As I’ve been reviewing some of my inspiration as a writer in response to my book, The Growth CFO Void exceeding my expectations and bringing value to the lives of countless business owners, I started to reflect on some of the literary inspiration that taught me to lead well, think boldly, and develop the Growth CFO mindset.
One of the most significant changes I, or any owner, have made to cultivate diverse thinking is redefining workplace culture. No Rules Rules, a book about Netflix’s culture by Erin Meyer and Reed Hastings, defines this purely and simply: you need a “speak-up” culture.
What does this mean, and how does it tie into how you – and I – optimally run our companies?
Why Not Speaking Up Keeps You Flying Blind
It’s a terrible situation when someone, or multiple people, in your organization are aware of crippling issues and don’t feel comfortable speaking up. This keeps you trucking along trying to power through some issues your team has already been alerted to.
Sometimes, the issues are a bit too complex for one person to see them as apparent and damaging. Other times, in most cases, they’re too apprehensive about speaking up. Netflix PRAISES people for speaking up. In fact, if you don’t, that could lead to bad things happening.
So let’s dive into the culture. In most hierarchical institutions, how is a staff-level individual expected to speak to a CEO with their job security at stake? “Maybe I’m wrong, how could I know something the CEO doesn’t?” These thoughts may plague their minds and by association, your company.
In many relationships, like father-son, for example, speaking up doesn’t always go well for the party lower on the totem pole. These individuals can become stonewalled by their fear – that is unless you redefine your workplace with speak-up culture in mind.
Redefining Culture Internally & Externally
A problem you might encounter revolves around hosting employees from different nations or even states within the US.
A daily challenge is integrating my international employees’ culture with mine and my US workers. India has a very authoritarian culture, and mixing that with loud (sometimes obnoxious) Americans can create a stark contrast that prevents different people from speaking up boldly.
How can you rectify a shoot-from-the-hip culture with one more reserved and willing to let the CEO drive?
Dynamic roles with positive rewards can do a lot here. Netflix, or at least when the book was written, has a culture of very high performers. People are expected to meet their deliverables and hit metrics, but they vacation at their own pace and notice.
There are no varying performance bonuses for speaking up and influencing culture, but standard, high pay that drives every one to be their best and put their ideas forward without negative judgment. This drives positive outcomes.
Putting trust in your team in varying ways gives the team more power. Leadership is not always constant in any organization, and the changing of hands in real time gives more incentive for a staff-level individual to see their contribution, value it, and strive to reach higher levels.
Trust improves where there is a “speak-up” culture. Teammates speak their minds with respect and dignity, but say what needs to be said!
Who’s Piloting the Aircraft?
With dynamic, sometimes small teams working on projects or accounts, it might be clear who is the authority, and who takes the backseat. In our teams, (which we refer to as a TrueTEAM) the three (3) CFOs take the lead while the accountants and even other executives take the backseat. This adds challenges to speaking up.
But the difference maker is how you take extreme ownership over your tasks. I don’t judge someone for having a different opinion than mine – instead, I take responsibility and listen to what they have to offer. If we’re off the rails due to my lead, it’s on me; in that sense, I love it when I get real, sometimes negative, feedback from the team because it forces me to change some of my ways and avoid making similar mistakes going forward.
With these kinds of environments, you increasingly get clarity on the options of what is a bold move – what opportunities do we have in the marketplace? As you get more clarity on the options, you get clarity and confidence in picking the right options. And then, you follow through with your habits and make meaningful decisions.
This is an everyday practice, like a pilot making a trip from Moscow to Paris: see where you’re at every minute, every second, and allow team members and CEOs to make constant course adjustments in real time.
The goal is landing where you need to. Ideally, the goal of a company is to align, communicate effectively and reach/exceed stated goals.
What Might a “Speak-Up” Culture Look Like in Your Company?
Maybe you have some trusted advisors who you can rely on for hard-hitting criticism. But until that mentality reaches every arm of the brand, you may still be losing ground or missing growth opportunities with internal communication that could be better, possibly much better.
Reach out today for an initial call and we can discuss your situation, the type of feedback you receive, and how redefining your workplace with a “speak-up” culture can drive you to new heights.
Feel free to use this link to Schedule a 25 Minute Discovery Call.