Mama Energy
Last year, the Las Vegas Raiders fired their head coach in the middle of the season, and Antonio Pierce was named interim head coach. Pierce, who has since secured the permanent position, recently appeared on The Pivot podcast, where he described his strategy for getting the entire organization to buy into his vision. (The story starts at 1:00:32 in the video.)
When he became head coach, Pierce brought together everyone—from the kitchen staff to personnel to the legal department. At the time, he did not know 90% of the people in the room, but he nonetheless asked for their participation in an organization-wide goal. He said:
“Where I’ve been—not just in sports—when the building’s all bought-in, and everybody believes, and everybody’s coming to work with a purpose, and they do it with a smile—they leave their egos, they leave their problems at the front door for 8, 12, 15 hours for some of us. We got one goal—and that goal is to make the Raiders the best organization. That’s all I’m asking.”
He concluded what he had to say to the group by asking for a different energy. “I said, ‘You’re going to get the best out of me. I expect the best out of you. [...] And if I have a bad day, I hope that you pick me up. And if I have a great day, I hope you lift me up higher. And I'll bring you with me [and] vice versa.’”
Pierce’s Day 1 actions are a good example of inclusive leadership and the understanding that everyone is needed for success. In his words, “The business side affects the football side, and vice versa. No different [for] legal, right? Every department.”
This past week, I was in a meeting with a school’s leadership, and the topic turned to some parents’ recent and challenging interactions with the school’s front desk staff. As it turned out, the issues stemmed from the departure of two longtime staff members, causing a lack of what the CEO called “mama energy.”
By “mama energy,” he meant a caring presence at the front desk of the organization. It’s the energy that makes parents who call the school to ask for support get the sense that they are being listened to and their issues will be addressed. And that energy means when students walk into the school or down the hallway with a sad look, someone will ask how they are doing and attend to their needs. That has a big impact on the culture of a school where relationships are so important for family engagement, students’ emotional development, and unlocking barriers to learning.
It reminded me that many organizations have team members like this. They usually sit in the organization's literal or figurative “front desk”—e.g., receptionists, security professionals, call center staff. And because they are the first point of contact for customers and stakeholders or have the most touchpoints with others, they have a disproportionate impact on the energy and performance of the operation.
On any given day, they may be more important to organizational performance than those technically higher on the organizational chart. And while their skills may be readily found in others, their spirit is difficult to replace.
I suspect this is what Antonio Pierce was thinking when he told the entire Raiders organization that for the team to win, the building couldn’t be a place where people pass each other and “[not] speak to one another, not ask how we’re doing, not care.” When everyone has a caring energy, it becomes contagious, and it matters.