Hustle for What? The Case for Meaning Over Mania

We've all seen it creeping back onto our feeds:

“You’ve got to hustle harder.”

“No one’s coming to save you ... work weekends.”

“Get back to the grind or get left behind.”

It’s 2025, and hustle culture is having a resurgence—not because it works, but because fear does strange things to leaders.

Revenue is soft. Budgets are tight. Teams are lean.

And when things get shaky, we cling to control, and hustle feels like control.

But here’s the problem:

You can't out-hustle a broken culture.
You can't guilt people into greatness.
And you sure as hell can't build resilience on fear.

What Are We Even Hustling For?

This is the first time in over a decade I’m not leading a massive team.

And I’ll be honest: I’m both relieved and restless.

Relieved I don’t have to rally a team through this economic and social chaos.

Restless because I know what’s missing from the conversation: voice, vision, and purpose.

We spent 2021 asking “Why should someone stay at your company?”

Now, in a tighter job market, the unspoken message has shifted to “You’re lucky to have this job—prove it.”

That shift is toxic.

Fear may keep people clocked in, but it doesn’t make them care.

Fear doesn’t create loyalty. It creates resentment.

If you want people to hustle, build, bleed for your brand—give them a reason.

The Leadership Void: Purpose at the Edges

Leaders love to talk about vision... until it gets uncomfortable. 

We want our teams to "own the outcome," but we rarely stop to answer:

Who are we building for?

Why does it matter?

And what role does every person on this team play in making it real?

Yes, it might sound like fluff.

But if you’re asking people to push through uncertainty, give more than they take, and stretch beyond their job description—you owe them clarity.

You owe them purpose.

Three Questions Every Leader Needs to Ask Right Now

Let’s be honest: leading in this climate is no joke.

But opting out of emotional leadership—because it’s inconvenient—isn’t a strategy. It’s avoidance.

So if you’re a founder, a CRO, a team lead, or even just a high-performer with influence, here’s where to start:

1. What are we actually fighting for?

Not the quarterly target. Not the next round.

What’s the mission? The impact? The why that outlasts the comp plan?

If you can’t answer that, your team is already disengaging.

2. What role does each person play in that story?

People don’t want to be cogs. They want to see themselves in the arc.

"Here’s how your work ladders up. Here’s why it matters.”

No, it's not fluff. It's fuel.

3. Are we building a future, or are we just surviving today?

Fear gets people to sprint.

Hope keeps them running.

If your team can’t see a future worth stretching for, they’ll go find it elsewhere—or quietly check out where they are.

Your Voice Still Matters

You don’t need a big title or a big team to lead.

You just need to be one of the few people willing to say:

“Hustle isn’t the answer. Meaning is.”

We don’t need more bravado.

We don’t need another LinkedIn bro sermon about 5 AM wake-ups.

We need more leaders who tell the truth—and build teams worth belonging to.

So if you’re feeling the fire, good.

That heat?

That’s your voice, asking to be used.