How to Inspire Employees and Not Make Them Resent You
Q: What do Miller Knoll CEO Andi Owen and an X-Wing Fighter Pilot have in common?
A: They both go "boom" in the end.
Fans of the original Star Wars movie (now known as "Episode IV") probably remember the Death Star trench scene. It's a literal "race to the finish" between the rebels and the Empire to see who can blow up whose base first.
Before Luke Skywalker takes his run down the trench, another X-wing pilot attempts to blow up the Death Star. He gets SOO CLOSE, but in the end, he misses his target. Worse yet, he is shot down by Darth Vader.
That scene kept going through my mind as I watched the “Pity City” video featuring MillerKnoll’s CEO, Andi Owen.
Reactions to her video were swift and highly critical. While MillerKnoll insisted that the video was taken out of context, Andi Owen eventually posted an apology to employees.
Rather than join the horde of voices critiquing the message and messenger, I’d like to consider what happened to the leader as a case study on the importance of emotional self-awareness. That way, other leaders can avoid similar self-sabotage.
Let's take a walk through the video.
Stay on target.
At the start (0:17), the message is “focus on things you can control.” That is always appropriate advice during stressful or high-pressure circumstances. Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People nailed it years ago when he referenced the importance of understanding the difference between our sphere of influence vs. our sphere of concern.
At 0:30, she reminds her employees to be “respectful,” “kind,” and “future-focused” because while things are admittedly challenging, “we are not going to be here forever” (0:40).
Again, so far so good. Owen admits the reality of the challenge, and she provides a way forward. Her tone feels sincere.
Then things go off the rails.
Beware of emotional drift.
She starts to drift at 0:50, when she says, “Don’t ask what we will do if ….”
Her words are still “on target” as far as advice goes. Giving emotional energy to things you can’t control is a distraction. The fear employees feel is real and makes sense, but there is a way to avoid it - put the focus and energy into making the sales happen.
It’s the tone here that becomes problematic. Andi is “triggered” and spirals into a fight or flight state. Once that happens, no matter how logical her words are, her listeners will pick up on the tone. That tone then becomes the real message that she communicates.
I learned this years ago when conversing with one of my daughters about something that I found annoying. Being the excellent leadership coach I thought I was, I was using all the right “word tracks” and was on my way to winning “Father of the Year.”
Then I heard from my daughter: “Dad, you are using your angry voice.”
*Busted*
Remember: "People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” And, it’s your emotional tone that communicates how much you care - not just your words.
Don’t go “boom.”
So what’s with that “Boom!” statement at the end of the video? I think it’s the sound of her x-wing fighter hitting the Death Star.
Here is my number one piece of advice for not going “boom” when you are trying to motivate others:
Focus on your emotional tone just as much as your words and actions.
Three steps will help you do that.
Pay just as much attention to your emotional state as to your words.
When you notice tension in your body, that’s a “warning” message. Use your breath to relax and refocus.
When you go “off the rails,” don’t try to recover with a mic drop statement. It only makes the moment more awkward.