Have you ever worked a job where you’ve felt as if you were only valued by the amount of work you do?
While I worked my last full-time job, I often felt as if I had little time to do anything outside of work. Thankfully the days of ego-centric and competitive thinking in the workplace are coming to a close. Treating those who work for you as humans first is becoming a pervasive mindset throughout the beauty industry, both Jeremy Soine, CEO of Face Reality, and I agree.
Some may call it a Gen-Z way of thinking, but I think that it shows a much-needed change for the better! Why would you want to see your employees as just that — employees — when you could instead celebrate who they are outside of the workplace too? Jeremy shared some excellent insights on this, sharing that his ability to trust his team allowed them to trust him more — when he gives, he gets back tenfold.
A huge contributor to his forward-thinking leadership style is in his own experience in his career. Never one to be traditional, Jeremy didn’t view what he did for work as a destination. In fact, he asserts that although his work is a part of him, it does not define him. What we do is important, but it is not as important as all of the other things that shape who we are — our friends, families, life experiences, etc. He chose to lead his career-related pursuits with a curiosity and openness to trying new things, which in turn allowed him to do what he truly loves. And he plans on doing this for a very long time — even into his retirement age. (Though he doesn’t think he’ll ever retire.)
Jeremy’s curiosity also led him to explore a couple of different, yet similar, avenues of interest — having always had a passion for products and brands, Jeremy moved from the wine making industry (Barefoot Wines), to the jerky industry (Krave Jerky), and finally to his own business, Face Reality. What was similar throughout all of these ventures? The innovation and his push towards making these brands different from the rest is what brings them together. To Jeremy, the most important part of any brand is that it stands out. (Which is absolutely apparent through Face Reality’s one-on-one approach to acne management!)
How does he manage to make his company’s culture collaborative and not competitive? Through daily 9am huddles, his team gets together to discuss business updates and answer fun questions, which assist in helping create a community that supports one another. After working in places where perfectionism was expected, Jeremy now makes it a point to tolerate mistakes from his team — we’re all human and sometimes we make mistakes!
He also manages to encourage a healthy workplace environment through his feedback, where he makes sure to ask his employees two very important questions. After helping them see the bigger cause that they are working towards, Jeremy asks: “Do they feel empowered?” and “Do they see a bigger future for themselves?” An answer of yes to both of these signals that they have enough space to do the work, and that they have the motivation to continue going.
Above all, Jeremy believes that companies should be doing the right thing — regardless of the law. Lead with sensitivity and compassion and your employees will thank you for it. I couldn’t agree more — at the end of the day we’re all human and everyone deserves to be treated as such!