Early stage HR leaders should approach building culture and their work like a product, by creating a roadmap based on understanding employees' pain points and aligning culture-building with business outcomes.
Managers should provide regular constructive feedback to foster a feedback-rich environment, particularly for high performers, while executives need to lead by example and embrace discomfort while giving feedback to build trust and transparency within the organization.
Creating a culture of psychological safety starts from the top, and HR can play a role in conducting audits and utilizing frameworks to ensure constructive feedback, foster growth, and shape programs that support company goals.
Deep dives
Building Culture as a Product
Early stage HR leaders should approach building culture and their work like a product. This involves creating a roadmap for 18 months with quarterly goals based on understanding employees' pain points. By getting buy-in from the team and codifying the roadmap, even if people disagree with the order of priorities, they understand the methodology and can anticipate the progress. This approach aligns culture-building with business outcomes and ensures everyone knows their role in achieving the company's mission.
Creating a Feedback-Rich Environment
To foster a feedback-rich environment, it is vital for managers to provide constructive feedback regularly. High performers are particularly motivated by constructive feedback, and it helps them grow. Executives also need to lead by example and embrace discomfort while giving feedback. Transparency and communication play a crucial role in narrative building and educating employees. By continuously communicating important information and demystifying topics like compensation, trust in the organization's culture and leadership can be fostered.
The Role of Trust and Dysfunction in Executive Teams
Building trust within executive teams is essential for high performance and success. Dysfunctional executive teams often lack trust and collaboration. Path dependency, where team members stay due to historical reasons, or ineffective use of time can hinder team dynamics. It is critical to address trust issues proactively and prioritize the health and well-being of the executive team. Additionally, focusing on the right conversations and decision-making at the executive level, rather than micromanaging operational details, can optimize team productivity and effectiveness.
Building a Culture of Psychological Safety
Creating a culture of psychological safety is crucial in organizations, starting from the top. An HR person can play a role by conducting audits, such as reviewing written performance reviews, to ensure constructive feedback is provided. By focusing on delivering constructive and uncomfortable feedback, organizations can foster growth and development. Additionally, utilizing frameworks like the voice of the employee and engaging in regular one-on-one conversations can provide valuable insights into employee experiences and help shape programs that support company goals.
Embracing Conscious Leadership
The concept of conscious leadership involves being intentional about one's reactions, checking biases, and exploring different perspectives. It encourages leaders to approach conversations and problem-solving with openness, curiosity, and a focus on co-creating solutions. This mindset shift can transform internal dynamics, moving from argumentative exchanges to goal-oriented discussions. Implementing conscious leadership principles can lead to improved communication, decision-making, and trust within the organization.
Our guest is Anna Binder, Head of People at Asana.
We go back to the earliest days when Anna first took on the role, starting with how she prioritized the initial things to tackle as a new People exec and combing through a slew of opinions that bubbled up from other folks at the company.
Next, she shares her tactical playbook for creating a culture of feedback for not just low-performers, but high-performers, too. Anna also unpacks her methodology of conscious leadership, and how the best leaders always interrogate how the opposite might be true. She shares her insights from working on Asana’s executive team for nearly 7 years, and how to build habits to make sure this group is a healthy nucleus at the center of the company.
We end with a rapid-fire round, with some quick hits tackling onboarding, all-hands meetings, and mentors.