August 2024

Looking for a new role or career that aligns with your personality? A recent report from Resume Genius takes common personality types and maps them to job options using wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Resume Genius used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test, which separates people into 16 different types based on a combination of eight traits: introversion (I) and extroversion (E), sensing (S) and intuition (N), thinking (T) and feeling (F), and judging (J) and perceiving (P). An INTJ personality type, for example, would identify more with introversion than extroversion, and associate more with intuition, thinking, and judging.

Even though the Myers-Briggs test has been criticized for being vague, general, and pseudoscience, 88 of the Fortune 100 have still used it for staff development. Marriott, Ernst & Young, and the U.S. Air Force have all tapped into it, according to Myers-Briggs.

“By using your Myers-Briggs personality as a factor in your career exploration and decisions, you are much more likely to find work that aligns with your natural ways of deriving energy, noticing the world around you, making decisions, and engaging with the world around you,” Helen Roy, Certified MBTI Professional and HR Total Rewards Senior Consultant at SAP stated in the report.

Related: This Couple’s Weekend Side Hustle Began With a $50 Facebook Marketplace Purchase — Now It Earns Millions of Dollars a Year: ‘You Don’t Need Money to Start’

Though the report claims to find the highest-paying job by personality type, the salaries range considerably, from $239,200 to $52,910. The option recommended by the study may not be the end-all-be-all highest job you can find with a certain personality type — but could be a good starting point.

“Whether you’re introverted or extroverted, the key is to find positions that match your strengths and allow you to contribute meaningfully,” Resume Genius executive director Ed Huang stated in the report, adding that “top-earning jobs exist for every personality type.”

Here are the jobs with the highest median wage for every personality type.

1. ISTJ — Doctor

Annual median wage: $239,200

Number of jobs (2022): 816,900

2. ESTJ — Lawyer

Annual median wage: $145,760

Number of jobs (2022): 826,300

3. INTP — Information security analyst

Annual median wage: $120,360

Number of jobs (2022): 168,900

4. ENTJ — CEO

Annual median wage: $103,840

Number of jobs (2022): 3,787,800

5. ENFJ — Sociologist

Annual median wage: $101,770

Number of jobs (2022): 3,300

6. INTJ — Architect

Annual median wage: $93,310

Number of jobs (2022): 123,700

7. INFJ — Psychologist

Annual median wage: $92,740

Number of jobs (2022): 196,000

8. ISFJ — Nurse

Annual median wage: $86,070

Number of jobs (2022): 3,172,500

9. ENTP — Industrial designer

Annual median wage: $76,250

Number of jobs (2022): 32,400

10. ISTP — Detective

Annual median wage: $74,910

Number of jobs (2022): 808,700

11. INFP — Author

Annual median wage: $73,690

Number of jobs (2022): 151,200

12. ESFJ — High school teacher

Annual median wage: $65,220

Number of jobs (2022): 1,072,300

13. ESTP — Firefighter

Annual median wage: $57,120

Number of jobs (2022): 334,200

14. ISFP — Artist

Annual median wage: $52,910

Number of jobs (2022): 54,600

It’s a common perception of company culture; images of trendy startups with perks like swag, free snacks and nap pods often come to mind — a scene reminiscent of Google’s early days. However, for us at Market Veep, the value of “give generously” wasn’t initially formally part of our core ethos. It wasn’t until several years into our growth journey that we recognized something crucial was missing.

Here’s how we stumbled upon this realization: hiring experiences. We brought several individuals on board; it became swiftly apparent that their inclination towards generosity — be it with their time, knowledge or support for colleagues and clients — fell short of our expectations. It became a constant conversation, and we kept thinking, “shouldn’t this just be the standard of how people work with each other?” There was no denying that their values differed greatly from the company’s. It did not make them bad people, but they were not a company culture fit. That’s when it hit us: we needed to make “give generously” a core value formally. It’s now interwoven throughout our entire ecosystem..

One of my favorite interview questions is, “What is the last nice thing someone has done for you — and on the flip side, what is the last nice thing you have done to brighten someone else’s day?” Some things people have said that made my heart grow three sizes:

• Made homemade soup for their sick neighbor.
• They brought their roommate a lunch they had forgotten at home.
• Spent time with their elderly grandparents cleaning their house.
• Donating time to the local shelter.

For me, it’s not about the big gestures. It’s about the small details, the accumulation of many small “cares” that add to an embodiment of kindness and freely giving it. Similar to anniversaries, birthdays and holidays, they come around a couple of times a year — but wouldn’t you feel so special if every day felt like your birthday? Many companies we talk to say I’d love to do that, but I don’t have the budget for that. I’ll tell you a secret: it’s not about the money.

When we had no budget, we did things such as :

• Smiley balloons on employee appreciation day on everyone’s chair as a surprise when they come in.
• Post it notes on their computers.
• Take off your birthday paid time off.
• Bike rides around the complex.
• Pumpkin painting.
• Halloween contest.
• Valentine’s Day cards as a team to the people who lived at the senior center.

Here’s the beauty of it: many times, it’s the free things or minimal expenses that people end up valuing more, finding more profound connections with and building memories off of. There is a huge misconception about saving up to do one to two big things to show your team you love them, but think about all the time in between, months on end, without telling them you care. Would you not tell your kids you love them every day?

Now, things are different than before pandemic. We had a physical office, so the sky was the limit. Once the pandemic happened, it was a whole new evolution, and learning how to build a team, create happiness and give to them generously without physically being able to hand them something. It also introduced a new obstacle to measuring happiness through a computer screen. It’s a lot easier when you can read body language in person, notice if they are quieter throughout the day, etc., but when we started hiring all over the country, it made it a challenge. The pandemic taught us a lot about generosity and gratitude. As much as it was one of my most challenging times as a leader, it was also, by far, a period that taught me the most. I’ve seen the amazing character of people and their mental strength. Their ability to bind together to find solutions to difficult problems. Their kindness when there are difficult conversations. Their giving spirit when organizations barely had enough for themselves but still continued to support others.

Even when unsure of what would happen, we promised to continue giving generously because kindness always wins. Someone is always worse off, has more struggles, and needs something you may take for granted daily. Giving generously helps us stay humble and focus on others’ needs above our own. It reminds us we are fortunate.

• What it looks like now
  • Flexible hours.
  • 45 days off a year.
  • Sabbatical and a bonus for longevity.
  • Half-day Fridays.
  • Cookies in the mail for spotlight moments.
  • A 401k match.
  • Bereavement.
  • Personal time.
  • Happy hour Fridays.
  • Paid volunteer time off.
  • Medical, dental, eye.
  • Life insurance.
  • Health advocate services.
  • Work-from-home stipend.
  • Paid training and certifications.
  • Meditation as a team before the day starts.

It’s not always about presents — it’s also about understanding where someone is in life. Your team shows up to help each other and the company, but it is not the driving factor of their life. When you see someone struggling, it’s more impactful to say, “Hey, how can I help? It seems like you have a lot going on. It’s just work. We’re not heart surgeons. Please get offline and take care of XYZ.” We’ve had people want to come in a day after a family member passed away, work from their family vacation or take meetings from a hospital. Respect and protect your team’s time, mental health, and boundaries. Give generously to them, and they give generously to your company, your team and your clients. Be their advocate even when they think work is more important.

Have you considered what your team needs to live a generous life? What makes them feel appreciated? How can your company build deeper relationships and help them live their best lives? Think about the moments in your life where you felt the most cared for, supported and ultimately most appreciated. Because no one ever says, “I want to work someplace where I don’t feel appreciated.” Then, take it one step further and ask your team. Start a dialogue, and you’ll be amazed at how creative and thoughtful the ideas will be. Keep your focus on giving generously, and you can’t go wrong.

Being self-motivated as a leader is one thing, but how do you get your sales teams to work just as hard to keep customers happy and business growing?

There’s no doubt about it — to be a salesperson, you must be a people person. Some of the world’s most renowned businesses achieve such high success simply because they put their customers first.

How salespeople interact with a customer, from the acquisition stage right through to the final transaction, is the difference between making a sale and losing an opportunity to control the narrative and build your reputation.

Customer experience, teaching your sales teams to understand context and pricing, and reinforcing your point of difference will arm your team with everything they need to take your business to the top.

Related: 5 Actionable Ways to Improve Your Customer Experience

Sales and marketing strategies

Reinforce to your sales team that they are a welcome guest, not annoying pests.

Sales representatives often get a bad rap for being too pushy or disingenuous. People’s time is valuable, and the last thing your teams should do is make prospective buyers feel like they’re being conned or forced into purchasing something.

If you don’t have customers, your business has nothing. Treating them as people rather than a source of profit is the only way to make authentic client connections that provide mutual benefit.

It’s a leader’s job to inspire their sales teams to want to get to know their potential clients — to really care about providing them with something that can change their quality of life.

Leaning on your marketing to inform your audience about your brand is also crucial. Tell them who you are, what you’re about and what you can do to solve their problem.

By having a strong marketing strategy that sends a clear message about your business to potential clients, half the convincing will already have been done before they even get the sales pitch.

Related: How to Define Your Product and Set Your Prices

Context and pricing

When talking to your team about the pricing of your product or service, context is everything.

Leaders and their sales teams should always be aware of how people consume their goods based on factors such as market, business climate, price and demand.

This is where price elasticity comes in. If the demand for a product or service increases based on a change in its price, it’s considered elastic. If there is very little or no change in demand with a price increase or decrease, it is deemed inelastic.

Let’s take fuel, for example. This resource is widely considered a necessity, making it inelastic. Without it, drivers can’t get from A to B using a fuel-powered vehicle. While consumers may choose to go to one fuel station over another, say, based on the cost per gallon, they still require fuel.

The same goes for things like bottled water in areas with limited access to clean water, electricity, housing, etc. Price elasticity can work in your business’s favor when pricing is presented in the right context.

Much like price, so many things can influence a person’s decision and ability to consume certain goods, so emphasizing the importance of context to your sales teams is crucial.

By encouraging confidence in pricing and assertive fee strategies amongst your teams, the sale is much more likely to land.

Related: How Not to Be A ‘Me-too’ Brand: Brand Differentiation in a Crowded Market

Differentiation

There are billions of dining furniture brands out there, just like there are billions of different toothpaste brands, formal wear brands and even gardening tool brands.

If your sales team spends their days searching for leads, whether through cold calling, emailing or door-knocking, they should know how to market your brand well.

Telling a potential customer about your product or service is one thing, but convincing them that your product is better than the next requires sales representatives to understand your business’s points of difference.

If a customer is going to ask, “Why would I buy your product over this product?” that sales rep better have a compelling answer. In fact, they should have a list of 10 reasons why your product is superior to your competitors’ products. If they can’t do that, quite frankly, they’re wasting their time.

Arming your sales team with the knowledge they need to make customers see that your business offering is the only choice out of a sea of options is how you go from making a few sales a week to thousands per day.

Hosting brainstorming sessions with your teams, workshops and welcoming feedback are transformational ways to encourage creative thinking around your sales model and establish a set of unique value propositions and market positions.

Getting the sale

No matter what industry you’re in, getting your 15 minutes of fame as a brand, let alone being a market leader, is not easy.

There will always be competition, but with a well-prepared, motivated and tactful sales team backing your business, the rewards will always be there to reap.

As a leader, reinforcing the values of client care, understanding the relationship between context and pricing, and what makes your product or service the best of the best is the surest way to make your sales team impenetrable.

Nurture your sales teams at all costs — your future business will thank you for it.

On average, there’s a cyber attack every 39 seconds, per a University of North Georgia report. If your business handles sensitive information or needs access to content restricted by region, investing in a reliable VPN is crucial for maintaining security and operational efficiency.

Windscribe Pro VPN is a comprehensive solution, delivering both robust data protection and unrestricted internet access. This tool integrates desktop and browser-level security features, helping your business communications and data remain safe while allowing seamless access to global content, and it’s only $79 for a three-year subscription (reg. $207).

Why Windscribe?

Windscribe Pro VPN uses an AES-256 encryption to ensure that all your online activities are securely encrypted while SHA512 authentication adds an additional layer of protection. The strict no-logging policy makes sure that none of your activities are tracked or stored, maintaining your privacy. These security features are crucial for safeguarding sensitive business information and protecting against cyber threats.

Windscribe Pro offers support for unlimited simultaneous connections and downloads. This is particularly beneficial for businesses with multiple users or those managing a large volume of data. You can connect all your devices without worrying about hitting a connection limit or facing performance issues.

This VPN also boasts a global network of servers located in 69 countries and 112 cities strategically placed around the world. That’s how Windscribe Pro VPN helps you bypass geographical restrictions and access content as if you were in a different region, which is ideal for businesses that need to reach international markets or access region-locked content.

Additional features include split tunneling, which provides control over which applications use the VPN and which do not. This allows you to direct only certain traffic through the secure VPN connection while allowing other traffic to bypass it, optimizing performance and flexibility. Windscribe also includes ad blocking and domain/IP blocking capabilities, which enhance security by preventing unwanted ads and blocking access to malicious websites.

This VPN supports OpenVPN and Wireguard configurations, making it adaptable to different security needs and devices. It is also compatible with FireTV and Windows 11, so you can secure your computers, mobile devices, and other internet-connected devices within your network.

Equip your business with a robust security tool you can rely on.

Get a Windscribe VPN Three-Year Pro Plan for $79.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

An act of kindness unfolded in a New England pawn shop and the outpouring of support has now gone global.

Jenelle Marie, an employee at U.S. Gold & Pawn in Manchester, New Hampshire, was moved by the story of Donald, a 90-year-old Air Force veteran facing the financial hardship of increased rent while caring for his wife who had been recently diagnosed with dementia.

Related: Mark Cuban Warns About Fake Fundraisers on Social Media

Donald was frequenting the pawn shop to sell his jewelry for rent money, which led Marie and her fiancé to start a GoFundMe campaign to help the veteran.

“He told me that his wife had just got diagnosed with dementia and his landlord had to raise his rent on him, so it kind of pulled on my heartstrings,” Marie told NewsNation. “I told the owner of the shop and he decided he wasn’t going to collect interest from him … I thought that was really kind of him, and it kind of inspired me and my fiancé to start what I thought was just going to be a little GoFundMe.”

Marie made a TikTok of her presenting the initial $1,300 raised to Donald, and the campaign went viral. Contributions began pouring in.

@jenellemarie0212 #veteran #actofkindness #usgoldandpawn #manchesternh #fypage #viral #feelgoodvideo ♬ original sound – Jenellemarie0212

“I hope two lessons: one is the smallest act of kindness can really change someone’s life in more ways than you could ever imagine, and the other is just to raise awareness that we have to do better for our veterans,” Marie said.

In a follow-up video, Marie posted birthday wishes for Donald from around the country, including a swag bag with autographed hats and balls from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The GoFundMe is currently over $434,000.

Related: ‘My Heart Breaks’: Internet Rallies Behind 72-Year-Old Delivery Driver Who Takes A Tumble In Viral Video

As a seasoned performance coach with over two decades of experience working with business owners, I have witnessed how frustrated many business owners are that their startup isn’t growing as quickly as it should or seems to have stagnated in its growth. One common factor that often stands out for such entrepreneurs is their lack of the attributes of team players.

Your business can only grow to the extent that your abilities as a team player grow, and my experience has shown that cultivating the following five attributes can make you a team player who is well-positioned to see your business grow.

1. Welcome and build on your team’s ideas

As a business founder, you may have the burning desire to bring your vision for the business to reality, but business success will not entirely depend on you alone. You need input from your team, and their ideas can be the difference between mediocre business performance and successful steering of the business to higher levels.

Create opportunities for team members to share their ideas. Brainstorming sessions, weekly meetings and problem-solving sessions can be fertile grounds to get input from the team. Evaluate the ideas generated and find ways to implement those that show the potential to advance the goals of the business.

2. Coach your team

Google did a study and found that the best managers and leaders have coaching skills. However, most people confuse coaching with mentoring. Coaching and mentoring are not the same. Coaching is about unlocking the potential in your team. Mastering coaching skills enables you to do that.

As the founder, you may also have the expertise and experience that your team members lack, which means you’re more likely to mentor or “tell them” how to do it rather than coach them.

Coaching builds confidence, empowers your team to take on more responsibility, improves problem-solving skills and builds loyalty. The more you coach your team, the more your business will operate as a team effort rather than a one-person show. You’ll not only have a high-performing team, but you’ll also have a high-value team. Double win!

Related: Be a Mentor: 4 Simple Ways to Change a Life

3. Adjust your pace to accommodate your team

This is where the rubber hits the tarmac! Many founders have a burning desire to bring their dream to life “yesterday” and are extremely impatient when their team isn’t moving at the pace they’d like. At this point, you ask yourself two critical questions: Did I hire the right people? Do I consistently share my vision and mission so everyone is clear about the direction of the firm?

I often tell clients that it may not be possible for their entire team to move at the same blistering pace that the founder is wired for, and it might be necessary for the founder to pump the brakes a little so the team can move at the same pace. This is a hard pill for many founders to swallow, but reminding them that they are not a one-person army allows them to be more accommodating and better able to foster teamwork in the business.

I am not advocating for letting your employees set the pace of the company. If you hire the right people and coach them regularly, chances are that while they may not move at supersonic speed, they will follow your lead and move at an above-average pace.

I always give this incident, which I witnessed while visiting a client’s restaurant for a follow-up session. The assistant manager was always pushing her direct reports to work at a blistering pace. The manager had cautioned the assistant to always give a particular employee their tasks in advance so they can accomplish them within a spread-out timeframe. This particular employee was known to be very thorough in anything they do, but if pushed to work at a pace greater than they could manage, they were more likely than not to do extremely shoddy work.

The assistant manager neglected this important piece of information and one time asked that employee to chop some ingredients and kept hovering over the shoulder of the employee nudging them to work faster. Pushed beyond their limits, the employee nearly lost four fingers when, in a bid to work fast, they ended up accidentally cutting through those fingers. I rushed in with the manager when we heard horrified screams coming from the kitchen, and after the ambulance left with the injured employee, the manager called the assistant to a private corner and gently reminded them about the caution of not pushing that particular employee to work at a faster pace than they were capable of.

The message? Sometimes, it is helpful to slow down a little so that you can move with the entire team.

Related: Are You Hiring a ‘Team’ Player – or Someone Just Looking out for No.1?

4. Share recognition for any successes attained

Another important tip I give startup founders is that they can become team players who enjoy more than decent business growth on an ongoing basis by sharing recognition for the successes they attain. When you put your team at the center of all success, their motivation and loyalty grow, and they become invested in achieving the firm’s goals.

Related: Which Do You Need: A Coach or a Consultant or a Trainer? Here’s How to Know.

5. Consult the team frequently

Make it a habit to consult your team members frequently. This can be when there are challenges that need to be fixed, when opportunities arise or when planning the next steps or direction of the business. Don’t be the founder who keeps their cards close to the chest and only issues instructions without involving their team.

As you implement the tips above, you will notice that your team will galvanize around the organization’s goals and mission, and your company will be better positioned to weather any storm. Teams always find a way to win.

Email has existed for over five decades, and its prominence is only growing. Not only do we use it extensively at work, but as a marketing channel, email has proven its effectiveness again and again.

By 2027, email marketing revenue will grow to $17.1 billion, a Statista report predicts. It’s no wonder that 69% of marketers use email to distribute content, increase brand loyalty, and boost sales.

As a startup founder, you may be wondering how to achieve the same success. Perhaps you feel nervous about launching or haven’t seen great results from your first campaigns. With a clear and strong strategy, you can confidently overcome those jitters and press send.

Here’s how to improve your approach and avoid pitfalls when planning email marketing campaigns for your startup.

1. Define your goal

Before you start, define what you’d like to achieve with your email marketing—whether it’s boosting website traffic, increasing brand awareness or making sales. Having a goal gives you more clarity about the steps you need to take next and how you’ll measure success.

Related: Supercharge Your Brand Awareness with These Game-Changing PR Tools

2. Gather your email list

It’s time to put together your email list and make sure it’s ready for outreach. Don’t worry if your database is small – many startups see high engagement from smaller databases. What matters more than your list size is its quality. Have all your subscribers opted in to receive emails from you? You want to reach out to an audience who is expecting to hear from your startup.

3. Double-check your contacts

Aside from getting your subscribers’ consent to send them emails, a high-quality list also means those subscribers are real and their contacts are accurate. Getting bounce-backs on your newsletters and campaigns will negatively affect your reputation with inbox providers. To avoid that, use an email verification service to validate your list before your emails go out.

Related: How to manage your email list like a pro

4. Segment, segment, segment

With an opt-in, healthy email list, you’re steps ahead of many of your competitors. Next, to further fine-tune your approach, analyze your customers and prospects to see how you can organize them in separate groups. Start with one or two filters, such as one-time buyers and repeat buyers, and niche down from there. To boost engagement, send these groups emails that gently encourage them to try more of your products.

5. Choose a good email marketing platform

Now that your lists are ready, it’s time to pick a service to send your emails. As a startup owner, you may be cautious about spending too much, but this isn’t an area where you should cut corners. Your email marketing platform should allow you to streamline your efforts and, most importantly, ensure high email deliverability so your campaigns reach your audience. Go with a reputable company.

6. Test your emails for mobile

Some emails can look great on desktops but present errors on mobile devices, which can cause your audience to tune out right away. To keep people engaged, use a testing tool to point out any issues so you can fix them beforehand. Also, test your emails with your team. Apart from detecting errors, their feedback can further help you improve your content.

7. Don’t procrastinate – hit send

If your list is in good shape, you found a reliable email-sending platform, and you’re proud of your content, it’s time to hit Send. Startup owners and marketers often postpone taking that big step because they’re nervous about customer feedback. But procrastinating and obsessing over the smallest details will only increase your nervousness. Send your email so you can get that initial feedback and learn how to improve.

8. Show up as promised

This is probably the best email marketing habit you can adopt for your startup. Sending an email here and there won’t make much of a difference in your business. Showing up for your subscribers regularly will. What’s more, sending emails regularly also gives you a chance to see exactly what your audience most responds to – so you can focus on that in your future campaigns.

Related: 11 email marketing mistakes (and how to fix them)

9. Make every email better than the last one

While consistently emailing your audience is vital to your success, you must also strive to maintain and improve content quality. It’s how you’ll continue to boost your metrics: 47% of consumers open a brand email primarily because they always get good emails from that brand. So avoid sending an email just because it’s due. Instead, work with your team to make every email count.

10. Partner with other startups

Partnering with other companies for co-marketing initiatives has been one of the best ways I’ve grown my own startup, ZeroBounce. My team and I continue to pursue these types of engagements as they help us gain exposure to new audiences. Reach out to businesses in your space and suggest a partnership, including an email cross-promotion. It will help you earn awareness and even new subscribers.

11. Stay up-to-date on email-sending rules

The email industry has seen many changes in recent years – from Apple releasing its Mail Privacy Protection update to Google and Yahoo enforcing new sending rules. To enjoy great email marketing results for your startup, stay abreast of any similar updates. For instance, large email service providers now require email authentication from senders reaching out to more than 5,000 subscribers daily. Following the rules ensures you’re compliant with these protocols and helps you land your campaigns in the inbox and increase sales.

It’s no coincidence that catchy jingles are so easy to remember. A Neurosight study found that ads with music tend to be more memorable, but you don’t have to limit your business to the classic TV advertisement formula. creating a catchy tune is a smart way of making any video content more memorable, and you don’t need to be a musician to do it. With Supermusic AI, music only takes an idea and a moment.

This innovative AI music app streamlines the music creation process by leveraging artificial intelligence to transform text prompts into polished, studio-quality songs in minutes, eliminating the need for expensive equipment and extensive musical expertise. When you need to create unique music for your brand, SuperMusic AI is an effective option both for your budget and your time. Generate songs in seconds with a lifetime subscription that only costs $39.97.

Give your customers something to remember.

SuperMusic AI provides a diverse range of genres, from pop and rock to EDM and rap, allowing you to produce music that aligns with your specific brand or project. By inputting your lyrics, the app generates fully produced tracks complete with vocals, ensuring a professional sound without manual mixing or mastering.

You can even create custom playlists and artist profiles, which enable you to organize and showcase your organization’s AI-generated music if you want a new way to draw digital traffic. This functionality is particularly beneficial for professionals who want to share their creations instantly with clients or on social media, enhancing branding and engagement. The built-in leaderboard system further supports visibility by tracking and highlighting the most popular tracks, helping you gain recognition within the SuperMusic community.

For businesses with high music production needs, the SuperMusic Pro Plan offers the capability to create up to 100 songs per month, catering to frequent content updates and large-scale projects. Regular updates to the app keep your content evolving in tune with changes to music trends.

This app is available exclusively for iOS users with devices running iOS 13 or later.

Get a Supermusic AI Lifetime Subscription for $39.97.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

I used to try hard to be nice, but I’m over that now — and I want others to get over it, too. Because at work, “being nice” is a trap.

This first came into focus early in my executive career before I became a chief people officer. I was working on a merger, and a junior team member was eager to take on a critical role. Deep down, I knew she wasn’t ready. But I wanted to be a nice leader. So, I ignored my instinct and engaged in what author Kim Scott has called “ruinous empathy.” In my desire to give that teammate what she wanted, I set her up for failure during hardcore negotiations. Result: anxiety attacks for her and a huge headache for the team.

I’m not alone in wanting to be liked at work. And I believe for many women, this can be especially challenging. Women are being told to smile and are being conditioned to be people pleasers. It’s no coincidence that we use more smiley faces in our communication. Not to mention, one study indicates stereotypes of middle-aged women as being “less nice” can hold them back in their careers.

Throughout my career in human resources, though, I’ve noticed that niceness has come to dominate much of our work lives — and that’s a mistake.

Here’s why and what you can do instead:

The problem with being nice

Conflict is inevitable for any productive team. And yet, our desire to be liked — to not ruffle feathers and to create “artificial harmony” — is constant. Telling someone “no” or “we need to do better” doesn’t earn you many smiles. So, we avoid it and double down on being liked. But in choosing niceness over authentic engagement, we lose a chance to inspire improvement. “Nice” has a chilling effect on growth.

Ultimately, this bias toward nice is about you, not the person you’re “being nice” to. It’s about wanting to be liked at the cost of being honest. There’s a selfishness about prioritizing “nice” that isn’t so far from the selfishness of a workplace bully. The nice co-worker and the mean one both emphasize their own interests. And both attitudes have the same effect: they keep the team from growing. Nice people (just like mean people) don’t actually care about the group’s outcomes.

So, what’s the alternative? Kindness.

I know — being kind sounds pretty close to being nice, but the distinction is crucial. Being nice is about making yourself feel like a “good guy.” Being kind is about what you can do for others. Put another way: niceness is about telling people what they want to hear, and kindness is about telling them what they need to hear.

Related: Conflict Is Inevitable But Necessary. Here’s How to Stay Calm During an Argument and Rebuild Afterward.

A path toward kindness

When I fall into the “nice trap,” I pull myself out by admitting that I’ve made things about myself. By contrast, if my motivation is to help others or help the larger company, then I know I’m headed in the right direction — toward kindness.

Once I know that my goal is rooted in kindness, I have a few key tactics that help me achieve it. These are especially useful for first-line managers and those on an executive leadership team, but building a culture of kindness is everybody’s job.

1. First, develop trust

The kindest feedback in the world will be dead on arrival if nobody trusts your intentions. Research shows that workplaces where people trust each other have higher levels of productivity. And why is that? It’s because when I trust you, I’m able to hear you. I stop thinking that we’re adversaries and start believing that we’re on the same team. Consequently, I can take action and improve.

2. Embrace radical accountability

Calling out a missed deadline or inquiring about an angry client is ultimately a kind action because it makes the team better. Being self-accountable – asking what roadblocks you’ve produced, too – will prove that your motivations aren’t punitive. By contrast, the nice leader who lets everything slide only makes it more likely that the team’s personal growth will stagnate.

3. Talk to — not about

Covert critiques are more common than we like to admit. But, once accountability has become a given at the office, it’s fair to expect more direct forms of feedback. If you have a problem with someone’s performance (or their attitude), you may be inclined to speak to their superior, but kindness dictates that we first tell them to their face and give them a chance to respond. This can be stressful, I know. Kindness often takes more courage than niceness.

4. Get ready to “rumble.”

In my role as head of people at Pantheon, I set aside times when conflict is encouraged — moments when we hash out different perspectives in a safe space. I’ll tell the team, “It’s rumble time.” It’s a surprising form of kindness because, by giving conflict an official arena, people feel free to drop their defensive postures and passive-aggressive tones. They know it’s safe to argue. Breakthroughs and creative new ideas often pop up during the rumble.

Kindness ROI

The culture shift from niceness to kindness creates space for honesty, accountability and fear-free conflict. The results are profound for the bottom line — productivity and excellence soar when our worry about “being nice” is finally cleared away.

Employee satisfaction grows, too. That’s because when coworkers stop doling out platitudes and get real about what’s working and what isn’t, we learn that someone really cares about what we do. We learn that our jobs matter and others depend upon our efforts. A kind workplace reminds us that our contributions are crucial to the whole team’s success.

All those kindness benefits aren’t free, of course. It’s real work to move beyond the easy stance of “being nice.” I can only provide sustained mentorship and feedback to a few dozen people, tops. So, the final ROI for kindness must be that it inspires others to do the same — to share the load. It’s up to all of us to pay it forward and create a culture of kindness together.

What is it like to work at Nvidia, the $3 trillion AI chipmaker with a storied work culture over 30 years in the making?

Long-time CEO Jensen Huang said in an interview this year that he rarely conducts layoffs and instead prefers to “torture employees into greatness.” It turns out, he might not have been joking.

Being the AI chip brain behind ChatGPT and other popular forms of AI has led Nvidia — and its vested employees — to benefit financially from the AI boom. A June poll of over 3,000 Nvidia employees (out of around 30,000) showed that 76% were millionaires and one in three had a net worth of more than $20 million because of the company’s growth. Since October 2022, Nvidia’s stock has jumped over 1,000%.

However, a Monday Bloomberg report revealed that though Nvidia’s boom may have created millionaires, its work culture and expectations for those employees remain the same: It’s a “pressure cooker.”

Related: Nvidia and the Magnificent Seven Have ‘Immense Returns,’ but Strategists Say There Are Risks

Ten current and former Nvidia employees who spoke with Bloomberg detailed long working hours, yelling and fighting at meetings, and vying for the attention of a supervisor who could have more than 100 other direct reports.

A former enterprise tech support employee claimed he worked every day, including weekends, until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., and that his engineer coworkers worked longer hours. Other employees claimed to have at least seven meetings a day.

Employees who worked less than the norm were called out at company-wide meetings. In December, Huang faced complaints from staff about their “semi-retired” peers. He responded by asking every employee to become the CEO of their time.

^{Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images}

Still, despite reports of a stressful work environment, Nvidia has had no trouble retaining employees. The company’s sustainability report for fiscal year 2024 details that overall turnover was 2.7% compared to the industry average of 17.7%.

Nvidia’s low turnover rate could be attributed to the way it gives employees access to stock grants. The stock vests over four years, so an employee gradually gains ownership of the award. So it’s in the employee’s best interest to stick with the company to maximize benefits.

Nvidia is also a famously “flat” organization, with minimal hierarchy, which could make the company an appealing choice. Huang has 60 direct reports.

Related: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Turned Down a Merger Offer in the Company’s Early Days, According to Insiders. Here’s Why.