Empower your people. One of the biggest problems I’ve always seen at companies that don’t have a great culture is that there is a fear that if I do something wrong, I’m going to get fired. I just had a conversation with an employee yesterday and I kept saying, ‘Why wouldn’t you come talk to me about this?’ The response was basically that they were scared. It bothered me because that’s exactly what I’m talking about.
We need our employees not to be scared and for them to truly understand that it’s OK to make a mistake, as long as you’re trying. You’re never going to get in trouble for trying.
Anyone in the company should feel comfortable coming in with an idea or a complaint or an issue or concern and talk to anybody in the company.
If a manager is ever uncomfortable with that person going around them, they are the wrong manager for this company. Now a case in point was this employee I talked to yesterday. Not everybody feels good walking into the CEO’s office and lodging a complaint because they think there is going to be some backlash.
The challenge is convincing them there isn’t and living and breathing that. So when that does happen, there is no retaliation and nobody is in trouble for doing that.
Dare to be different. Weak leaders tend to hire people who look and seem and act just like them and probably have similar backgrounds to them. It’s an area we strive very obviously to avoid. Look at our executive team. What you’ll see is a real amalgamation of people from very diverse backgrounds, ethnically but, more importantly, experientially. That is critical to having a thriving culture.
That is true not only of our executive team but throughout the company. I don’t know any other way to do it. That’s just always the way I’ve done it throughout my entire career. It’s always paid such huge dividends because you get such diverse and different thoughts and ideas.
Don’t be afraid to change. The old-school way is, ‘Hey, we can have these employees’ bodies here from 8 to 5, maybe even longer.’ I would try to convince them that I don’t care at all about having their bodies here from 8 to 5.
I care about having their hearts and minds. If I can get their hearts and minds, then you’ll see e-mails popping in at 10 at night or on a Saturday or a Sunday. It’s not a time-clock environment.
Try not to get hung up on who is doing what when but measure them on the quality of their work. In this day and age, that’s how you’re going to get people’s hearts and minds.
How to reach: Xactly Corp., (408) 977-3132 or www.xactlycorp.com
