Dare to be Fun: making work an advantage, not an add on
Mac Reddin of Commsor talks healthy hustle, good versus bad stress, and why fun at work should be an advantage, not an add on like a pizza party.
Mac Reddin calls himself a workaholic, but in a good way. He's been lucky enough to work on things he wants to work on, so for him, it doesn't always feel like work. He just likes making things. He thinks a little bit of 'good overwhelmed' is fine for an early stage startup, and that when the work is fun and creative, the energy comes naturally. If you have to actively think about energizing the team, the idea might not be that good.
A lot of companies get fun wrong. Mac says fun isn't an add on, like a pizza party you bolt onto a miserable work week. It has to be embedded in the day to day. He sees a similar split in hustle culture. Bad hustle is working 90 hours because someone is measuring your butt in your seat. Good hustle is a mindset where you own a problem and do what it takes to get it done, even if that means an extra hour on a Thursday night.
When I asked him how he deals with imposter syndrome, his answer was that he doesn't. He just powers through it, and even sees it as a sign he's pushing himself enough. For him, the zone he thrives in is at 120 percent, where he feels a little bit overwhelmed and a little bit stressed. He doesn't believe in consciously creating work life balance. If you've found the right work, the balance just is.
“When you find yourself working for your next vacation, that's usually a sign that you're not working in the thing you're meant to be working in.”
Notes
- He believes fun should not be an add on like a pizza party; it has to be embedded in the day to day work.
- He distinguishes between 'healthy hustle culture', which is about outcome and ownership, and 'bad hustle culture', which is about measuring hours worked.
- He says he hasn't 'dealt with' imposter syndrome and sees it as a sign that he's pushing himself enough.
- When it comes to work life balance, he says if you have to consciously create it, it's a sign you're working on something you shouldn't be.