Hire for Joy
A few weeks ago, a developer on our team posted a screenshot in Slack. It wasn’t flashy: just a terminal response from an API. But to us, it was beautiful.
It marked the first time a long-anticipated feature stitched itself together end-to-end. What appeared simple on the surface was actually the culmination of intricate, coordinated effort spanning multiple components, iterations, and disciplines. And when the moment arrived, it landed as joy. We laughed, we celebrated, we showered each other in emojis. There was pride, but more importantly, there was genuine delight.
It reminded me how vital this feeling is: not just for team morale, but as a foundational principle for how I want us to build.
Hidden Joy in Serious Places
Early in my career, I worked extensively in open source, a space known at the time for its rigor, blunt feedback, and uncompromising standards. From the outside, our interactions probably seemed devoid of joy. The mailing lists and issue trackers were full of careful reasoning, precise criticism, and occasional dismissals.
Yet beneath this stern exterior, we were there because we loved it. We were dreamers sharing our work openly, collaborating to build something meaningful for the world. Behind every careful argument, hidden deep in the heart of our code, was an unspoken spark of joy. We rarely acknowledged it explicitly, but it was the secret fuel that sustained our work.
I've learned that joy often hides behind seriousness, not just in open source, but throughout business. Even today, many leaders hesitate to talk openly about joy. You won’t see graphs measuring joy at our board meetings. The business world tends toward skepticism about such seemingly soft ideas, and I understand that caution.
But over time, I’ve grown more comfortable talking openly about joy, because I’ve seen that it doesn’t just serve the people on our teams. It aligns incentives powerfully. Joy is not only good for people; it's good for the products we build and the companies we grow.
Joy as a Strategy
I’ve tried various ways to build teams and organizations, some more successful than others. The one that's proven most powerful—for the team, the work, and ultimately, the business—is building explicitly around joy.
Joy doesn’t mean ease. It isn’t about constant fun or superficial happiness. It’s deeper, more sustainable: the spark of discovery, the satisfaction of shared craftsmanship, and the feeling of improvement in something that genuinely matters. This joy isn’t about obligatory productivity. It's about a genuine desire to return, to build, and to build well.
Pain can teach us, but it leaves scars. I've seen teams drained by repeated stress, suspicion, or blame. Joy, on the other hand, fuels momentum. It creates safety, encourages experimentation, and compounds into resilience.
This is the loop I strive for: not one powered by fear or avoidance, but by joy and the desire to keep building.
What “Hire for Joy” Means
So, practically, what does hiring for joy look like?
It doesn’t mean finding people obsessed with work or who never log off. Instead, it's about seeking individuals who find genuine delight in their craft: curious minds, meticulous artisans, and generous teachers.
I see these signals every day:
A teammate exploring new AI tools eagerly, playing, experimenting, and enthusiastically teaching others along the way.
Someone stepping into a new product domain, genuinely owning their work, sweating the details, and raising standards for everyone around them.
A developer whose deep love for a programming language elevates our standards for clarity and maintainability.
A designer who injects thoughtful polish into every user interaction, inspiring the rest of us to meet their standards.
These aren't exceptions—they're signals. They shape our culture, our interactions, and our collective growth.
The Cost of Cynicism
If joy isn’t cultivated deliberately, cynicism often takes its place.
I've witnessed talented teams slip into suspicion and blame, where learning only comes from painful breakdowns. These cultures exhaust people, erode trust, and limit growth, no matter the underlying talent.
We can’t eliminate tough moments entirely, but we can choose how we respond. Two simple practices have profoundly changed my approach: stillness and laughter.
Stillness helps me see challenges clearly. Laughter helps me overcome them—not sarcasm or cynicism, but shared, genuine laughter. It opens doors to optimism, which I’ve consistently found to be a more effective teacher than fear.
Closing Thoughts
We spend a third of our lives at work. I choose to spend it with people who love what they do: people who share their curiosity, celebrate their learning, and treat something as small as a well-earned terminal screenshot like a work of art.
Reflecting on my own journey, I've found my most impactful decisions and proudest accomplishments weren’t driven by fear or pressure. They were guided by joy. From those early days in open source to the teams I build today, joy remains the secret strength that quietly propels us forward.
Hire for joy. Cultivate it. Protect it. Celebrate it. Not just because it feels good. But because it works.
