A Synchronous Mind | By Jordana Valencia

Scaling Culture in Fast-Growing Companies

Fri, 22 May 2020 23:50:02 -0700

I published this article for Harvard Business Review on June 11, 2019.

Please click here to read the full article at HBR.org. The full article is not published in this blog.

Over the past few years, there has been a marked increase in hypergrowth companies across the globe. First coined by Alexander V. Izosimov in the Harvard Business Review in 2008, “hypergrowth” refers to the steep part of the S-curve, where industries and firms grow at an explosive pace. Businesses rapidly expand, company valuation skyrockets, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) hits 40%+. Human capital also grows dramatically, as employee count steeply rises to support business growth.

This sets hypergrowth companies apart from other firms, which have slower and more stable growth rates. Since they are scaling rapidly, hypergrowth firms need to quickly ensure that they have the right people and systems in place to withstand the speed at which they are growing. If they don’t, the organization can quickly fall apart.

While hypergrowth companies face many obstacles, research shows that talent is their primary growth challenge. And one of their biggest talent priorities is how to scale and maintain culture. Culture, or the underlying beliefs and values that shape an organization, can indeed be difficult to manage when a company scales from 10 to 1,000 employees. But it is possible...

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How to Keep Networking from Draining You

Fri, 22 May 2020 23:41:50 -0700

I published this article for Harvard Business Review on May 9, 2018.
Please click here to read the full article at HBR.org. The full article is not published in this blog.
Whether it’s attending startup events, social gatherings, or happy hours, networking is a necessary part of every entrepreneur’s life. Seventy-eight percent of entrepreneurs agree that networking is crucial to startup success, which is why there are a myriad of articles online about how to master and love the art of networking.
But networking can be extremely draining. Imagine the countless hours entrepreneurs spend talking, traveling, and socializing with contacts and potential investors. Excessive social interaction can be physically and mentally exhausting for anyone — even extroverts. In fact, many of the founders I coach describe networking as draining, saying it sometimes robs them of the energy they need to work on actual business operations.
As an entrepreneur, you can’t avoid networking. But there are techniques you can use to prevent and cope with networking-induced exhaustion...
To continue reading this article, please visit HBR.org.
Image source: beastfromeast/Getty Images
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How to Get Over Career Envy

Sun, 14 Jan 2018 02:48:42 -0800

Have you ever felt envious of another person’s success? Perhaps you’ve felt jealous of a friend’s accomplishments and wished you achieved the same things. Or maybe you felt they didn’t deserve it and resented them for that. Or perhaps you're already successful yourself, but feel like your friend’s triumph will take the spotlight away from you and make you less special in the eyes of your peers.
Envy is a natural part of the human existence and can be triggered by many things. We also experience envy more intensely with people who are close to us – people are unhappier when a close friend succeeds than when a stranger does. This is because people determine their own social and personal worth by comparing themselves to others who are similar to them. Therefore, the success of a close friend can threaten our own identity, self-esteem, and self-worth, which can bring up a lot of negative feelings.
Although a natural part of life, envy can be very unhealthy if it leads to intense feelings of resentment, longing, and inferiority. If left unchecked, it can destroy your self-esteem, happiness, and important relationships in life.
Side note: In this article, I use the terms “envy” and “jealousy” interchangeably because that's typically how they’re used in everyday language. But scientifically speaking, jealousy and envy are two different (but highly interrelated) concepts. You can learn about that here.
So the question is: How do we get over career envy and start feeling happy for the success of others? Here are a few tips that can help you:
1. Recognize all the hard work, effort, and struggles the person had to overcome in order to become successful....Read More

The Invisible Crisis That’s Tearing Philippine Society Apart

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 21:20:37 -0700

Photo Credit: The Odyssey Online
The Philippines is in a mental health crisis. We now have the highest number of depressed people in Southeast Asia, with at least 7 Filipinos committing suicide everyday.
The exact reason why depression and suicide rates are on the rise is extremely difficult to pinpoint. It is impossible to determine a singular root cause because a myriad of factors can come into play here: poverty, political and economic instability, education, and access to healthcare to name a few. The dark political climate we’re in isn’t helping either, especially since exposure to negative news in social media and TV can negatively affect your mental health.
This mental health crisis will be one of the biggest battles our generation will have to face. Luckily, the proposed Mental Health Act is a great start! But it may not be enough. Why? Because government initiatives take time and ultimately, their outcome is something we cannot directly control. We can support it heavily but at the end of the day, progress can be very slow. And with all the red tape, we don't know when this law will be passed. And even if it is passed, how long it will take to implement changes? And how effective will these changes be?
Apart from supporting the mental health act, there are other ways to make a difference – and the good news is that these are things you can do today without waiting for the support of congress. So if...Read More

How Founders Can Recognize and Combat Depression

Wed, 17 May 2017 21:57:05 -0700

I published this article for Harvard Business Review on Feb 17, 2017.
Please click here to read the full article at HBR.org. The full article is not published in this blog.
Eric is, by all means, a very successful entrepreneur. His technology company has grown considerably in the past five years. He’s raised two rounds of funding, has a customer base in the thousands, and is managing a team of eight employees.
Although admired by fellow entrepreneurs, Eric harbors a dark secret: He goes home every night feeling extremely exhausted and unhappy. Naturally a quiet person, Eric has become distressed by the endless networking, fundraising, and people management that he is required to do. He feels physically and emotionally drained, no longer able to sleep well or concentrate during the day. He finds that work is no longer as enjoyable as it used to be, so his motivation and performance have taken a hit.
Eric has a classic example of founder depression. Usually marked by sadness or a loss of interest in activities, founder depression looks a lot like typical depression and can damage a company from multiple points. It can hurt company performance, since depressed founders lose their ability to function effectively on a daily basis. It can cause employees and investors to lose trust in the founder’s ability to lead, which can fuel doubts about the company’s future. And it can risk the health and well-being of the founder — something I have seen in my work with entrepreneurs and as a student of clinical psychology...
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How Social Media Can Increase Stress at Work

Sat, 10 Dec 2016 18:35:37 -0800

Feeling stressed at work? You’re not alone. Over 65% of Americans cite work as a top source of stress. And when stress at work becomes too overwhelming, you’re at the dangerous risk for burnout and feelings of extreme exhaustion at work. Too much stress at work can destroy your career because it can kill your productivity, self-confidence, and may cause you to pull away from your job.
Interestingly, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can play a crucial role in increasing stress at work. So how does social media factor into all of this?
Research shows that stressed workers tend to compare themselves against co-workers who have similar job responsibilities as them - mainly as a way to gauge whether the stress levels they’re experiencing at work are “normal”. Normalizing work stress can be a powerful coping mechanism because it can make people feel hopeful and less alone in their struggles and thus, more self-assured and capable of managing their stress.
But people won't feel this way when they see their peers on social media platforms, which tend to be default sources to safely seek out information since people are often reluctant to talk to co-workers about stress because they fear judgment, criticism, or office gossip.
In social media, the very same people you might think also experience workplace stress may idealize their experiences at work by highlighting the positives and downplaying the negatives. In fact, studies show that people tend to present themselves in a favorable way on their Facebook profiles. This can lead to unrealistic and distorted views of what “normal” stress should look like and...Read More

Why Facebook Can Make You Ill

Wed, 31 Aug 2016 23:04:51 -0700

A few weeks ago, I was catching up with a colleague in a quaint little coffee shop. Let’s call my colleague Angela. While waiting in line for our orders, Angela took out her phone and checked it for messages. She must have checked Facebook too because within a few minutes, she turned to me and showed me the screen of her iPhone. “Did you see Person A’s FB post?” she asks. “Check out her new job! And her new apartment!” she continues. “She looks so happy. I wish I had a job like that. Ugh, and I want her apartment too!”
We talked a bit about our mutual friend’s success and how happy our friend seemed. It was a positive conversation at first, until I stated noticing some negative tones from Angela. Suddenly, Angela started yearning for our friend’s life – pining over her accomplishments and “wonderful life”. I found this behavior unusual since I know Angela very well. She is extremely accomplished and is very satisfied and happy with her life. So this made me wonder: What was it about that Facebook post that made Angela suddenly dissatisfied with her life?
Facebook use can definitely have many social and psychological benefits such as social inclusion and relationship maintenance. However, it is important to recognize that Facebook can have a dark side as well. In fact, recent studies have shown that Facebook use can potentially disrupt an individual’s happiness and mental health, quite like the way it disrupted Angela’s life satisfaction. For example, research done by Steers, Wickham, and Acitelli provided evidence that the use of Facebook can be linked to depressive symptoms.
How can Facebook disrupt a person’s happiness and mental health? Research points us towards the phenomenon of frequent upward social comparisons.
Frequent “Upward” Social Comparisons:
Social...Read More

Feel Guilty About Job Hopping? Don't.

Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:26:11 -0700

If you consider yourself a millennial, then you probably know someone who's a job hopper. You’ve probably even seen it all over your Facebook Newsfeed. I know I have. Here’s a quick story: Not too long about, a good friend of mine posted a celebratory FB status update about her new job. It garnered hundreds of likes and congratulatory notes. Then after just after two years, she posted another career update –a new job! It garnered hundreds of likes all over again. So I wondered: What are the chances that my friend will switch to a new job again in the near future?
Apparently, the chances of this happening are sky-high. According to the 2012 PayScale report, “job hopping” seems to be the new normal for Millennials, with the typical millennial employee switching jobs every 2 to 3 years. That’s an average of 4 to 5 jobs every 10 years.
There are many reasons why people switch jobs. Perhaps you’re going through significant personal, social, or financial concerns. But assuming you have a decent job situation and your salary is not a life-threatening problem, why would you want to leave? As it turns out, nearly half of the world’s population is unhappy with their jobs, with Millenialls citing “personal growth and advancement” as the main factor for their unhappiness and desire to switch jobs.
Job-hopping can be a powerful source of anxiety for many people because it is often seen as a symptom of career confusion or a fickle mind. For example, if you are convinced that a career in marketing is perfect for you only to discover few years in that you absolutely hate it, then you’re likely to see it as a setback. You are probably going to feel lost, confused, and terribly concerned about this mistake. But really, this may not be your fault all. It's more...Read More

Building Entrepreneurs in Rising Asia

Mon, 30 Nov 2015 21:00:00 -0800

When I taught entrepreneurship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I was completely blown away by the intelligence, confidence, and resiliency of my students. I taught at MIT’s Launch Program, an intensive summer entrepreneurship program that teaches students from all over the world how to start companies.
I had the wonderful privilege of working with over 200 students from all across globe – and they were the most creative, driven, and fearless teenagers I have ever met. They were go-getters – so much so that during my time at MIT, I was able to advise and oversee the development of over 50 new ventures.

Image above: Entrepreneurship at MIT
Like many educators, my students inspired me. Truthfully, when I was their age, I was nothing like them. Sure, I was a driven person with big dreams. But dreaming is completely different from doing. I would like say that I had the confidence to bring my dreams to life when I was their age - but I didn’t. It definitely took me some time.
All I knew is that I loved psychology and education. I wanted to help people learn new things - and I wanted to build something around that. But paving your own unique path in the world is an extremely terrifying thing to do. So I settled for safer and more comfortable decisions.
As someone who was born and raised in the Philippines, this made me wonder: Are there other Filipino students out there who felt the same way that I did back then? Are some of them fearful and scared of taking the road less traveled? Do they want to start new ventures but are afraid to do so?
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