EKAITZ SAIES

Many years ago, my parents gave me a copy of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography as soon as it was released in Spanish. I had been a Mac and Apple user and always loved their products, but didn’t know much about Jobs’ story at the time. That book would shape a great deal of how I understand leadership today.

Inside its pages were stories — raw, sometimes ruthless, but always powerful — about how Jobs led with intensity, creativity, and belief. Those stories stuck with me. They found their way into my own leadership roles back home in Spain, and now in Britain, and also with other innovative enterprises like Paddle Games. Whether working with athletes, coaches, or race organisers, one question continues to guide me: how do you create pressure that inspires — not crushes?

It’s a delicate balance. Push too hard, and you risk fear, burnout, and disengagement. Push too little, and teams drift — too polite, too comfortable, too afraid of upsetting the norm. But the great leaders, like Jobs or Bill Walsh, found a way to create positive pressure: a climate of high standards, radical belief, and shared purpose.

Purpose before pressure

Jobs may have been demanding, but what truly drove his teams wasn’t force — it was meaning. People weren’t just building gadgets; they were changing the world.

“We’re here to put a dent in the universe,” Jobs famously said. “Otherwise, why even bother?”

That sense of mission didn’t just help his teams survive long hours and impossible deadlines. It helped them believe those hours were worth it.

Great teams aren’t motivated by pressure alone. They’re moved by purpose. Positive pressure is anchored in a clear, bold “why”.

High standards, low ego

Jobs expected “insanely great” work — but crucially, he created an environment where quality trumped ego. Critique wasn’t personal; it was part of the process.

“Be a yardstick of quality,” he said. “Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

This standard wasn’t imposed with fear. It was built into the culture. The result was a team where great work was the norm, and mediocrity felt out of place.

Raise the bar, and keep it there. When high standards are part of the collective identity, people rise to meet them — not out of fear, but out of pride.

Say the hard thing — kindly

In tech, as in sport, progress stalls when people avoid hard conversations. Kim Scott, a former Google executive, calls it “ruinous empathy” — being so nice that you fail to be honest.

Jobs never had that problem. His feedback could be direct — even brutal. But those who worked closely with him say his intensity came from caring deeply about the work, and expecting others to care just as much.

“You have to be ruthless if you want to build a team of A players,” he once said.

Today, we might frame that as radical candour — saying what needs to be said, with clarity and compassion.

In my own experience, I often find myself in situations where people struggle to receive constructive feedback. Sometimes, emotions get in the way of objectivity. But high-performance environments — from elite sport to ambitious business ventures — aren’t built on comfort. They’re built on growth, stretch, and the pursuit of something greater. And that requires honesty.

Feedback isn’t pressure — it’s guidance. Say the hard thing. Say it with respect. The goal isn’t to criticise — it’s to unlock potential.

Stretch people — and believe in them

Jobs was infamous for his “reality distortion field” — the ability to convince people they could do the impossible. Oddly enough, they often did.

“At first I thought it was impossible,” one Apple engineer remembered. “But Steve looked at me and said, ‘You can do it.’ And somehow, we did.”

That belief — even when exaggerated — created a kind of momentum. People didn’t want to let him down. They wanted to live up to the faith he had in them.

Positive pressure means setting stretch goals and backing your team to reach them. Challenge is motivating when it’s paired with trust.

Make excellence a shared identity

What separates good teams from great ones? Often, it’s peer accountability. Jobs didn’t just apply pressure from the top — he built teams that pushed each other.

As legendary NFL coach Bill Walsh put it:

“When you establish a standard of performance and stick to it, the culture enforces itself.”

No one wants to be the weak link on a team that takes pride in performance. High expectations aren’t a burden — they’re a badge of honour.

Culture is what happens when no one’s watching. Build a team where standards are shared, not imposed.

The bottom line: pressure, redefined

Creating positive pressure isn’t about being harsh. It’s about being clear, demanding, and deeply invested in your people. The best leaders aren’t easy on others — they’re committed to their growth.

“My job is not to be easy on people,” Jobs said. “My job is to make them better.”

That’s the challenge — and the opportunity — for any leader who wants to build something that lasts.