Setting the tone with enthusiasm and optimism

I spent the beginning of the Fall semester of my last year of university preparing for interviews for full-time investment banking analyst roles in Toronto. In addition to preparing the general questions (tell me about yourself, why do you want this job, etc.) and the technical questions (accounting, valuation methods, etc.) for the interviews, another part of the preparation process was working on navigating your demeanor and remaining composed under pressure. It was well known that some interviewers, who were people ranging all levels who you would eventually be working with, would try to stump you by approaching the interview in a combative manner. Certain interviewers at select banks had reputations for being especially awful and whispers were passed down through each subsequent recruiting year about who to watch out for. 

This method of interviewing never sat well with me. Aside from the interviewer coming off as a straight-up asshole (while being a potential future colleague), I doubted the efficacy of this method in finding the best possible candidate for the role, which subsequently trickles down to finding the best possible outcome for the group or firm. Are you really getting the best answer or seeing the best version of someone when they’re at their most nervous and fearful state? 

During my time working in finance and now at running Threads, I have found the opposite to be the more effective way of starting a working relationship. Greeting the other party with enthusiasm and putting them at ease is a more reliable way of ensuring the outcomes are the most optimal for the collective group and the work product delivered is of the highest quality. Reminding the other party that you are excited to be collaborating and that you’re working as one team is sometimes all it takes for them to bring their best selves and work product forward. 

I was reminded of this most recently when we were organizing a small photoshoot. We had signed on to work with a model who wasn’t as experienced as the ones we had used in the past. We could tell she was a bit more nervous given the intimate nature of our pieces so our marketing manager suggested we do an extra debrief call to go over everything before she started. During this call, we made a concerted effort to express our excitement and confidence in her and kept it especially optimistic. We reiterated why we chose her and how we were going to work together to find the best way to bring the photos to life. I noticed the stark difference in her demeanor between the beginning and end of the call. She arrived at the shoot confident and strapped with the knowledge that our entire team was on her side and we all wanted to see her succeed.