By Jeffrey Hummel, GrayHair COO

Visualize having a superpower in your workplace.

What does this look like? Who or what would you transform into? Now what if I told you that your superpower already lies within? Right now, it’s just lurking beneath the surface, hopeful for the right opportunity (or leader) to recognize it – so you can step into who you were always meant to become.

Amidst the pandemic, we found ourselves forced not only to work differently but to think differently. As a result, some businesses suffered, some just managed to get by, and others thrived. At GrayHair, we used this time to conduct several experiments to evolve into a culture of transparency, vulnerability, and opportunity! Guess what we found? Our introverted folks were the key to this evolution – a driving force allowing us to reach new levels of success.

New horror stories emerge daily about employers unsuccessfully using scare tactics to lure their employees back into the office. This trend continues to happen even after many organizations have recognized the number of wasted expenses invested in office space, cafes, and more. The bottom line? Going into the office is no longer a necessity for productivity. For professions requiring human interaction – hospitals, airports, and almost any entertainment-based workplace (go sports!) – the need for in-person camaraderie is still imminent. But for companies like GrayHair, consisting of employee teams and providing outputs to other businesses, an underutilized “secret weapon” may have the ability to transform your virtual workplace. This is something that I observed in my early days of managing teams across multiple offices, guiding me to eventually discover a true gem of a solution for productivity’s sake.

In my early days creating, enhancing, and managing large high-performing teams, I had some folks that I clearly identified as introverted. At this same time, I was also getting educated on Emotional Intelligence and new techniques to help me be a better leader. During this time, I learned an interesting fact: While it takes some energy for an extrovert to perform introverted activities,

“It takes much more energy for an introvert to perform extroverted activities, such as contributing to a roundtable discussion or presenting a solution in front of a room full of your colleagues.”

An example of this is demonstrated in the early days of my directing other teams. I had a leader in New York City managing employees who lived across the country, and due to the virtual framework, we were constantly scared that the team would suffer. So we prompted them to travel to the remote site, work directly with the team, and check in almost daily. We pushed surveys out to search for weak spots and adjusted accordingly. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t. Little did we know then that a secret ingredient was missing from the equation.

Fast forward to the pandemic – it was time to figure this out. For those that didn’t need to be in front of the public (thank you to our front-line workers that had no choice but to prevail through this time), we opted to work from our houses, our modified sheds, grim basements, and so on. During this time, what I found most interesting was the uptick in engagement that we started seeing from folks who were less engaged when in the actual office. GrayHair was uniquely positioned to take advantage of the work-from-home model, offering flexible hybrid “perks” and accommodations. That’s when I saw some things happen that amazed me.

Halfway through the “stay at home” mandate, we had to make some tough decisions. Our leadership ultimately decided that while we had to reduce expenses, we had to push our folks harder to make this new model work. We were in the middle of a major project with many customers asking us to provide reports on demand, and we had a hefty backlog of improvements to make on our platform. During this time, a significant cultural change led me to adopt a new leadership style. I vowed to provide only direct feedback to our teams and forge a revitalized culture of transparency, vulnerability, and opportunity.

We cut expenses, re-configured project plans, and optimized our processes to rise as a new entity. We leveraged the old GrayHair as a newfound knowledge base, not a hindrance, and started a new journey.

“It wasn’t all peaches and rainbows, but the result was a heightened sense of purpose and determination for our future as a company.”

While that is the company story, an equally important people story was evolving simultaneously. We quickly learned that when we finally brought this evolution to the surface and helped it grow, we would find a new way to work in our remote environment.

My first interaction with this was in Engineering. I’ve had engineering teams before that worked across geographies, typically excelling with the help of a few extra resources in place. I had a manager who transformed into a highly engaged leader in this case. I found that he managed people remotely and excelled in having a highly communicative and engaged team. His eNPS scores (more on this below) were higher than all other departments – oh, and did I mention that he managed our second-largest department?

The second interaction I observed was in our Shared Services department. After working in customer service for over eight years, we transitioned this individual into a management role to head a brand-new company sector. Her knowledge in all areas of the company was extensive but underutilized. Before switching to remote work, I noticed she liked being around other quiet or non-talkative folks. While she had a strong presence, she teetered between introverted and extroverted. The best part? She wasn’t afraid to provide direct feedback to others – it just came more smoothly when she did it from her home office.

In the office, we see each other at face value. This can be a barrier for some, including the two examples above. In our home environments, especially if it’s a sanctuary of some sort, we can experience the luxury of comfort. Energy can then be channeled toward productivity instead of towards battling office distractions. Both leaders could thrive at home, in spaces they own, designed with a purpose. They both have teams they manage remotely, using online communication tools to the maximum extent possible. Fun Fact: These two individuals are our top two “talkers” on Slack, GrayHair’s internal communication tool.

Let’s dive a little deeper. For our Head of Engineering, his top priority and biggest strength as a leader is always knowing exactly what his team is working on. As GrayHair’s most geographically diverse team, he is managing employees in two countries, three states, and eight time zones. They can succeed in this atypical format by sticking to a routine and a system of respect that keeps each team member working efficiently. He goes the extra mile to hold his teams accountable for their tasks and welcomes feedback in the style of “a two-way street” on a daily basis. Can I ask him to stand up (or unmute) in a virtual all-hands setting to sing his favorite show tune? Absolutely not. He would rather quit than do something that voluntarily puts him at the center of attention. This is his Achilles heel – and given his success, there is zero need to disrupt the system that currently works for him.

The same goes for our Head of Shared Services. Feedback flows naturally when you eliminate the noise from an office environment. No unwanted drop-ins and no more listening to your coworkers’ weekend stories – because how can you not hear that when you’re only a cubicle away? This leader has the flexibility in her time to do the grunt work like documentation, policy writing and reviews, and research while also having the ability to work with her direct team and collaborate with others. What is her superpower? Being situated in her own environment, alongside her pets and plants, and in the house, she is lovingly restoring room by room; she is empowered.

“In her home, she finds a fortress of solitude, from where she derives the strength and bravery to act as her best self.”

By revealing these hidden traits and the instruments employed, we can better understand the reasons behind our people’s success. We utilize many different tools like Predictive Index, BambooHR, and Myers Briggs to empower our people and discover what provides them with the best possible support. This practice has led us to be good at what we do and be seen as the best.

In all of my time as a leader, I have learned and taught others that focused, engaged, and motivated employees are the key to superior customer satisfaction and success. We also go deeper with the changes we’ve implemented to recreate our culture. We nurture and invest in evolving the talents of those in leadership positions, including our introverted leaders. With these efforts combined, GrayHair increased our eNPS (employee NPS) to rise over 20 points in the last two years, resulting in our external NPS with customers rising 25+ points, too. This is only one piece of the puzzle to creating the highest-performing teams and culture. But I’ll dive into that another time.

Finally, I leave you with one last question:

How are you exposing hidden superpowers to help your people AND company be more successful?

-J

Written by: Jeffrey Hummel, GrayHair Software President

Get To Know the Author:

In his role as President of GrayHair Software, Jeffrey is dedicated to evolving the technical direction, operational support, and methodologies used to service GrayHair’s clients. Jeffrey brings a wealth of customer service, leadership, and technological expertise with over 30 years of experience in transforming technologies within many industries. Jeffrey is a proud father, husband, adventurist, dog lover, innovator, and professional servant leader.