Jakub Stencel on defining and maintaining organisational culture
Oct 22, 2024
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Jakub Stencel is the interim director of Anima International, dedicated to fighting animal suffering. He discusses the importance of organizational culture, emphasizing transparency and the balance between freedom and responsibility. Jakub reflects on the challenges of maintaining a cohesive culture across countries while navigating leadership transitions. He highlights the significance of psychological safety in fostering communication and effectiveness, and delves into the complexities of building a diverse team aligned with Anima's vision.
The interim director Jakob Stencel emphasizes the need to assess Anima International's structure to enhance operational efficiency and animal advocacy impact.
A culture defined by radical transparency and direct communication fosters accountability but recognizes limitations when addressing sensitive topics within the organization.
Prioritizing psychological safety allows team members at Anima to openly discuss mistakes and provide feedback, promoting a constructive learning environment.
Deep dives
Future of Anima International
The discussion centers around the future viability of Anima International as a cohesive unit, highlighting that operational efficiency and effectiveness in serving animals are paramount. There is skepticism regarding the current structure, leading to the contemplation of possibly dissolving Anima International or restructuring it for better outcomes. Considerations are being made about various organizational frameworks to ensure resource allocation maximizes impact for animal advocacy. This transitional phase seeks to balance local autonomy with collective benefits, indicating an ongoing evaluation of the best way to support animal welfare.
Candid Reflections on Mistakes
The interim director shares candid reflections about internal discussions and decisions made regarding various animal advocacy programs, particularly in Poland. A specific initiative to curtail megafarm investments has been subject to long-standing doubt, leading to an acknowledgment that prolonged indecision can hinder organizational effectiveness. This realization will ideally refine Anima's approach, promoting a culture of decisiveness rather than lingering in uncertainty. Jakob's introspection emphasizes the importance of choosing a definitive path, whether that involves ceasing a program or investing further resources.
Organizational Culture and Transparency
Anima International prioritizes a culture defined by radical transparency and direct communication, which is a departure from conventional hierarchical structures. This transparency allows all stakeholders access to critical organizational information, fostering a sense of accountability and mutual trust. The idea is that a transparent environment mitigates the potential for misunderstandings and manipulative behaviors within the organization. However, it is acknowledged that complete transparency has its limits, especially regarding sensitive topics such as personal evaluations and safety concerns.
Diversity of Organizational Structures
Anima operates with a unique blend of confederation and federation structures, facilitating collaboration while allowing local groups to retain considerable independence. This model seeks optimization for impact by enabling local groups to execute decisions that reflect their specific contexts. However, this approach poses challenges in maintaining a unified culture across different regions, as observed in instances where diverse organizational backgrounds may clash. Growing the organization while preserving core values is crucial, emphasizing the need for continuous dialogue about internal coherence and operational goals.
Psychological Safety and Feedback Loops
Highlighting the importance of psychological safety within Anima, the leadership aims for an environment where team members can share mistakes and learn openly without fear of personal backlash. This ethos not only enhances morale but also aims to create quick feedback loops that facilitate organizational learning and adaptability. The leadership encourages both positive and negative feedback as a constructive tool for monitoring performance, reinforcing that individual value is separate from any critique of work. A culture rooted in gratitude and acceptance for criticism is seen as beneficial for overall employee happiness and retention.
Jakub Stencel is the recently appointed interim director of Anima International. A refreshingly candid conversation about organisational culture, transparency and its limits, as well as the constant journey of testing and learning that Anima undertakes.
Jakub talks us through his thinking on culture in an expanding organisation, split across multiple countries and how his first important task as interim director is to assess whether Anima International should continue to exist, or, if other organisational structures could save time, resource and increase impact for animals.
00:00:00:00 | Intro 00:02:00:03 | A recent mistake others can learn from 00:06:30:09 | Early days of Anima International 00:10:39:20 | Work culture and transparency 00:18:10:10 | How has this approach shaped the work at Anima? 00:26:01:09 | Importance of small rituals 00:32:50:23 | Building psychological safety 00:35:45:06 | Hiring process 00:46:23:07 | The transparent leadership transition 00:52:42:18 | Vision for Anima International 01:01:05:08 | Biggest mistake of Anima International 01:13:51:05 | Closing questions
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