This month's CEO spotlight features Matthew Schmidt, the innovative leader of Peoplelogic! Matthew emphasizes a work-life blend, prioritizing the acknowledgment of each team member as a human with a life beyond work. Reflecting on bold decisions, Matthew shares the challenges of making bets that impact the team and emphasizes the need for conscious decision-making in an ever-evolving world. Join us as we explore more facets of his leadership journey in this exclusive interview.
Employee Spotlight Q & A:
- Ashley Alderman: As a leader, how do you manage work-life balance, and what strategies do you use to prevent burnout?
- Matthew Schmidt: I've always been a fan of work-life blend. Balance implies that it’s possible to find that perfect balance when you’re likely to cause more stress by trying to make them balance. Instead, we try to acknowledge at Peoplelogic that everyone on the team is a human first, and being human means we also have lives outside of work. Outside of that - these days I find that walking and actually taking vacation helps a ton with burnout. Sometimes it’s listening to what your mind and body are telling you!
- AA: What type of recognition and appreciation do you value most and why?
- MS: As a founder, recognition isn't something that I tend to dwell on. The team shows that they appreciate what I do by bringing their best selves to work each day and helping the company leave a lasting impact on the world.
- AA: What is the most challenging decision you've had to make as a CEO, and what did you learn from it?
- MS: Tough question :) Lately, we've been making increasingly bold bets. Each one is something that if we don't execute well on it has an impact on the rest of our team and their families. So, I can't really say I've necessarily learned from these choices, but I do try to be conscious of how they'll impact the rest of the team :)
- AA: If you could get the answer to one question in the universe, what question would you ask and why?
- MS: How do we get faster than light space travel? As for why, the universe is a massive place and filled with wonders that we can only begin to imagine. I'd love to see what the rest of the galaxy had to offer and we just can't do that with our current technology!
- AA: How do you stay connected with your values and principles, both in your personal and professional life?
- MS: As a leader, I have 3 key tenets (or values): meet people where they are, lead from the front, and always have a growth mindset. Each day, I try to approach my life and my work with those in mind. It helps me stay grounded and always keeps me curious.
- AA: If you could have a growth-related superpower, what would it be and why?
- MS: Definitely having the ability to predict what would impact the market and our business. But then maybe that's why ultimately, we're building the AI for more efficient scaling.
- AA: Can you share a pivotal moment or decision in your career that significantly influenced your leadership style?
- MS: There's one moment in particular that always stands out. We ran our first anonymous survey in 2016 and leadership just got completely blasted. Every bad trait you can imagine was attributed to us. It was then that I decided to be a different leader and it changed my whole outlook.
- AA: How do you approach innovation to stay ahead in a rapidly changing business landscape?
- MS: I'm an avid consumer of news about our industry and the different players in our space, even if they aren't competitors. Sparks of innovation can come from anywhere, so it's important to take a broad approach to the landscape you're watching. Usually, this leads to some ideas. Then the trick is to narrow down all those ideas into something that we can execute well - and which doesn't completely distract the team :) This is a place where Hernani does a good job of just letting me spout ideas until something truly resonates!
- AA: What’s your go-to tactic for unwinding after a stressful day?
- MS: Typically, it's a nice glass of wine and talking to Sarah about the different things that went on. I try not to just box the stressful day up - talking about it gets it out and then lets me focus on the next day.
- AA: In your opinion, what qualities are essential for a successful leader in today's work environment?
- MS: I think there are a couple of key things that make someone a successful leader. If you're a leader in a hybrid or remote org - trust is key (but always have those guard rails). Also, it's important to understand what kind of leader you want to be. I'm a firm believer that leaders evolve, so being curious and applying different schools of thought to your own leadership style is also an important quality. Finally - hone the skill of balancing your understanding of what is good for the business and what your team needs. In an ideal situation, these are aligned - but that's not always the case - and it's a place where most leaders lose sight of who they are.
- AA: If you had to describe the role of CEO at Peoplelogic using only emojis, which ones would you choose and why?
- MS: 🎢 💩 🚀 - yep, a rollercoaster poop rocket, on any given day.
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