Morale Matters
Done right, it’s the gift that keeps giving
Since my exit from Microsoft, I have been doing monthly visits to Microsoft campus, with the goal being to stay in touch with my Microsoft family. It lets me find out what new problems they’re tackling, and also allows for a continuation of the coaching relationship I have with many colleagues there. This is mainly across the teams that own the Windows product.
The “AI race” had already started at the tail end of my time there. And now the teams are showing the fatigue that comes from a prolonged race (3.5 years and counting). But starting about four months ago, I noticed a new common sentiment emerging across all of the different Microsoft family members I would visit. Teams are now working Saturdays … and some Sundays. I was introduced to the term “996” -- “work from 9am - 9pm 6days a week” -- which is a term I’m very glad I had never heard of before.
Further, all of the learning structure we had (Hour of Learning, Day of Learning, Week of Learning) has fallen by the wayside. It’s not that any of it was overtly canceled. It was simply that with everyone going at a fever pitch for the race, there were no spare cycles for discretionary effort such as these learning efforts.
I returned to Microsoft last week for a shorter campus visit just ahead of the holidays. And I was happy to witness a couple of things. Chris and his colleagues were wrapping up a holiday lunch where the leaders had gotten together to not talk shop. And as I was walking up from the parking garage, I ran into Carl who was unloading bags and bags of treats to celebrate his 25th work anniversary. My perfect timing allowed me to help him carry the treats, and hear more about his plans for the anniversary celebration, which centered about encouraging his teammates to stop by, have a seat, and share their stories from over the years at Microsoft.
After hearing so much negativity and angst over the last several months, it was great to see at least a small concentration of happiness. I left campus that day reflecting on a key fact: morale matters.
I have always operated my teams in a “morale first” manner. I have been accused of over-indexing on morale, to which I will gladly plead guilty, being an intentional balancing force against the predominant percentage of leadership that underinvests in morale. Work teams get their work done. Work families get their work done and grow.
Perhaps most importantly for this AI race period, continued investment in team morale is what keeps a team together and better equipped to persevere the hard times.
