队推进速度快了这么多,团队觉得更有自主权和动力了。“而且他终于有时间抬起头来,为 2026 年做规划,把自己的时间和天赋花在产品和战略愿景上——那才是他真正擅长的事情。这更是一个全局性的例子,展示了领导者从”解决每个问题”的模式转向辅导模式所带来的成果。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这个例子太好了,完美展示了这种做法的力量——它让你的生活变得好太多了。因为其他人可以开始分担压力,不再事事来找你。其实就是倾听得更好一点,问几个有力的问题,很多事情就能改善,很多事情就会发生变化。
Rachel Lockett: 完全正确。
Lenny Rachitsky: 你周围的人都会变得更好。
Rachel Lockett: Lenny,我们来试试吧。
Lenny Rachitsky: 好,试试看。
现场辅导演示
Rachel Lockett: 我想请你告诉我一个挑战。可以是个人挑战,也可以是职业挑战。简单说,就是你现在正在困扰的某件事。
Lenny Rachitsky: 哇。我这些天主要困扰的事情就是做不完的工作。这个 newsletter,大概六七年前开始的,最初的想法就是——我就做一个轻松的 newsletter,当个副业,就这样悠闲一阵子。结果现在就是,它不断在增长,我忍不住把它做得更精彩、更大,现在还有了这个播客,还有其他一些在做的事情。所以一直是这种状态。
Lenny Rachitsky: 所以我现在就处于这样一个状态……我的感受就是,印第安纳·琼斯那种巨石一直在后视镜里追着我。因为我需要发出 newsletter,需要发布播客节目,还有所有相关的事情要做。而且我还经营着一个很大的 Slack 社区,还有 Twitter 和 LinkedIn,所以不断被各种小小的请求和事情轰炸,这些小事很难直接忽视和拒绝。所以我困扰的就是做不完的工作。我开玩笑说,给自己打工要小心,如果你的老板是个工作狂的话。
Rachel Lockett: 我完全能感同身受。我听到的是噪音、接连不断的需求,还有工作和线上对你持续不断的请求,总觉得还有什么事情需要去做。而且这一切是你自己设计出来的。你也意识到,最初本意是走向自由和洞察力的一条路,我想 newsletter 当初应该是一个有趣的热情项目,而你忍不住把它变成了一个全情投入的全职工作。
Lenny Rachitsky: 没错。补充一点,从很多方面来说,这也是我能想象到的最棒的事情,非常有成就感,我想不出还有什么更想做的了。
Rachel Lockett: 是的。
Lenny Rachitsky: 所以我觉得这是一个重要的因素。
Rachel Lockett: 当然。
Lenny Rachitsky: 就是那块印第安纳·琼斯的巨石一直在追赶我。
Rachel Lockett: 是的,我能感受到你对自己每天做的事情的感恩和共鸣。但同时也听到你在质疑,为什么做着自己热爱的事情,却要感觉像是在为生存而战?
Lenny Rachitsky: 可以这么说,是的。这块巨石在碾压我。
Rachel Lockett: 我的意思是,印第安纳·琼斯的巨石正在追你。
Lenny Rachitsky: 天哪。
Rachel Lockett: 这就是我们每个人都有的战斗或逃跑本能。
Lenny Rachitsky: 确实,确实。
理想状态
Rachel Lockett: 好的,谢谢你足够坦诚地和你的听众以及我分享这些。我想问你,理想状态会是什么样的?假设半年后,你仍然在运营你创建的这个美好的事业,但你的感受不同了。会发生什么?
Lenny Rachitsky: 我想象的基本上还是差不多的事情,只是有更多的自由时间。更多时间去实验和玩别的东西。同时 newsletter 继续保持精彩和高品质,播客也继续保持精彩和高品质。就是继续输出同样高质量的内容,只是自由时间更多,那块巨石……可能会小一些。
Rachel Lockett: 好的。那自由时间对你来说意味着什么?我能感受到你对高质量产品和高品质输出的深度承诺,但同时也渴望在这些核心事务上能有更多的玩乐感和灵活度。
Lenny Rachitsky: 很实际地说,就是有时间去摆弄 AI 工具。去探索,去鼓捣。而不是所有时间都用在——我需要专注于 newsletter,让下周的内容更好。哦,要发了,这些事情得做。哦,这个播客,得准备,得编辑这个东西。所以就是需要时间去鼓捣和探索,就是这类事情。
Rachel Lockett: 明白。那探索和鼓捣对你来说为什么重要?
Lenny Rachitsky: 因为在我做的工作中,我需要保持对趋势的领先。我不能坐在云端纸上谈兵。我需要真正理解事物如何运作,什么有效,什么无效,什么是真的,什么不是。所以我需要尽可能多地接触实际正在发生的事情,而不只是输出内容。
Rachel Lockett: 有道理。你说话的速度非常快。从你描述自己在做的事情的方式中,我都能感受到你那种落后了的感觉。
Lenny Rachitsky: 你的倾听能力真不错。
Rachel Lockett: 我觉得有趣的是,当你谈到探索和鼓捣的时候,你最初说的时候带着一种从容的语气——探索和鼓捣很有趣,你天性好奇,总能发现新的洞见。但后来我又听到你说”这是保持领先的方式,我必须这样做才能觉得自己掌握了足够的信息”。你怎么看这个差异?
Lenny Rachitsky: 是的,是的。这是一枚硬币的两面。还有一个方面……我想先回答那个问题。我觉得这两点都是真实的,我不知道该怎么说。我之所以进入这一行,是因为它太有趣、太吸引人了。就是——这是正在发生的事情,这是未来的方向——
Rachel Lockett: 对。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这是建议,这是改进你工作的方法。所以我仍然热爱它。只是我花在那部分的时间更少了,更多时候只是在内容、内容、内容这个跑步机上运转。还有就是花更多时间……我甚至没提到这一点。就是花更多时间陪我的儿子和妻子,能有更多自由去做各种事情,那就太好了。我们现在已经有很多这样的时间,但更多当然更好。
Rachel Lockett: 明白。所以我听到的目标其实和现在并没有太大的不同。你要保持高质量输出,同时有空间去探索和鼓捣,以及和你最爱的人共度高质量的时光。
Lenny Rachitsky: 是的。你这样反馈回来让我想到一个说法——多出 25% 的自由时间,同时其他一切继续精彩。而我遇到的挑战是,有时候我真的获得了那些额外的时间,然后又用更多的项目和机会把它填满了。问题就在这里。
Rachel Lockett: 是的,就是那种高速运转的惯性,抓住每一个到来的机会。
Lenny Rachitsky: 对,对。
妨碍自由时间的运作方式
Rachel Lockett: 这正好引出下一个话题——你目前的哪些运作方式在妨碍你获得那 25% 的自由时间?
Lenny Rachitsky: 就是答应更多的事情。比如,哦,我现在好像有空,好,那就去做这个演讲吧,答应这件事吧。就是一旦我感到自由,我就会想,好吧,我还可以做那件事。然后我就承诺了更多的事情。
Rachel Lockett: 那这种对向你涌来的事情说”好”的倾向,对你有什么好处?
Lenny Rachitsky: 不太好。
Rachel Lockett: 它在某些方面还是在为你服务的。你这样做是有原因的。
Lenny Rachitsky: 是的。
Rachel Lockett: 它对你有什么好处?
Lenny Rachitsky: 这取决于具体的事情。实际上我有一条规矩——从不做演讲、不上别人的播客、也不怎么参加活动,因为我发现我从中得不到什么,反而让我分心,没法做我本该做的事情。所以我制定了很多政策,直接拒绝那些对我没有价值的事情。但我还是会崩溃,然后答应一些事情。
Rachel Lockett: 这很聪明。
Lenny Rachitsky: 所以如你所说,当我承担更多工作时,偶尔确实会有价值。然后我又一次过度工作了。
Rachel Lockett: 是的,我听到的是一个模式——一种条件反射式的模式:尽管你给自己设了规矩对某些事情说不,而且你似乎也为这个边界感到自豪,但你自然而然就会打破它,或者又会用其他事情把空出来的时间填满。
Lenny Rachitsky: 没错。就是这样。
探索优先级与创造空间
Rachel Lockett: 好的。所以你陷入了这种对做更多事、承担更多事的成瘾之中,这在我们这个领域太常见了,大多数听众可能都深有同感。这几乎就是我们浸泡其中的那种文化氛围。所以我们必须对周围的输入保持觉察。
那么,让我们来探讨一下你面前的各种选择。你已经提到过的一个方法是,列出那些你不想再做的事情,也就是你想拒绝的事情,并且真正承诺坚持执行。除此之外,还有哪些方法可以帮助你理清优先级,为自己腾出那神圣的 25% 的额外时间?
Lenny Rachitsky: 我已经做了一件事,虽然还没有完全生效,但我非常期待——我降低了Newsletter和播客的发布频率。理论上,这应该是一个巨大的变化。但播客的频率还没有降下来,要到明年才会实施。Newsletter 方面,我基本上改变了给读者的承诺,从”每周收到一封Newsletter”变成了”每月两到四次,视情况而定”。
Rachel Lockett: 嗯。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这感觉已经是很大的改变了。但问题是,我仍然每周都在想,“哦,我想写这个话题。哦,每周都没什么动静,我得把这个发出去。“所以我几乎没有利用好这个机会。所以我可以做的一件事就是真正不每周发布。
另一个选择就是引入更多帮助。这很难,因为我已经有了很多好的帮手,而且别人能替我做的事也就那么多——毕竟写一篇出色的Newsletter和录制像这样的对话,不是别人能代劳的。但我一直在思考,也应该更深入地思考,哪些地方可以让别人从我身上卸下更多负担?
Rachel Lockett: 嗯,我很喜欢这个洞察。我听到的是:在某些领域少做,考虑你的团队,真正扩展团队的能力。并且对你能交接的事情保持严格——你可能对自己必须亲自做的事有一些限制性信念,需要重新审视。
Lenny Rachitsky: 也许吧,也许。然后你说的那个观点我也很喜欢——就是改进我对那些不利于我的事情说”不”的准则。
Rachel Lockett: 对。如果你对更多事情说了”不”,你可以对什么事情说”是”?
Lenny Rachitsky: 就是随便玩玩各种东西。有空间去探索、去折腾,就是坐下来思考。而不是一直冲冲冲冲冲。
Rachel Lockett: 对。我能感觉到你在说这些的时候是多么轻松和兴奋。你一想到那种宽裕感,简直有点飘飘然了。
Lenny Rachitsky: 那真是太好了。
Rachel Lockett: 我只想点出来并反馈给你——这是多么特别,当你拥有那样的空间和时间时,你在工作中可以多么有创造力。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我喜欢这个。
Rachel Lockett: 而且你的关怀之桶是满的。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我感受到了,感受到了。
Rachel Lockett: 好。那么,在未来两周内,你能做的一件什么事情,能帮助你更接近你想要创造的那种宽裕感?
Lenny Rachitsky: 我很喜欢……在我们进行这个过程的时候,我在思考这个成长框架,我很喜欢你执行它的方式。我看到它在实际运作中展开,太好了。
Rachel Lockett: 对,我现在尽量做非常简单的教练引导,只是……
Lenny Rachitsky: 对对,不,这很好。
Rachel Lockett: ……这样对你的听众来说也很容易跟上。
Lenny Rachitsky: 对对,这很好。好的,那么未来两周我能做的一件什么事来帮助我在这方面取得进展?我觉得第一件事是至少跳过一两周的Newsletter,并且真正坚持这个计划。但这挺难的,因为接下来两周我已经安排好了。我要写一份礼物指南,那是我的……好吧,那么再往后一周,我休息一下。好的。那么从录制这期节目算起两周后,我不会发布Newsletter。然后我要重新审视我对说”是”和”不”的准则。
Rachel Lockett: 我很喜欢这个想法。想想你正在对所有事情说”是”,而你真正想说”是”的事情——你可以用什么来替代它们。所以真正去考虑:每次你说了”是”,都是在做一种取舍。你对最终状态和可能性的共鸣越深,在短期内就越容易保持自律。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我很喜欢这个要素——就是你告诉对方这样做能得到什么。不只是说”不、不、不、不”,而是”是”——对另一件你真正、真正想做的事情说”是”。
Rachel Lockett: 对,完全正确。是的,对你内心真正共鸣的事情,给出一个全身心的”是”。
Lenny Rachitsky: 太棒了。
Rachel Lockett: 对,用一种带着感叹的方式说出来,完全正确。
Lenny Rachitsky: 太好了。
教练式提问的力量
Rachel Lockett: 好的,谢谢你,Lenny,让我演示了什么是强有力的提问。我之所以想和你做这个示范,是因为你举的这个例子其实相当重大。它是一个情感问题,是一种文化规范,是我们所有人——尤其是在科技行业成长和工作中——习得的一种存在方式。所以即使是这类话题,使用一个简单的 GROW 模型也是有用的。而人们带着来找你听众的话题可能非常复杂、技术性很强、非常紧急。但同样类型的问题,在讨论如何搭建技术基础设施、如何影响高管团队、如何推进上市战略时,也能打开新的可能性。我只想指出这一点——这是非常通用的。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我很开心,我在这次对话中已经获得了很好的建议。
Rachel Lockett: 好。
Lenny Rachitsky: 对我来说回报率真高。
Rachel Lockett: 在自己的播客上被教练,感觉如何?
Lenny Rachitsky: 很不习惯。我就是想,等等,我该回去问你问题了。我们的思维现在还停留在这个模式里。
Rachel Lockett: 好好好,我们可以切换回来,可以切换回来。但我确实想指出一点——通常情况下,当你被教练而不是被告知该做什么时,你的投入感会更强。如果我直接告诉你,“Lenny,我听过各种领导者来找我谈论太忙的问题。你应该这样做:列出你正在做的所有事情,写下你要委派的事情,砍掉日历上 25% 的事项。“我可以在不太了解上下文的情况下给你开出一长串我认为你应该做的事。但你自己才是你自身情境和什么能引起共鸣的专家。而且如果这些想法是你自己想出来的,你执行的可能性要大得多。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我之前就想提这一点。这真是太对了。没有人想要……除非你主动寻求建议,很少有人会说,“请告诉我该怎么做。”
Rachel Lockett: 对。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我真的很喜欢不请自来的建议。这通常效果不好。
Rachel Lockett: 对。而优秀的领导者常常会说,“你是想要建议,还是想要一些空间来思考?我能帮你理清思路吗?还是你想听听我会怎么做?“两种方式在特定情况下都是合适的。所以主动询问也很有用。
Lenny Rachitsky: 对。好的。这是我们应该提到的一个非常重要的要点,我很高兴你提出来了。
Rachel Lockett: 嗯。
Lenny Rachitsky: 好。那么我要回到问你问题那一边了。
Rachel Lockett: 好的。
职业倦怠
Lenny Rachitsky: 这正好可以过渡到我想花点时间聊聊的话题——职业倦怠。
Rachel Lockett: 对。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我刚才谈到的那些,往往就是导致倦怠的原因。我自己肯定没有倦怠,但这在科技行业是个非常普遍的问题。人们感到精力耗尽,就是把自己逼得太狠了。我共事过的好多人直接离开了科技行业。我在 Airbnb 的一个同事,现在跑到树林附近当公园护林员了。科技行业就是这么——
Rachel Lockett: 好宁静啊。
Lenny Rachitsky: 确实宁静,确实美好。但我觉得这就是人们有时候拼得太猛,然后彻底倦怠,再也不想干任何类似的事情了。我知道你在这方面和创始人花了很多时间,而且有一套非常有用的方法。所以请聊聊,在帮助科技行业的领导者避免倦怠、长期保持对工作的热情和精力方面,你学到了什么。
Rachel Lockett: 好的。首先,很高兴你提了这个话题。这是一个很大的问题。我记得我在 Stripe 为顶尖人才做教练的时候,Patrick Collison 非常致力于留住顶尖人才。我和我的团队为技术部门的 top 50 高管设计了一个项目。我们查看了他们的敬业度评分,做了教练圆圈。看到那群极其有创造力和敬业精神的领导者在那一刻有多么疲惫,真的很令人难过。
这种情况太常见了——那些以惊人的热情和非凡的能力起步的人,开始觉得自己已经年复一年地在不停地推、推、推。他们要养育孩子,要带领团队,业务上又不断有疯狂的事情发生。他们就是无法再调动起曾经拥有的那种动力了。我在客户身上经常看到这种情况。
但我也见过一些人,他们依然充满灵感,持续精力充沛,似乎拥有某种秘密的能源储备——也许是柴油电池,不,我应该说特斯拉电池——帮助他们度过真正艰难的挑战,而且他们仍然乐在其中。所以我的理解是,当人们大部分时间都处于自己的天赋和优势之中时,他们就有更多的能量。当我们从事自己天生擅长、内心热爱的事情时,我们每个人都有更多的能量。
所以我尽量帮助我的领导者们认识到,他们可以设计自己的生活,让自己 80% 的时间都花在天赋领域里。这听起来很有雄心,因为你所处的环境对你有很高的要求,尤其是当你是大公司的高管时。但我也接触过一些创始人,他们怀着极大的灵感和创业愿景创办了公司,而他们的工作显然每六个月就在变化。一旦融资了,一旦团队壮大了。有时候,特别是技术型创始人,一开始是在解决一个他们痴迷的技术问题。他们花了三年时间做这件事,产品发布了,然后他们就被困在管理董事会和团队上了。他们甚至没意识到自己正在做的,和当初发挥自己优势的那份工作已经完全不同了。
所以我喜欢给的一个工具是,让人们真正花两周时间,每天晚上反思:今天哪五件事给了我最多的能量?哪五件事最消耗我的能量?如果你这样做两周,然后观察规律,你就能分辨出,我正在运用哪些天然天赋?又有哪些我不得不做的事情在消耗我?那些事情就像油箱里的慢漏——随着时间的推移,会体现在你每天的能量水平上。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我非常相信这个建议的效果。我离开工作的时候就是这么做的。我每天都在留意,什么给了我能量?什么消耗了我的能量?然后让自己多做给予能量的事,少做消耗我的事。我想说的是,你能改变的程度毕竟是有限的,但我想聊聊这一点。最初我想,也许我可以去做顾问和咨询类的工作。结果我发现那对我来说超级消耗。
Rachel Lockett: 有意思。
Lenny Rachitsky: 做那些通话、和人聊天,因为都是表面的,就是给一些建议。这让我完全没有兴奋感和能量感。但写作倒是真的很让我有能量,这是我之前完全没想到的。
Rachel Lockett: 我太喜欢这个发现了。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我就是这么做的,我就是顺着那股吸引力走的。
Rachel Lockett: 听起来你也许需要一次刷新,Lenny。
Lenny Rachitsky: 哦,有意思。
Rachel Lockett: 在天赋方面,你永远可以进一步调优。你现在处于一个很棒的状态——你显然有成功的原因,你处于自己的优势之中,也在关注什么能给你带来能量。在我们的一生中,我们总是可以做得更多。我认为这是一个不断调整、不断感知你的火花在哪里的过程。保护那团火花,滋养它。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我很喜欢这个洞见,真的让我豁然开朗。
发现天赋的具体方法
Lenny Rachitsky: 那么非常具体地来说,操作方式就是连续两周每天晚上回顾当天,写下五件给你能量的事、五件消耗你能量的事,对吗?
Rachel Lockett: 对,有很多不同的方法可以用来做这件事。这只是其中一种。我还喜欢一个方法:给生活中的五到十个人发一封很简单的邮件,问他们——当我走进房间的时候,什么出现了?我的优势是什么?我的天赋是什么?如果你真的不太清楚自己的天赋,而且在这个领域花的时间不多,这其实是一个机会,去问那些最了解你的人,你的核心天赋是什么?你什么时候最有灵感?
你还可以翻看自己的日历,标注主题。比如,过去一个月里,日历上有哪些事情是你期待去做的?有哪些是你害怕的?好,我为什么害怕那些事情?这些事情有什么共同点?所以有各种各样的方法可以帮助你找到自己的天才领域。但我的邀请是:认真对待这件事。围绕自己的天赋来设计生活,实际上需要冒险,需要刻意为之。
Lenny Rachitsky: 对于真正落地执行这件事,你有什么建议吗?比如说有人觉得”对,我应该这么做”,但大多数人其实并不会真的去做。是否可以找一个搭档来帮你?或者如果你有 EA(行政助理),他们是不是也能帮你?你有什么见过的经验吗?
Rachel Lockett: 这个问题问得好。我很喜欢你说的那些想法。我觉得你周围的人需要知情,需要知道你的天赋是什么。举个例子,当我做 HR 业务合作伙伴的时候,我的老板认同这一点,我跟她解释说:“我来 Stripe 是因为我其实知道自己最终要做教练,而不是做人力资源负责人。但我喜欢和领导者一起工作。所以我会做所有的薪酬策略、所有的组织设计,我会帮助产品和工程领导者。但我心里始终清楚,我在磨炼我的教练技能。”
后来当这个留住顶尖人才的机会出现时,它正好与教练和 L&D 领域的背景非常契合。所以她把这个机会给了我。所以向周围的人说明你的天赋是什么,这很有用。你的天赋是什么?你的兴趣是什么?你真正想磨炼的技能是什么?这样他们就和你形成了一种契约,来帮助你,并且真正把你的天赋运用到业务需求中去。这是很重要的一点。
围绕天赋设计团队
Rachel Lockett: 当你是创始人、CEO,当你有自主权去思考”我周围的岗位范围应该怎么设计”的时候,你就可以真正围绕这一点来招聘。比如我合作的一些 CEO,他们是出色的愿景家,优秀的战略家,非常擅长管理董事会、招聘等等,但在管理团队方面很差,他们讨厌这件事。所以他们招了一位 COO。两人形成合作关系——有一个人专注于内部事务,他们可以专注外部事务。这运作得很好,是一种共生关系。如果你对自己的优势和劣势足够诚实,你就可以开始围绕它们来做安排。
在现有工作中向天赋靠拢
Lenny Rachitsky: 知道自己想做什么、理解自己的理想生活是什么样的,这当然很好。但你还有一份工作,有老板,有要做的事情,有责任。所以我想先问一下——你有没有见过那些不是创始人的人真的做出了改变,把更多时间花在自己的天赋上,而不是仅仅……因为这件事有一个隐含的前提,就是你有能动性,可以朝一个让你更快乐的方向移动。
Rachel Lockett: 当然。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这其实是这件事的一个隐含前提。
Rachel Lockett: 对。我觉得有时候人们会招一位 Chief of Staff 来辅助自己、与自己互补。有时候人们会根据自己的短板来搭建团队,让团队成员拥有自己不具备的优势和天赋。所以关键在于,一旦你真正理解了”这些事情给我大量能量,而这些事情让我精疲力竭”——但我仍然需要满足业务上的这个需求——那我有哪些方式可以做到?你可以变得很有创造力。
Lenny Rachitsky: 而且我觉得,告诉你的经理,是这其中非常简单又重要的一环。告诉他们——
Rachel Lockett: 完全同意。
Lenny Rachitsky: “这是我想要去的方向,这些是我想要提升的方面,这些是给我能量的事情。我们能不能尽量让我的角色中尽可能多的部分变成这些?”
Rachel Lockett: 是的。尤其是当你的工作表现很好时,人们想要留住你。他们想知道,什么能让你在未来五年留在这里?通常他们认为这意味着往上晋升。但对你来说也许不是。我觉得有时候确实需要勇气去做横向移动,才能进入自己的优势领域。我就做过好几次横向移动,我热爱我做的事情,我觉得自己处在自己的天赋之中。但为了走到这一步,我冒了几次险,也做过一些不太配得上我经验的不太舒服的工作。
80/20 天赋法则
Lenny Rachitsky: 一个好的比例是多少?你的工作生活中有多大比例应该是在天赋和给你能量的事情上,又有多少是”好吧,我确实得做那些琐碎的事”?
Rachel Lockett: 我的经验标准是 80%,这是目标。
Lenny Rachitsky: 80%。
Rachel Lockett: 这是理想状态。你总是会有大约 20% 不太喜欢做的事情。毕竟要进入你需要的状态,总有一些后勤性的工作要做。但我真的会推动人们去理想化地思考:如果你 80% 的时间都在自己的天赋里,你能向这个世界输出多少能量。这会激励得多。
从产品经理到高管教练的个人故事
我想告诉你为什么我对这个话题如此充满热情,因为这其实是我最终成为高管教练的原因。十年前,我在一家叫 Remind 的小公司工作,负责 UX Research 团队。CEO 让我转去做 Core Product 团队的产品经理。我对这个机会感到很兴奋。我没有技术背景,但我想,“所有那些战略家在上面制定路线图,我也能做。我完全清楚我们的用户需要什么。“所以我对此很期待。
我加入团队时,大概有 12 位资深工程师,非常有主见,也非常怀疑我这个非技术背景的 PM。但我们在一起合作了。我做的事情就是倾听。我了解我们的用户需要什么?这个团队需要什么?什么在运转、什么不在运转?一个月之内,这个团队就开始顺畅地协作了。他们开始互相审查代码。他们在团队会议中以健康的方式表达不同意见。他们感觉与用户的连接更紧密了。我觉得,“好吧,这个节奏在起作用。”
但与此同时,我在家里半夜为新用户体验的事情焦虑不已,无法决定该采用哪个设计方案。我总是过度依赖数据科学家,我发现自己反复纠结于本不需要这么大压力的决策。有一天我和同事 Zach Abrams 一起散步,他是一位出色的产品经理,他在听我问各种关于如何推销这个产品未来愿景的问题。
他说,“Rachel,你的天才区,或者说你的天赋,不是做产品战略家。但我过去几个月观察你,你把团队激励得比我所能做到的程度高得多,而且你影响了整个高管团队来支持你的想法,这令人印象深刻。你是一个善于与人打交道的人。“一开始我有点被冒犯。什么?你觉得我没有能力成为一个伟大的产品领导者?但我静下来想了想他说的话,我知道他是对的。我父母都是治疗师。我从没想过要当治疗师。结果现在呢,我基本上就是一个职场治疗师。我喜欢创业者的能量,我喜欢宏大的愿景,但我确实是一个善于与人打交道的人。
后来我离开了那个角色,意识到我热爱我教练所做的事情。我接受了教练培训,进入了 HR 领导层。而 Zach,作为一个天赋异禀的产品战略家,后来去领导了 Coinbase 和 BREX 的产品,最近是 Bridge(被 Stripe 收购),他至今仍是我的客户。过去十年我们见证了彼此的历程,我们都在磨炼自己的天赋。当你处在自己的天赋中时,生活更有趣,你也有更多的灵感和能力可以给予这个世界。所以我想分享这个故事,因为当你关心的人看起来精力充沛或疲惫不堪时,坦诚地告诉他们,这很有帮助——因为这有时候是一记警钟,让人真正思考自己的火花是什么,去保护它、滋养它。
从个人提升到团队协作
Lenny Rachitsky: 我很喜欢这个故事,因为我觉得大多数人在听到这个建议和这个话题时——“好吧,我感觉精疲力竭,我感觉要崩溃了”——我觉得大多数人第一反应是,“好吧,但我实际上什么也做不了。我有一份工作,我有责任。“我从这个故事中得到的启示是,最重要的步骤是去弄清楚你真正应该做什么。什么能给你带来能量?你的天赋是什么。我觉得这是人们最大的缺口,因为一旦你知道了这一点,是有办法实现的。去跟你的经理谈。“可能今天还做不到,但这是我想去的方向。这是我想花时间做的事情。“不过我很喜欢你说的那一点,你实际上必须表现得好,你的经理才会听你的。你不能表现糟糕然后说,“哦,但我想做战略。”
Rachel Lockett: 是的。嗯,帮助你活在自己的天赋中,这不是其他任何人的责任。我在大公司里观察到,人们常常对管理层感到恼火或沮丧,觉得管理层没有让他们的工作更有趣。事实是,“不,你经理的职责是帮助你在被聘用的岗位上表现出色。而经营你的职业生涯是你自己的事。“所以在你整个职业生涯中,你如何将自己的天赋与世界需求匹配起来?如果当下的”世界”就是你的公司,你如何充分理解这些需求,以便将你的优势应用到这些需求上?
Lenny Rachitsky: 这让我想起,我之前在播客上请过几位嘉宾就做过这样的事。他们都是创始人,所以这是针对创始人的情况,但 Superhuman 的 Rahul Vohra 意识到自己不是最好的执行运营型人才,所以他雇了一位总裁,把所有那些事务都接管了。然后 Darmesh,HubSpot 的联合创始人,他从一开始就知道自己不想管理人,所以他和联合创始人定了一个规矩,“我永远不会带直属下属。“我相信他是 CTO,零个直属下属,没有一对一沟通。
Rachel Lockett: 是的。我认为认识到这一点是很美好的,但同时也要切实满足那些下属的需求。我觉得通常人们知道,“呃,我不想做一对一沟通,“但直接不给这些人安排管理者对公司来说是不健康的。所以你必须既要认真对待自己的优势,又要积极管理自己的短板。
Lenny Rachitsky: 关于帮助人们走出精疲力竭、在工作中恢复活力这个话题,还有什么最后的建议吗?
Rachel Lockett: 我建议从小事做起。你不必辞职,不必重新设计你的人生。你可以不再参加那些让你疲惫的可选活动。你可以在必须参加的消耗性事项之间留出空间,出去走三十分钟的路,为自己补充能量。从明天开始。你要做哪三件事来堵住那个能量泄漏、重新点燃你的火花?甚至可能是你热爱阅读,那就开始每晚睡前读三十分钟书。它不一定是一个戏剧性的人生转变,但要认识到,只有你自己知道什么让你产生共鸣,什么在消耗你,如果你想在这个世界上有目标感、有影响力地存在,认真对待这件事是你自己的责任。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我很喜欢这个建议。我其实已经开始睡前读三十分钟书了,真的非常愉悦,一本实体书,配一个小夜灯。
Rachel Lockett: 我同意。我喜欢实体书。我有 Kindle,该买的都买了,但在沙发上拿着一本实体书是最好的。
Lenny Rachitsky: 对,那个小夜灯是关键,因为有时候在晚上你需要一本适合夜晚读的书。好了,到目前为止我们主要聊的是个人提升,如何弄清楚你该做什么,学习教练技巧等等。我想把话题提升一个层面,聊聊团队技能,人们如何更好地与他人协作。你在很多方面以帮助联合创始人建立更好的关系而闻名。根据我的经验,创业中最具挑战性的部分之一就是联合创始人关系。很多人没有意识到自己将要面对什么。你基本上就是在一个高压环境下和这个人结婚,而有时候你对他们并不太了解。
Rachel Lockett: 完全正确。
联合创始人关系
Lenny Rachitsky: 而你们合作不好就是一个巨大的问题,因为这一切都会向下渗透,所有人都会看到。当联合创始人离开时,对所有人来说都很糟糕。所以我就直接问你,在帮助联合创始人建立良好关系、保持愉快和高效方面,你发现什么最有帮助?
Rachel Lockett: 谢谢你问这个问题。我喜欢和联合创始人一起工作,因为我认为你作为个人的核心价值观会在与他人的核心价值观互动时展现出来。冲突,无论是健康的还是其他形式的,实际上是你的核心价值观显现的时刻。所以看着人们在与他人的愿景、他人的优势和劣势的交织中,尝试做一件极其困难的事情,并一起应对这一切,这非常引人入胜。所以联合创始人之间的动态对我来说、对联合创始人自身来说都充满了能量。实际上,这是人们不太愿意跟董事会谈、也不太愿意跟太多人聊的事情,因为这是一件私密的事。几乎就像在婚姻中,你会去看伴侣治疗师,但你不会告诉所有朋友你受不了你的伴侣,但它却让你夜不能寐。所以这是一种非常脆弱、非常重要的关系,而帮助联合创始人应对这种关系的支持体系还不够多。这非常普遍。
事实上,我猜你可能也知道这个数据,65% 的创业公司失败是因为联合创始人冲突。联合创始人处于一个既要为企业的未来建设、又要为自己生计建设的时刻。所以与联合创始人和睦相处有太多的利害关系。我认为核心中的核心,一段健康关系所需要的是,第一,自我觉察。我给这段动态带来了什么,对方是如何体验我的?对方又给这段动态带来了什么,我是如何回应的?所以首先是对”我们的动态是什么”有共同的认知。我喜欢用 Enneagram(九型人格)来做这件事,但也有各种各样的工具、自我觉察工具,你可以用它们来为”这是我的特质、那是你的特质”建立一个共同语言。
一个非常经典的例子与角色有关。CTO 往往是怀疑论者。他们热爱事实,追求知识。他们想要深度的认知和理解,他们也喜欢自给自足。这完全是泛泛而谈,但我一次又一次地看到这个模式。CEO 是那个必须推销愿景的人。他们是一个热爱宏大愿景和战略的人。他们通常擅长影响他人。他们喜欢超前于公司实际建设成果来推销。这在盲目乐观和怀疑态度之间创造了一种固有的张力,而这是这两个角色共同跳的一支舞。所以第一步是了解你正在跳的舞是什么,这样你们就不会只是盲目地踩彼此的脚趾。
联合创始人的承诺与定期检视
Rachel Lockett: 第二步是真正有意识地去对待你为这段关系所做出的承诺。以婚姻为例,我谈到联合创始人的誓言、重新承诺和续约,因为结婚之后,很多人组建了家庭,然后就觉得”关系自然而然会围绕着我们持续下去,我们在共同做这件事”。但就像夫妻需要约会之夜一样,联合创始人也需要时间和空间来彼此连接,坐下来一起说:“这对你来说怎么样?我们的愿景和战略还一致吗?我们的合作方式如何?我做的哪些事情让你不爽?有哪些话一直没说、但我们确实需要谈的?”
但如果你只是埋头于运营和扩张创业公司的忙碌之中,你就不会腾出时间来进行这种对话。所以我认为,联合创始人为他们的关系留出空间极其重要,不管是隔周吃一次晚餐,还是定期出去吃午饭,还是业务上的日常沟通加上每季度一次面对面的检视。这个空间对于联合创始人关系的健康至关重要。
Lenny Rachitsky: 关于第二点,誓言这个想法太好了。你是真的会建议他们这样做吗,就是”我承诺做到以下这些”?
Rachel Lockett: 对,就是我承诺做到哪些事情。最近我确实和 First Round 合写了一篇文章,我们还制作了一份文档,帮助联合创始人思考在检视中应该涵盖哪些内容。我们设计了周度检视、月度检视和年度检视,就是让你们坐下来互相提问的问题清单。积极倾听的技巧在这些对话中会派上用场,但关键是要从忙于运营业务的节奏中抽身出来,从一个……我喜欢这样说:与其一直在舞池中跳,你需要时间走到阳台上,俯瞰下面正在发生什么。我们做得怎么样?这对我们双方还适用吗?而誓言的真正含义是,我们将如何与彼此相处?我们将如何出场?我们正在创造什么样的文化?
即使你在公司建设初期不想做一整套文化梳理,你也应该对”我们想怎样对待彼此”有一些概念。我们如何做决策?我们如何处理冲突?这些都是你可以有意识地设计和规划的东西,和你的联合创始人一起。
Lenny Rachitsky: 太好了。我们会附上那篇文章的链接。第一步是 Enneagram(九型人格),听起来这是你推荐的方式,这基本上是一个很多人喜欢的性格测评工具。
Rachel Lockett: 我确实很喜欢九型人格。不过我认为你们也可以直接告诉彼此:“这是我的优势,我认为这是我的不足,你怎么看?给我一些反馈,你同意吗?“你们完全可以不借助任何性格测评就完成这个对话。如果你只想简单直接地进行一次坦诚开放的交流,你甚至可以说,我带来的天赋是什么、弱点是什么,我打算如何弥补?我如何发挥自己的天赋?如何弥补自己的不足?你呢?然后我认为还值得讨论一下:我们双方都没有覆盖到的缺口有哪些——而这些能力在我们建设这家企业的过程中很可能是需要的?
关系已经出现紧张时怎么办
Lenny Rachitsky: 当有人觉得”我们的关系不太好了,有很多紧张感”的时候,你会建议他们怎么做?我们刚才谈到的所有这些建议,都是从一开始就设定成功的基础——了解你擅长什么、你带来了什么;有意识地承诺”我要做到这些、你要做到那些”;安排这些晚餐或午餐;我很喜欢你说的”走到阳台上”反思进展的这个比喻——这些都很棒。但如果已经深陷其中了,而且真的很烦躁,不太喜欢这个人,或者持续有很强的紧张感,他们这周、下周能做哪几件事?
Rachel Lockett: 联合创始人来找我通常有两种情况:一种是在早期阶段,他们想有意识地打造一些伟大的东西,想为成功做好铺垫。但更常见的情况是,他们来找我时已经对彼此非常沮丧了。紧张感已经显而易见,他们受不了了,但又仍然对业务有深深的承诺,所以看不到退出的可能。而且他们知道自己在某个时刻确实爱过这位联合创始人,所以看到了恢复的可能性,这就是为什么他们想去找一位教练。
我给你举一个例子,一对做 PR 的搭档,经营着一家快速扩张的激烈竞争业务。一开始,其中一位是擅长推销业务的远见者,两人都擅长 PR,而另一位在运营方面极其出色。随着业务扩张,一个承担了更多的业务拓展,另一个承担了所有内部事务,但被所有的人员管理和运营规模化团队中各种她没想到要承担的事务搞得精疲力竭。
她们来的时候,我觉得两个人都不确定:我们能解决这个问题吗?我们是想把这个东西卖掉?还是继续做下去?我记得有人说了”要么结束,要么发出去”——其中一位联合创始人对我说了这句话。她们正处在这个决策点上。
我看到她们做的第一件事是,她们很好地描述了当前的状态。她们都能够分享各自的感受。我们确实用了 360 度评估,所以她们从各自的团队收集了反馈,然后互相分享,但她们能够对哪些有效、哪些无效保持开放和脆弱——不是立刻做到,而是逐渐做到。她们意识到自己曾经很喜欢在这份事业中做搭档,但随着各自领导不同的团队,她们变得非常疏远。她们住在全国的两端,实际上仅仅是重新聚到一起,意识到彼此缺失了什么、在没有对方支持的情况下领导这家快速扩张的公司有多么孤独,以及她们实际上多么需要对方的优势来形成互补、而她们之前却没有这种互补——这就是她们疗愈的重要起点。
在我们的教练过程中,她们重新转向彼此,建立了一种定期相聚的节奏,不需要我参与。在教练周期结束后,她们感到焕然一新,重新做出了承诺。她们在领导团队中做了一些调整来填补各自的缺口。她们也开始每周线上见面一次,并且建立了每季度面对面聚一次的节奏。我并不是说仅仅是花时间在一起就能疗愈——有时候聚在一起是需要真正地去面对和角力的。我上周刚经历了一个案例:三个人聚在一起,我们进行了一整天的面对面讨论,主题是他们如何在这对联合创始人的搭档关系中做决策。
那次对话之后,很清楚的是其中一位联合创始人并不开心,不欣赏另一位,也不打算改变,并且意识到自己也是问题的重要组成部分——我想他会离开公司。但这仍然是成功,因为这是清晰度。你不是在黑暗中摸索,沮丧地、无意识地处于一段人际动态中,而是基于自己的优势、业务的需要以及你所处的这段关系动态,做出一个选择——要么继续留在其中,要么体面地退出。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我太喜欢这个类比了——这和婚姻太相似了,所有这些东西都是一样的。你会做的也就是这些。
联合创始人关系中的爱
Rachel Lockett: 完全是。我是说,婚姻是你和一个伴侣一起建立生活。唯一的区别是婚姻根植于性吸引力和爱,而在联合创始人的关系中并不总是如此。不过我确实也和一些既是夫妻又是联合创始人的人合作过,但你对你的联合创始人也应该有某种程度的爱。事实上,我认为当你与同事密切合作,真正能够看到他们的天赋并帮助他们发挥时,你不可能不爱他们。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这话说得很大胆。这里的另一个收获就是——去做教练。如果关系不太顺畅,这似乎就是解决方案。仅靠谈话能走的路是有限的。
Rachel Lockett: 这需要一个成熟的引导者——其中一个联合创始人——能够在一个充满挑战的动态中为双方的沮丧和共情同时留出空间。所以外部支持是有用的。有时候实际上是某个团队成员,或者是人力资源负责人,或者是恰好有出色人际技巧的 GC。你不一定总是需要一个教练,但你需要有空间去展现脆弱、保持开放和好奇。所以如果你能自己创造这样的空间,那很好。我认为这绝对是可能的。
改善人际关系的实操建议
Lenny Rachitsky: 除了联合创始人的关系之外,你有没有一些实操建议,帮助人们改善与团队成员、任何共事者之间的人际关系?就是那些可能会困惑的人——“天哪,我跟这个人相处有困难,我跟很多人都相处不好”?
Rachel Lockett: 首先,当人们想要发起冲突或者想要处理某个不顺畅的问题时,他们会带着铠甲进入,准备好证明自己的观点。这是很自然的。你一直在想这件事,反复纠结要不要提出来。你终于到了要开口的阶段,而此时往往存在一种误区,认为目标是说服对方他们做错了。实际上,任何冲突的目标都是创造相互理解。所以当我去找人谈话时——比如我丈夫没有尽到他那份育儿责任——我的目标是帮助他理解我在挣扎什么,这样他就能共情,看清正在发生什么,也许在某种程度上满足我的需求。但不是为了向他证明他在家里做得多么少,因为他可能对正在发生的事有完全不同的说法。
Nonviolent Communication 框架
Rachel Lockett: 所以我给你一个我喜欢的框架,我的很多客户都在用。它来自马歇尔·卢森堡的 Nonviolent Communication(非暴力沟通)。这是一本书,也是一个框架。分为四步。第一步是观察。我的任务是客观地记录正在发生的事实。例如:我注意到在过去三次 sprint planning 会议上,你没有邀请我参加那些讨论,也没有与我分享路线图。这就是一个观察。它是一个事实。我可以给它拍张照片,没有人会对此争论。下一步是感受。我要不带指责地表达我的感受。我在不知道本周路线图的情况下感到焦虑。我搞不清楚那个会议到底开没开,因为我没有被包括在内。所以这是我在分享我的感受,让对方能够共情并理解我正在经历什么,而不需要进入防御状态。
第三步是需求。我在这件事上有哪些普遍的人类需求?我们都有需求。这不是在对对方提出要求,只是帮助他们理解我未被满足的需求。我需要清晰的了解,我需要协作,我需要连接,不管是什么。最后一步是提出请求。在这个模型中,请求是一根橄榄枝,帮助对方与你会面、看见你。它不应该是不可能做到的事。它应该是相当小而容易实现的事情,让对方在连接你和理解你时感到成功。所以在这个例子中,我可以提出一个请求:我想请你下次开 sprint planning 会议时把我加为可选参加者,或者在你们确定路线图后把它发给我。
当然,对方不一定要满足我的请求。他们可能会提出一个反建议,但这个模型在这种对话中最重要的东西是——对方理解我正在经历什么,而且他们不会产生反应性的防御,这样我们就可以就正在发生的事进行一场双向的对话。
Lenny Rachitsky: 哇。关于当你试图说服别人某件事的时候——当出了问题的时候——你的目标不是说服他们,你的目标是达成相互理解。这一点让我震撼了,我觉得它会改变我的生活。哇。
Rachel Lockett: Lenny,今晚就和你妻子试试这个。NVC 是一个强大的工具,实际上它与大多数关于连接的模型都很相似。斯坦福商学院有一门带 T 字开头的课程,叫 Touchy Feely,人人都喜欢。
Lenny Rachitsky: 对,我们请 Carol 来过播客。
Rachel Lockett: 太好了。是的,Carol Robbins 发起了这场运动。有一套课程。很多创始人去上她专门为创始人设计的模型。
Lenny Rachitsky: 科技圈的也去。
Rachel Lockett: 这一切都是关于——他们谈到一张网:你可以说你的感受和你的反应,但一旦你越过网去指责别人或做出假设,对方就会产生防御性的反应。但如果你待在自己这边,你可以极其大胆和勇敢。所以这个模型帮助你做到这一点,因为它真正关乎的是分享你的情绪和需求,并无指责地提出请求。
Lenny Rachitsky: 是的。我想说的是,当你讲这个框架的时候,它的结构是:这是我的情况,这是我看到的,这是我的感受,这是我需要的。然后在你有了这些背景之后,这是我请求你做的事——而不是”你做了这个,你感觉这个,你是这么想的”。
Rachel Lockett: 完全正确。它也承认了一个事实:专业人士是有感受的。我认为我们在科技行业工作,被认为应该把所有的时间、所有的精力都献给这项事业,而且纯粹是理性的。这根本不是事实。它完全是情感的。如果我们忽视自己的感受,它们会冒出来,我们会无意识地被它们驱动。
Lenny Rachitsky: 而且这里面有一种隐含的力量——如果这个人在乎你、爱你或者看重你们的关系,知道这让你不舒服就会让他们想要改变。你不需要告诉他们”改变这件事”。而是——“哦,我不知道这让你难过了,或者你有这个需求。现在我知道了,好的,我现在明白为什么这对你很重要了。”
Rachel Lockett: 完全正确。而且有时候对方听到这些之后会有不同的故事或不同的视角。所以他们可能会说,“好的,我可以接受这个请求”,或者”我听到了这个请求,也听到了你的感受,但让我解释一下我这边的情况。“一种方式是问:“你愿意听听我的说法吗?“这样他们也能够分享自己这一面。你不必只是同意对方的请求。只要你设定了这样的基调,对方更有可能以促进相互理解的方式参与进来,因为一旦你展现了脆弱,他们也会分享他们的脆弱。
回顾 NVC 框架
Lenny Rachitsky: 让我帮大家回顾一下这个框架。我打算试着用一下。我倒是希望它有个好记的首字母缩写。这个框架是:说出你观察到的——只陈述正在发生的事实。就是简单地,“我看到你没有把冰箱门完全关好”。你的感受——这件事让你有什么感觉。你的需求——驱动那种感受的核心人类需求,我想是这样。然后是你对这个人提出的请求。
Rachel Lockett: 对。我还想补充一点我刚才忘了说的,就是感受就是情绪。所以有时候人们会说,“我觉得你在做一个混蛋。” 那不是一个感受,很明显。感受是你身体里的一种感觉,进而产生一种情绪。所以,说出一个感受对技术领导者来说有时候其实并不容易。我想强调这一点,因为情绪才能触及人与人之间连接的深层人性。情绪是唤起共情的关键。
Lenny Rachitsky: 有没有什么短语就是”非感受”的典型例子?比如在描述感受时用了”你”这个词,大概就不是个好兆头?
Rachel Lockett: 完全正确。如果你能说”我觉得像……”,即使你加了”像”,或者”我觉得那个……”,你很可能接下来要加的是一个事实。“我觉得”后面应该跟一个情绪词。
Lenny Rachitsky: 所以不要说”像”,不要说”你”,不要说”那个”?
Rachel Lockett: 对,没错。
如何进行艰难对话
Lenny Rachitsky: 好。顺着这个话题,我和你多年来合作过的很多客户聊过,他们提到你帮助他们最多的一个共同主题就是进行艰难对话。我觉得我们刚才聊的内容实际上已经涵盖了很大一部分,但我好奇你还有没有其他建议来帮助人们进行艰难对话。让我念一段你客户的话。
Rachel Lockett: 哇,太好了。
Lenny Rachitsky: 她说,“Rachel 非常擅长把艰难的决策变得清晰,让人觉得这些决策是可以落地的。” 在这方面还有没有更多的——这些决策的落地。因为艰难对话确实很难。我们怎么帮助人们让它们没那么难?有什么技巧吗?
Rachel Lockett: 有的。首先,艰难对话会让你想逃跑。人们对冲突的”营销”做得太差了,所以我想重新定义它。我的信念是,当我们内心感到矛盾纠结时,我们内在有两个部分在交战。而这里面有某种非常美好、值得去关注的东西,有需要学习的东西——当我们感到矛盾的时候。当我们陷入冲突时,说明有重要的事情正处于利害攸关之中。我们深深地在乎我们在构建的东西,在乎那个让我们失望的人。所以它之所以难,是因为其中有很强的情感成分。而且其中有值得学习的东西。
所以首先,我想请正在听的领导者们想一想,“这很难,因为我这里有需要学习的东西,因为它很重要。所以与其逃避、跑开,我要迎难而上。而且我从中收获的不仅仅是解决了这个动态关系,也不仅仅是说出了我的想法,而是练就了一项技能。“我之所以专注于人际动态,是因为我们关系的质量决定了我们生活的质量。我真心相信这一点。如果你不能处理冲突,你就无法拥有健康的关系。我们会和我们爱的人、在乎的人、一起创业的人产生分歧。所以首先,我只是想让听众们重新看待矛盾纠结和人际挑战,把它们视为一个成长的机会。
第二,总是有我们自己在为这个冲突推波助澜的部分——哪怕感觉对方完全不讲理、把我们逼疯了、而我们是完全无辜的一方。所以以谦逊的态度、带着对对方体验的好奇心进入任何一场冲突对话,是做好铺垫、让自己承诺走出更好的结果的关键。所以没有任何模型——NVC 或其他任何模型——能帮到一个态度僵化、充满指责的人。我非常喜欢《有意识的领导者的 15 项承诺》这本书,不知道你知不知道,但其中一个概念就是承担百分之百的责任。不要活在指责的世界里,不要做受害者,也不要做英雄。我看到很多领导者在人际冲突中,处于受害者心态、处于指责模式,或者处于英雄模式。“我替他们做算了,别管了。他们做成这件事太费劲了,我来做吧。”
取而代之的是,为自己那部分承担责任。“在这个动态关系中,我的那部分是什么?我怎样才能解决它?”
Lenny Rachitsky: 这让我想到,Jerry Colonna 曾经上过我的播客,他有一句很经典的话我一直记得:你是如何共谋创造了你声称不想要的那些条件的?
Rachel Lockett: 是的,我很喜欢这句话。太喜欢这个问题了。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这整个问题其实有三个部分,我就不展开了。但你在这里分享的核心是,想一想这个问题,搞清楚是怎么回事——因为你的观点是,你总是在某种程度上共谋了你正在抱怨的问题。然后用这一点来帮助自己放下对对方的防御,说”这个问题中有我贡献的部分。“你会用非暴力沟通框架吗?我想问的是,这只是进行艰难对话的一种通用方法,还是说并没有一个固定的框架?
Rachel Lockett: 对,我觉得当你想就某件让你不满意的事去找一个人沟通时,这是一个很好的框架。我认为通常艰难对话之所以出现,是因为你内心产生了一些感受,而你有一个需求没有被满足。所以,这就是一个触发信号,让你知道”好吧,我需要找这个人谈谈。我们需要把这件事说清楚。”
举个例子,我曾经和一位 CEO 合作,他的联合创始人不断地削弱他的决策,批评他。他们之间发生了一些变化——他们原本是很好的搭档,一起融了资,招了几个领导者,然后突然之间他开始不断遭到暗箭中伤。这让人精疲力竭、沮丧、困惑。正是在那个时候,他使用了 NVC 来厘清”这里到底发生了什么?“结果发现联合创始人对他如何分配时间感到非常不满。他不想他去外面做销售,而是想他来帮自己做产品愿景。他们对于 CEO 应该怎么分配时间有着完全不同的理解。
Lenny Rachitsky: 好。再帮大家回顾一下 NVC 框架,因为到了实际场景中这个确实很难想起来。“哦,我该说什么来着?” 观察、感受、需求、请求。
Rachel Lockett: 对,没错。还有一本非暴力沟通的书,如果大家对框架感兴趣,想深入了解的话,可以去看看。
Lenny Rachitsky: 人们需要一个提醒……你说的那个客户,把他的愿景纹在了身上,在——
Rachel Lockett: 对。
Lenny Rachitsky: 好的,所以咱们找个什么办法。
Rachel Lockett: 不过也许别纹 NVC。
Lenny Rachitsky: 因为那可能……
Rachel Lockett: 它没有一个好的缩写。你可以把它打印出来,贴在屏幕旁边什么的——
Lenny Rachitsky: 好的,行。
Rachel Lockett: ——如果你想的话。
「你是否愿意热情地重新雇佣这个人?」——人才决策的试金石
Lenny Rachitsky: 没有纹身。我只是想强调你这个回答中的第一个要点,就是进行困难的对话。然后我还有一个问题想问你。就是这个观点——如果你害怕某件事,那就是你应该去做这件事的信号。我经常想到一句话:“你害怕的洞穴里藏着你追寻的宝藏。“这里的建议就是,你害怕的东西本身也是指南针,是你应该去做的事。因为那里有某种重要的东西。
Rachel Lockett: 我很喜欢这句话。没错。就像——“这里什么最重要?我在这里需要学到什么?“——这是你在回避某件事时可以问自己的问题。我经常在人才管理场景中看到这种情况。一位 CEO 有一个表现不佳的 COO。他们在回避对话,因为他们不断感到失望,而实际上他们内心深处知道,这行不通。他们不想面对。太费精力了。他们需要继续往前赶。
当我们真正腾出空间来思考他们的感受和需求时,他们会意识到——我问他们:“你是否愿意热情地为同一职位重新雇佣这个人?“这是我们在 Stripe 一直问的问题。当答案是”不”的时候,不管你进行多少次困难的对话,这都是行不通的。所以你必须采取行动。即使只是投入那场艰难的对话,看看会发生什么,也能让你获得所需的清晰度,从而对不合适的人才采取行动。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这是一个非常好的技巧。我不知道 Stripe 是这样运作的。我们之前请过 Netflix 的 CTO Elizabeth Stone 上播客,他们的运作方式非常类似。他们总是在问类似的问题。你刚才的表述是:“我是否愿意热情地为同一职位重新雇佣这个人?”
Rachel Lockett: 没错。这个问题非常有澄清力,因为它是二元的。人们会有一种身体上的感觉——就像我们之前谈到的”全身心的 yes”?你对那个问题会有一个即时的、诚实的反应,从而带来清晰度。
Lenny Rachitsky: 而且如果答案是”不”,并不意味着”开除他们”,而是”你需要对此做点什么”。可以是跟他们谈,给他们制定一个绩效改进计划,把他们放到一个不同的角色中。并不意味着你必须立刻开除他们,所以如果你说”不”,也不一定像听起来那么可怕。
快速扩张企业中的人才迭代
Rachel Lockett: 是的,我认为这也取决于你企业所处的阶段。我看到很多公司搭建了一个领导团队,一年之后,他们业务的规模和阶段已经发生了巨大变化。他们开始意识到,“哦,当初那个还算合适的 CFO,现在已经完全不对了。他应该做的是 controller。“好的,那就正视这一点。在与现任 CFO 互动时认识到这一点,启动招聘搜索。你可以做很多事情,不一定是开除某人。但在快速成长的企业中,领导团队的职责发生变化是很自然的,你必须随着时间推移做出一些调整。
Lenny Rachitsky: 而且我想非常重要的是要强调这样运作的重要性——如果你试图建立一家真正成功的公司,这应该是标准。就是:你是否不愿意为这个角色热情地重新雇佣这个人。如果你试图建造前所未有的东西,建立一家真正运转良好的公司,你身边必须只有达到这个标准的人。
Rachel Lockett: 是的。我的观点是——我一开始谈到过我痴迷于企业建设中的人性面——我的信念是,人才以及你把人才放入的环境就是一切。是的,打造产品和业务是关于建造用户需要的东西。是关于产品市场匹配,以及你所处的浪潮。时机很重要。如果你所在的行业没有增长,你会建立一个不同规模的企业,而现在,如果你身处 AI 领域则完全不同。没错。你骑在时机的浪潮上,你在解决一个核心需求。但除此之外的一切都是关于人的。是关于人才,以及你把人才放入的环境。所以你需要创造条件,让你的人才能够茁壮成长。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这是一个如此简单的概念,但我认为人们常常忽略——你所做的一切,都将取决于你身边的人,以及你为他们创造的工作环境。我想就这一点收个尾——关于你做困难事情的那个观点,我很喜欢这个想法:如果某件事感觉很难,把它当作一个学习机会。我想每个听到这里的人都会觉得,“哦,太好了,我要学到新东西了,我会变得更好。“这是面对困难事物时一种更轻松、更有动力的方式。
面对感受,而非回避
Rachel Lockett: 我想在这里做一个区分——和我们之前谈到的”发挥你的优势”区分开来。因为我不认为人们应该整天痛苦地煎熬,做消耗自己的工作。那不是学习机会。在人际层面,当你回避某件事时,是因为你在乎某些东西。我想鼓励人们不要回避自己的情绪。我们必须完完整整地感受自己的情绪,活在当下的感受中,并以承认自己感受的方式与他人互动。这是我想鼓励的,因为实际上,这不是在消磨,而是在激活。其中蕴含着学习。
一页纸计划:简化公司对齐
Lenny Rachitsky: 最后一个方面我想花点时间谈谈——这是我从所有与你共事过的人那里听到的——就是你帮助他们建立运作方式的方法。你刚才谈到了你招聘的人以及为他们创造的环境的重要性。而你帮助领导者做的事情之一,就是围绕一个”一页纸计划”创建一种非常具体的运作方式,以及它如何层层传递,让公司里的一切变得更加高效。谈谈这个一页纸计划,你推荐公司如何用它来运作。
Rachel Lockett: 谢谢你问这个问题。我认为,通常情况下,公司把对齐愿景、战略、目标,以及人们彼此互动的方式——即价值观——的过程搞得太复杂了。这些东西各自存在于不同的地方,被讨论的程度不同,对员工的共鸣程度也不同。如果你问公司里的任何一个人,“你的前三大优先事项是什么,它们和愿景有什么关系?“这不是一个容易回答的问题。
所以我喜欢一页纸计划这个概念的原因是,它在简化。这是让领导团队聚在一起并对齐的一种方式——“我们在这里做什么?我们各自的职责是什么?我们如何沟通,使全公司都有清晰度,并知道自己的工作如何与我们共同承诺的宏大愿景相连?”
实际上,我从 Alpine Investors 那里得到了一页纸计划的这个想法。他们有一个叫做”People First Operating Rhythm”的东西,而且已经在他们的投资组合公司中成功实施。我与 Alpine 合作,所以我服务他们的一些投资组合 CEO。来执行这套节奏。所以这不仅仅是一个一页纸计划。它把你的愿景和价值观放在第一列,你的战略意图和 KPI 放在第二列,你的年度目标放在第三列,季度目标放在第四列。这样无论你在讨论什么——“我们明年做什么,下个季度做什么?我们如何排列优先级?“——都始终与你的核心 KPI、战略和愿景紧密关联。
People First Operating Rhythm 的成效
Rachel Lockett: 我很喜欢他们在投资组合中推行这套做法的方式,而且我亲眼看到了它的威力。他们收集了一些数据,表明真正实施了 People First Operating Rhythm 的投资组合公司确实带来了更高的回报。所以他们非常坚定地执行这一策略,在按照他们的节奏与 CEO 们合作了一段时间后,我从中汲取了一些想法,开始以我自己的方式帮助其他创始人和领导者运用类似的理念。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我们应该会在节目笔记里附上这个一页纸计划的模板链接吧?
Rachel Lockett: 当然可以,很乐意分享。
Lenny Rachitsky: 好,那我们到时候安排一下。那么,当公司开始以这种方式运营时,你看到什么样的效果,来激励大家去这样做?
Rachel Lockett: 我看到的是清晰度和对齐。同时我也看到了更多的连接感。我想强调的是,这不仅仅关乎有一份计划,更关乎你如何创建它、如何复盘它、以及如何围绕它聚在一起庆祝成果。
运营节奏的重要性
在我看来,创业过程中一个非常被忽视的部分就是运营节奏。你什么时候聚在一起启动新的一年,重新分享你的战略和愿景,讨论目标?你什么时候聚在一起复盘哪些有效、哪些无效,你怎么做这件事?以什么群体来做?你是坦诚面对,还是只是走个过场赶紧回到紧急事务上去?
就像我之前在联合创始人动态中说的,一个关键是要走出舞池,走到阳台上。领导复杂业务的高管团队需要从”在业务中”抽身出来,去”做业务上的事”。围绕这个一页纸计划,我喜欢运营节奏的原因是,你可以在年初用它来启动,非常简单、易懂,每个人都能看到。然后每个季度,你可以聚在一起复盘:“什么有效,什么没效?”
我特别喜欢一个问题——“什么是一个不方便的真相?“把那些需要被谈论、却因为大家太忙而没人谈论的事情摆到桌面上。这就是将一个简单的计划——不管是不是一页纸——与定期停下来讨论、反思的时间结合起来的力量。这个计划让你从上到下对齐,从愿景一直到季度目标;而这个时间让你停下来、暂停、讨论、反思,留出一些宽裕的能量。
这和你之前说的你自己的时间安排其实很像。你本身就是自己的高管团队。你需要一点宽裕的时间去琢磨、反思、创造,然后带着更多能量回到你正在做的有意义的工作中去。领导团队也需要这样的空间。
Lenny Rachitsky: 等等,Alpine Investors,Graham Weaver。他上过我的播客。
Rachel Lockett: 我看到了,我看到了。
AI 与教练工作
Lenny Rachitsky: 太好了。最后一个、最后一个问题。在进入非常精彩的闪电问答之前,我想先进入 AI 角落。我会稍微调整一下问法。通常我会问大家,AI 如何影响了他们的工作和生活?我想这个问题本质上也是一样的——作为教练,AI 改变了教练这个行业吗?同时也想问问,从客户的角度来看,人们是如何在他们的——我想说的是生活层面——从教练的视角,如何利用 AI 来帮助自己?
Rachel Lockett: 这是一个很好的问题。作为教练,我在几个关键方面使用 AI,对此我很感激。第一,我用 Granola 来做会议笔记,这样我就能完全专注于和客户在一起,并且在会后给他们一份会谈内容的总结以及他们承诺的下一步行动。我还会把笔记按客户分文件夹存放,这样我可以审视我们整个合作过程中的洞见——正在发生什么更深层的事情?出现了什么模式?这些我心里有数,但实际上它是一个很好的工具,可以看到随着时间推移的变化。“对,我们在第一次会谈中讨论过这个。让我们把它重新拿出来,因为这就是你现在正在挣扎的问题。“所以它帮助我创造我希望所有客户都能获得的那种转变。
第二,我用 ChatGPT 来帮我策划静修活动。我运营一个女性组织,每年有八次静修活动。这是一个很好的工具,可以在确定核心目标后进行更开阔的思考。当我已经明确了我想要达成的目标,也有了一些想法之后,它能给我新的创意灵感。比如我可以输入:“这是我的目标,这是我的受众,这是我上次静修的内容,我大概想要三个新的活动创意。“它就会给我一些创意上的能量,而这些能量过去我需要找其他教练一起讨论才能获得。当然我也会那样做。
最后,我正在尝试用 AI 来在两次会谈之间为客户提供支持。我收到一些客户的反馈,说他们希望在两次会谈之间有更多的互动。他们随时可以给我发邮件或短信,我一直对他们开放的。但我觉得他们非常尊重我的时间,所以有些人确实会主动联系我提问,而另一些人则等到下次会谈再说。
AI 辅助教练的未来
所以我对教练的未来很好奇——在两次会谈之间,客户如何能获得更多 AI 支持,比如一个拥有他们所有背景信息的机器人——包括我们在开始时一起制定的发展计划,也就是我们的工作目标、他们希望如何成长、我的一些核心框架、信念和训练内容,以及所有会谈的 Granola 笔记——这样他们在两次会谈之间就能获得一些额外的即时支持。比如他们即将进入一场对话,应该怎么应对?他们对一个团队会议感到焦虑,怎么才能充分利用它?更多是战术层面的支持。我认为个人教练对于”你对生活的愿景是什么?你想如何调整你的核心行为来与那个愿景对齐?“这类问题仍然至关重要。但在战术层面,AI 可以在两次会谈之间发挥非常实在的辅助作用。
Lenny Rachitsky: 这太酷了。所以这是你已经在做的事情——他们可以使用这种类似 GPT 的……
Rachel Lockett: 这是我正在搭建的东西。
Lenny Rachitsky: 你正在搭建——
Rachel Lockett: 我的客户目前还没有。
Lenny Rachitsky: 好的。这个想法真的很好。它不是要取代教练和治疗师,而是在两次会谈之间增加了大量可以在场的交流时间,基于你之前讨论过的所有内容、你使用的所有框架。这非常酷。好,又一个十亿美元级别的公司要诞生了。
Rachel Lockett: 我可不想去建那个公司。
Lenny Rachitsky: 因为那不是你的天才区。
Rachel Lockett: 没错。
Lenny Rachitsky: Rachel,在进入我们非常精彩的闪电问答之前,你还有什么想和听众分享的吗?
最后的话
Rachel Lockett: 我想分享的是,这个世界正变得越来越孤独。有很多相关研究支持这一点,而在我教练辅导的实践中也很明显——人们彼此之间感到越来越疏离。事实上,经营企业本质上是一项人的事业。所以我支持这波 AI 热潮,也感激我们手边拥有前所未有的技术。但我想鼓励听众们把自己看作这样一种领导者——把人聚在一起实现自我价值的领导者,而且必须主动克服那种默认状态,即盲目、苦干和孤独。所以我觉得这是对听众的一种行动号召:与身边的人建立连接,带领更健康的团队,创造让连接自然发生的环境。他们会因此获得更多乐趣,也会因此建立更好的企业。
Lenny Rachitsky: 多美的结尾方式。接下来,我们进入非常精彩的闪电问答环节。我准备了五个问题。准备好了吗?
Rachel Lockett: 准备好了。
闪电问答
Lenny Rachitsky: 第一个问题:有两三本你觉得最常推荐给别人的书吗?
Rachel Lockett: 其中一本我之前提过了,《有意识的领导者的 15 项承诺》。另外我很喜欢 Bill Burnett 写的 Designing Your Life。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我也很喜欢那本书,大家谈论它还不够多。下一个问题:最近最喜欢的电影或电视剧?
Rachel Lockett: 天哪,我刚和我女儿去看了 KPop Demon Hunters。说出来有点不好意思,但我们万圣节就是扮成里面的角色,跟全世界所有人一样。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我还没看过,但到处听人在说。我打算尽量不看。下一个问题:最近发现并非常喜欢的最爱的产品?可以是 App、小工具,也可以是衣服。
Rachel Lockett: 我非常喜欢 Loom。
Lenny Rachitsky: 太棒了。
Rachel Lockett: 我一直在用 Loom 为一些客户录制培训内容,那是一家多品牌控股公司,所以我能够以一种非常有温度、有连接感的方式实现规模化培训。
Lenny Rachitsky: 你有没有一个在工作或生活中经常回想到的人生座右铭?
Rachel Lockett: 我桌上有一句引言,我特别喜欢。准备好了吗?“如果你能看到自己的路一步一步铺在面前,那这就不是你的路。你自己的路,是你迈出的每一步所铸就的。正因如此,它才是你的路。“这是 Joseph Campbell 说的。
Lenny Rachitsky: 太美了。最后一个问题。你说过有两个孩子。有没有你最爱的、最喜欢读给他们听的儿童读物?他们最喜欢的?
Rachel Lockett: 天哪,我女儿特别迷 Roald Dahl。我也喜欢 Roald Dahl,因为他完全不拘一格,想象力疯狂。所以我们在读《女巫》、《玛蒂尔达》,还有他所有的书。两个孩子都喜欢。他们一个五岁,一个七岁。
Lenny Rachitsky: 你看过 Wes Anderson 拍的那些他的故事吗?他把那些——
Rachel Lockett: 看过一些,很棒。
Lenny Rachitsky: 对,真的太精彩了。而且 Roald Dahl 好像被拟人化了,他自己就像故事里的一个角色。
Rachel Lockett: 对,他本人就像个角色,从我所了解的他的人生经历来看。
Lenny Rachitsky: Rachel,这次对话太棒了。我觉得我们很好地达成了我最初的目标——就是把那些平时人们接触不到的、价值数万美元的建议分享给大家。我想我们会帮助很多人改善他们的生活和职业。非常感谢你来。
Rachel Lockett: 当然,谢谢你的邀请。
Lenny Rachitsky: 我差点忘了最后再问你两个问题。大家如果想联系你、或者考虑和你合作,可以在哪里找到你?听众怎样能帮到你?
Rachel Lockett: 好的,可以在 lockettcoaching.com 找到我。听众怎么能帮到我?听众应该转向彼此,建立美好的关系,如果他们认识的 CEO 或联合创始人需要教练辅导,请把我推荐给他们。
Lenny Rachitsky: 非常感谢你来。
Rachel Lockett: 谢谢你的邀请。保重,Lenny。
Lenny Rachitsky: 大家再见。
结尾
主持人: 非常感谢收听。如果你觉得这期节目有价值,可以在 Apple Podcasts、Spotify 或你喜欢的播客 App 上订阅。也请考虑给我们评分或写评论,这真的能帮助更多听众发现这个播客。你可以在 lennyspodcast.com 找到所有往期节目或了解更多关于节目的信息。下期再见。
术语表
| 原文 | 中文 |
|---|---|
| 15 Commitments to Conscious Leadership | 《有意识的领导者的 15 项承诺》 |
| 360 | 360 度评估 |
| active listening | 积极倾听 |
| Alpine Investors | Alpine Investors(私募投资公司) |
| Carol Robbins | Carol Robbins(人际动态领域专家) |
| Chief of Staff | 幕僚长 |
| controller | controller(财务总监/会计主管) |
| COO | COO(首席运营官) |
| Core Product | Core Product(核心产品) |
| cross-functional partner | 跨职能合作伙伴 |
| date night | 约会之夜 |
| Designing Your Life | 《设计你的人生》(Bill Burnett 与 Dave Evans 合著) |
| Enneagram | 九型人格 |
| executive coach | 高管教练 |
| Fight Club | 《搏击俱乐部》 |
| GC | GC(总法律顾问) |
| gift guide | 礼物指南 |
| Graham Weaver | Graham Weaver(Alpine Investors 创始人) |
| Granola | Granola(AI 会议笔记工具) |
| GROW model | GROW 模型 |
| HR business partner | HR 业务合作伙伴 |
| HR leader | 人力资源负责人 |
| inconvenient truth | 不方便的真相 |
| Jerry Colonna | Jerry Colonna(高管教练、Reboot.io 联合创始人) |
| Joseph Campbell | 约瑟夫·坎贝尔(美国神话学家、作家) |
| KPI | KPI(关键绩效指标) |
| limiting beliefs | 限制性信念 |
| Loom | Loom(视频录制和异步沟通工具) |
| monkey on the back | 背上的猴子 |
| Nonviolent Communication | 非暴力沟通 |
| NVC | NVC(非暴力沟通的缩写) |
| on the balcony | 走到阳台上 |
| on the dance floor | 在舞池中 |
| one-on-ones | 一对一沟通 |
| operating rhythm | 运营节奏 |
| People First Operating Rhythm | People First Operating Rhythm(人才优先运营节奏) |
| performance manage | 绩效管理 |
| PM | PM(产品经理) |
| pods | 小组 |
| positive intelligence | 积极智力 |
| product market fit | 产品市场匹配 |
| reports | 直属下属 |
| resonant | 共鸣的 |
| retreat | 静修活动 |
| Roald Dahl | 罗尔德·达尔(英国儿童文学作家) |
| spaciousness | 宽裕感 |
| sprint planning | sprint planning(迭代规划会议) |
| squads | 小队 |
| synthesis | 总结 |
| Touchy Feely | Touchy Feely(斯坦福商学院课程名) |
| UX Research | UX Research(用户体验研究) |
| vows | 誓言 |
| Wes Anderson | 韦斯·安德森(美国电影导演) |
| zone of genius | 天才区 |
此文档由 AI 分片翻译(translate_long_document)