Photo: Getty Images “I hope everyone in this group appreciates the thoughtfulness I’ve put into creating this career development opportunity,” reads one message from Steph Korey, CEO of the popular, direct-to-consumer luggage company Away.
The language of empowerment was also used as a reprimand, like in Korey’s follow-up message to her “career development opportunity.” Four days later, when she saw that two managers still had time off scheduled, she wrote the team: “If you all choose to utilize your empowerment to leave our customers hanging … you will have convinced me that this group does not embody Away’s core values.” [Emphasis Korey’s again.
“I think that’s something that’s very unique to our generation for the first time as well,” Korey said. “The sort of mindset about work that it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m at work until 6:00 and then after 6:00 I’m at my normal life.’ It’s all very seamless and integrated.” On the Monday following the Verge’s initial report, Away announced that Korey would be stepping down as CEO, and would be replaced by former Lululemon executive Stuart Haselden. Korey would stay on as executive chairman, and the company claimed that the shakeup was in the works long before the Verge article was published. Though, as co-founder Jen Rubio told the Wall Street Journal at the time, “In light of the article, it’s been a difficult few days for the company.
Has someone tagged AskAManager in this?