In less than a year, 15Five has rapidly scaled up from about 70 employees to over 200. Now many people might assume that the company culture that we strive to nurture has suffered as a result. However, we’re happy to say that our culture is now stronger than it has ever been (and we know this because 15Five is ranked as the #3 best place to work in the country on Glassdoor.) So today we’re talking about how to scale culture while simultaneously undergoing hyper-growth.
We share what we have learned as leaders of a company during this period of rapid growth. We discovered that being attuned to what your people are feeling and thinking is a key part of supporting them during this process. To that end, we discuss how we listen to our people and use their feedback in constructive ways.
While there were a number of things we had in place prior to growing that helped create a strong culture, we also made many changes in the past year. We chat about what those were, such as revamping our onboarding process, to make it successful. Additionally, focusing on honesty, gratitude, and vulnerability was instrumental in this process. We discuss how you can make this part of your successful expansion as well.
How can you uncover the true values and purpose of your organization so that you could scale up while maintaining culture? Share in the comments!
In this episode
- How to know if your company has a strong and supportive culture
- Ways that you can best listen and respond to your people through feedback loops
- What happens when you create high levels of trust and vulnerability so that truth can flow more easily through your organization
- What the Best-Self Kickoff is and how you can use it tos set expectations and prepare your employees for the greatest professional experience of their lives
- Ways to maintain a cohesive leadership team as the fortunes of business ebbs and flows
- Universal principles that any company can implement to create a thriving culture
Quotes
“Fundamentally, as a leader, if you want to scale your culture, you need to get good at listening. You need to be attuned to the human beings inside your organization.” [2:29]
“You don’t succeed in business by staying still. You need to engage. You need to hear things that are happening and then be able to make quick decisions and then act upon them.” [6:07]
“Respect people. Respect that they showed up. Respect and feel honored that they’re interested in working here. Respect their journey even if they’re not a good fit for this role. Respect them.” [27:18]
“Regardless of whether you’re in hyper-growth now or will be in the future, you can never start too early in creating that strong center of gravity of the culture.” [37:19]
Links
VaynerMedia
CNBC: GlassDoor’s 2020 Best Places To Work
Gallup StrengthsFinder
The Enneagram
Best-Self Kickoff
Practices for a Positive Workplace
Center for Positive Organizations
Listen to Best-Self Management Here
Find 15Five online
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