Budget 2025: What It Means For Your Business

Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang was recently mobbed by adoring fans during a recent visit to his home country. He has been dubbed the ‘people’s dad’. But what are the benefits, and risks, of a CEO being genuinely ‘loved’ by employees and the public, rather than simply respected?

On the face of it the whole ‘being loved’ feels like a good idea. But it’s not.

The only person who genuinely loves the CEO is that person’s husband, wife, partner, or dog. And there’s really danger in seeking that love even though it is something human beings will naturally seek (with the exception of narcissists.)

But perhaps CEOs are immune to this anyhow. In his 2011 book “The Psychopath Test” Jon Ronson explored the idea that corporate and political environments often attract leaders with high-level narcissistic and psychopathic traits.

I doubt Jensen Huang is looking for more than an open and honest relationship with employees and stakeholders. Even then, there are certain matters he’ll be unable to be entirely open about. At the close of business, every employee is interested in a few things: does the work pay enough for me to survive and is it meaningful. If a CEO has to make decisions that affect an employee negatively, then that ‘love’ will evaporate.

And no business can, hand on heart, say that it will not have to make difficult decisions. Huang is already talking about these in this article. The marketplace for chips is hot and there’s probably not enough to go round. Add to that the difficult relationship with China and the people don’t need a ‘Dad’, they need an honest friend.

But Huang does represent an approach to leadership that is about more than transactional management. You get more from people when you show an active interest in who they are, where they are headed, and how they are going to get there.

At The Team we have a simple model based on 7 levers of motivation: meaning, autonomy, mastery of work, being valued, developing your career, belonging, and wellbeing. These factors all drive engagement and performance. They are at the heart of our universal human needs. A leader that shows an interest in these factors isn’t just being emotionally resonant; they are focusing on what is going to unlock performance in people.

And I’m more than happy to talk through that model if any of you ever want to know more. It takes no more than 15-minutes.