Is Being "Too Nice" Holding your Agency Back

Leaders can think a great culture means being "too nice" - but is it?  Agencies thrive on great culture. Energy, collaboration, and a strong sense of belonging make them inspiring places to work. 

But when I talk to teams, I often hear the same thing about their leaders:

💬 "𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲."

At first, that sounds like a compliment. But dig deeper, and what teams are really saying is:

❌ 𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.

❌ 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.

❌ 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦.

And here’s the paradox: a lack of challenge doesn’t protect culture - it actually weakens it. 

When people avoid difficult conversations, frustrations simmer under the surface. Instead of tackling issues head-on, disagreements happen in side conversations, where the real context is lost.

At 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻, one of our core values was 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 - because real progress comes from constructive debate. 

My co-founder and I had completely opposing ways of thinking. If I said something, he’d often disagree immediately. And I loved it. 

Not because it was comfortable, but because it forced us to 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

Over time, we built a way of debating that created value rather than tension. The key?

✅ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲.

✅ 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

✅ 𝗘𝗴𝗼-𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 - 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀.

And here’s the thing: when teams see leaders engage in constructive challenge, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲. 

That’s how you build a culture where people think critically, own their work, and push for better.

🚀 𝗦𝗼, 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱?

🚀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀?

Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments 👇

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