Reid Hoffman: Apple’s Angela Ahrendts – How to unite a team (Part 1)

The Apple logo The iconic Burberry check These images inspire the loyalty of customers and employees alike. But it takes more than a beloved brand to power a company and motivate a team. No one knows this better than Angela Ahrendts, former SVP of retail at Apple and former CEO of Burberry.

Angela has spent most of her career learning how to imbue those brands with meaning and support them with down-to-earth, everyday human connection. Why? Because to unite a team—especially one that’s large, global, and dispersed—you need to turn them into mission-driven families.

Authenticity and human touch are key to success in business, as demonstrated by former Apple executive Angela Ahrendts’ use of a personal video message to connect with employees.

A team can only be united by a sense of purpose and active communication. A leader needs to imbue meaning into a team’s branding and encourage everyday coordination to turn them into a mission-driven family.

Celebrate every success, big or small, with your family to strengthen bonds. Learn from diverse role models with different leadership styles and embrace both your logical and intuitive sides to become a successful leader.

To build an effective acquisition team, leaders should focus on bringing in talented individuals who can contribute to the company’s mission and foster a culture of trust by valuing individual strengths and creative visions.

Leaders should have clear, bold vision and ensure everyone is united. Celebrating quick wins and valuing hard work are vital for morale. A functioning body is needed for high performance and a sense of belonging.

Acknowledge and celebrate hard work, success, and mistakes on a day-to-day human level to foster a sense of belonging and pride among employees. Use departmental achievements to get stakeholders invested in the company’s vision for success.

Leaders shouldn’t avoid difficult conversations during a turnaround.

Leaders need to create a clear, bold vision and ensure that everyone in the organization is united and all-in on the mission. Quick wins are also important for morale and team unity. Celebrating these wins is also vital to showing employees that their hard work is valued. A company needs a functioning body to achieve high performance and make everyone feel like they belong, are welcomed, and are loved.

Why is it when your life is perfect that somebody wants to flip it upside down?