{"id":3000009946,"date":"2019-10-31T19:31:11","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T23:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deconstructed.wework.com\/?p=2704"},"modified":"2020-09-03T05:53:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T09:53:17","slug":"leadership-development-balancing-hard-and-soft-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/management-leadership\/leadership-development-balancing-hard-and-soft-skills","title":{"rendered":"Leadership development: Balancing hard and soft skills"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Adam Weinke is a community director for WeWork in Northern California leading an 80-plus member team that manages 16 buildings. What Weinke and his team are doing is entirely new: They\u2019re bringing hospitality to the workplace. With that goal comes new sets of challenges\u2014from day-to-day operation of the buildings to continually raising the bar on service. For Weinke, it’s the so-called soft skills of leadership development that are critical in providing a next-level customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could you tell us a bit about your journey to becoming a community director at WeWork? <\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been at WeWork for about a year and a half, based in the San Francisco Bay Area<\/a>. Prior to this, I spent 13 years in the retail business at Abercrombie & Fitch starting right out of college. That journey took me through management training\u2014from entry-level positions to working my way through the store ranks, and then to leadership roles outside of the stores in California and Hawaii. I also spent three and a half years living overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What really attracted me to WeWork was the opportunity to impact a group of people who are dedicated to providing our members with something they\u2019ve never encountered before. Everyone has experienced hospitality in some way, but in the workplace, it\u2019s new. And WeWork is helping create that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From your experience, what makes for strong leadership<\/em><\/strong>?<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had many opportunities to foster leadership development on my teams, and I spend much more of my time listening versus talking. What makes a strong leader is how much they listen to, and truly understand, what\u2019s going on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delegation is also a skill that\u2019s so important. There are moments where I personally need to slow down and focus on training and development in order to delegate. It\u2019s not serving you if you\u2019re the fastest or the best at doing something that someone else could learn. Saying, \u201cI have full faith and trust in you, and I trust you will get it done\u201d is incredibly empowering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Empathy is another huge piece\u2014understanding where somebody else is coming from and putting yourself in his or her shoes. I was listening to the WeWork Up At Night<\/em> podcast<\/a> with WeWork member Movable Ink, and its CEO Vivek Sharma had some great perspective on empathy and leadership as his company has grown. At Movable Ink, empathy is now one of their most valued skills sets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What qualities do you look for in a candidate? And how do you identify empathy? <\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s much easier to do when you\u2019re promoting someone you\u2019ve spent time with. I look for how someone uses language in conversation with the team, which is also important for training and development. You can ask yourself, \u201cHow does the team respond to that individual? How often is that individual talking about we versus I?\u201d Things are rarely accomplished on an individual basis. It\u2019s being humble in the face of success, but also in challenges or defeat. On the other hand, when things go wrong, does that person say, \u201cI\u2019m responsible for this\u201d? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How heavily do you weigh a candidate\u2019s soft skills versus more quantifiable hard skills? <\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Operating a building is a hard skill that requires acumen. It\u2019s a turnkey solution. We\u2019re taking away all the things people don\u2019t like about being their own landlord, like billing, supply ordering, anything that goes into operations from P&L management all the way down to janitorial services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But hospitality is also a soft skills environment, and the community side of the business is where you see that convergence with empathy. It\u2019s about understanding what challenges our members deal with. How do we remove hurdles before they even see the hurdle coming? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are there any strategies you\u2019ve found effective for creating a cohesive team?<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s world, lots of things are done by video or conference call, so I like to get my team together in a room and have a one-hour meeting in person\u2014make that human connection. Across Northern California and our WeWork portfolio, we get the entire team together\u2014community associates, leads, managers\u2014and have a mix of social and general business updates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another tactic I use is \u201cskip levels,\u201d having conversations at all different levels within the team and being a sounding board for people. They\u2019ll ask me, \u201cHow\u2019s your wife? Are you getting ready to be a parent?\u201d Or say, \u201cThis is going on in my building, let\u2019s talk about it.\u201d It kind of energizes me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s something that keeps you up at night and how do you cope?<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Anything related to team development keeps me up. Is there something I\u2019m missing in terms of feedback or training and development? On the other front, is there anything related to member experience? How can we do better and continue to improve the service we provide to members? Continuing to raise the bar\u2014that keeps me up at night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To relax, I enjoy cooking and providing an experience in the form of food. My wife and I are expecting our first child soon, and I look forward to sharing that with our son.<\/p>\n\n\n