Silvija Martincevic of Deputy: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO
An Interview With Doug Noll
Start with trust. Trust building must be intentional and never assumed. It begins with a willingness to be vulnerable and is followed by processes that create opportunities for regular real talk, radical transparency, and focus on the facts and numbers. In the end, it’s about following through and doing what you say you’re going to do.
As a part of our series called ‘Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO’ we had the pleasure of interviewing Silvija Martincevic.
Silvija Martincevic is the CEO of Deputy, a global platform for managing hourly workers. She leads a team whose mission is to simplify shift work and create thriving workplaces in every community. Today, more than 330,000 workplaces in over 100 countries use Deputy to streamline scheduling, communication, engagement, and onboarding for millions of shift workers.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Of course! I was born and raised in Croatia. Both of my parents were shift workers — my mother worked in a factory and my father was a truck driver. When I was 17 years old, I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship that allowed me to come to America to learn English — this changed the trajectory of my entire life and it was made possible by my family, who pooled their earnings together and sent me to the U.S. with $400 in my pocket.
Coming from this background, and understanding the opportunities I’ve had, I grew up with a desire to pay it forward and to work in areas and industries where I’d be able to make a difference in the world. To that end, in college, I studied economics and statistics, and then spent the first 10 years of my career finding socially responsible ways to invest in economically disadvantaged communities. Throughout my career, I consistently sought out opportunities to work with teams that prioritize socially responsible goals, which is why joining Deputy was an effortless decision for me — our mission at Deputy aligns perfectly with my obsession of utilizing technology for the betterment of society. Every day, we help shift workers (⅔ of all workers are shift workers — just like my own mother and father) and employers better manage shift work through digitized communication, real-time employee engagement scoring, bias reduction in scheduling, and increased flexibility and efficiency for workers and managers.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
As a leader, I am customer obsessed. If we don’t understand the needs of our existing and future customers, we will never innovate in ways that truly delight them — and that’s what we’re here to do. To better learn what our customers are looking for, I’ve had the privilege of speaking to many of them over the last few weeks and the most interesting story comes from one of those interactions.
At the end of March, I was in the U.K. and had the opportunity to visit with team members from HC-One, an elderly care company and one of our largest customers in the U.K. At the onset of the pandemic, many of us were on lockdown in our homes, but HC-One’s workforce of 19,000 had to continue providing care for the elderly population. As we remember, COVID-19 created widespread panic and anxiety — especially in elder care, where they were caring for the most vulnerable members of the population in conditions where COVID could spread rapidly without the right precautions. When I asked our HC-One customer how Deputy helped the company, she told me, “Deputy saved lives.” She further emphasized that knowing what the various policies were and communicating effectively in real-time was super important, and Deputy helped them do that. It’s interactions like this that make what we do so real, and help us all to understand the impact our product has on society. It’s also stories like these that help to inspire Deputies to continue to work so hard — it brings meaning to what we do each day.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I mentioned that I was born and raised in Croatia and didn’t learn English until I was a teenager. As an “ESL” (English as a Second Language) professional, I’ve been known to make some mistakes — especially with idioms. It’s happened more times than I can count — I might be having a serious discussion where I add in a figure of speech or idiom, and rather than head nods, I get laughter! One of the many examples being, “Kill one bird with two stones,” — I’m sure my team has a lot more.
The lesson learned was that it’s ok to laugh at yourself — and that sometimes, a little humor humanizes leadership, lightens the mood, and gets you to where you need to go even faster. Being human means making mistakes.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am lucky to be surrounded by an empowering group of leaders who have offered endless support, wisdom, and inspiration. I have had incredible mentors who guided me in my toughest moments and challenged me to get out of my comfort zone. I am inspired by those who have mentored me and I am passionate about doing the same for others.
One person who has had the greatest impact on me and who I have become, is my grandmother, Marija. I lived with my grandmother during the 90s, which was an extremely turbulent time for Croatia — many of my family members were displaced as a result of the Balkan wars, and we had 16 of them living with us in a small house. Through it all, my grandmother held us all together and taught me to keep imagining all of the possibilities the future could hold, while constantly reminding me to be tough AND kind. It was she who encouraged me to go to the U.S. at such a young age by myself. She imagined a better life for me, and I believed her.
When I first immigrated to the U.S., there was a Rotary Club member in Green Lake, WI who helped pay for my room and board in college. He believed in me and encouraged me to strive higher. That being said, I worked various jobs in addition to my studies and paid him back with my earnings along the way; he saved every penny and gave it all back to me after I graduated. I’ll never forget his kindness. I carry his words with me every day — he told me, “Silvija, your character is your destiny,” and I live by that. No matter how smart you are, if you don’t have good character and you’re not a person of integrity, your success will be fleeting.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?
Some of our toughest decisions as leaders are those we make about people. While skills can be measured objectively, trust, integrity, and character are more nuanced — but even more important in determining whether or not you can create a high-impact team. Sometimes your highest performer might lack integrity and in those situations, I’ve learned that it’s best to act quickly and to move them out. Taking no action sends an equally negative message to the organization — the behavior you permit is the behavior you will be perceived to support. The success of every organization depends on our ability to act with collective integrity.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?
The CEO is ultimately accountable for the company’s performance, culture, and vision. We are the ultimate champions of our customers and of the kind of culture we want to create. In that sense, the CEO needs to be a reflection of a company’s soul and ambition.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive? Can you explain what you mean?
The biggest myth is that leadership at the CEO level requires a “command and control” style. We now have so much more diversity in the C-Suite (with even more room to improve), and this diversity is revealing that there are many ways to lead! Some of the best leaders that I’ve met are those that lead with empathy and compassion, they are not only great commanders but also wonderful communicators and collaborators. I want people to know that if they want to become an executive or CEO, they should do it in their own way and be true to themselves as they become leaders of others.
What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?
For most of my career, I served as a “number two” — I was very content to lead from behind and not be in the spotlight. I thought that in order to be CEO, I’d have to be overconfident, would have no private life, and that I’d always have to have the right answers.
What I learned, however, is that being a CEO is all about leading and influencing really capable and incredible people. You do that by communicating and connecting with them through empathy — that’s what I’ve been doing my entire career. I’ve always looked at the work that I did through the lens of others and that has served me well. I’ve also learned how to build amazing teams that I can lean on — if I didn’t have the right answers, I knew they would help me get there!
Do you think everyone is cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?
I think every executive has the ability to be CEO but many don’t have the desire. Being a CEO is a massive responsibility — you are accountable for the success of a business that employs people and impacts the lives of countless customers. It is a privilege that comes with a great sense of responsibility and requires daily improvement. To be successful in a role like this, you must be a growth-minded leader who thrives in ambiguity and comes from a place of curiosity and passion. There is no destination — the only destination is continually elevating as a team.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help create a fantastic work culture? Can you share a story or an example?
I think a fantastic work culture is one where leaders trust one another. This means that they have no problem challenging each other’s ideas for an hour and then being able to go grab lunch and share a laugh right after. Having deep trust in a team also means there is no artificial harmony, meaning you pretend everything is ok. In an artificial workplace, mistakes are never discussed and therefore never fixed! There is no workplace on the planet that does not have conflict — and that conflict becomes healthy with a foundation of trust. For me, I don’t just bring elephants to the room, I put them on the table. I want to tackle tough topics head-on. I teach my team that we need to be buffalos, known for their ability to weather storms together as a group. Instead of trying to outrun the storm, they run into it and come out on the other side much faster. This behavior is not only a survival mechanism, but it also fosters a sense of community and teamwork. Strong bonds and cooperation are essential to any team’s success.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
My ultimate mission in life is to utilize technology for positive change and make a significant impact on marginalized communities. To that extent, I am on the board of directors for Kiva, a non-profit organization that allows people to digitally lend money to low-income entrepreneurs and students. I also sit on the board of directors for Lemonade, Inc. — a Certified B Corporation with a mission to disrupt insurance and make it into a public good.
At Deputy, we are impacting the future of shift work, which, unlike knowledge work, has not been the subject of much technological investment over the last decade. We are here to change that. Deputy has the right technology, the right team, and the right culture to capture this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a massive impact on the lives of the world’s 2.7 billion shift workers. I can’t imagine a more important mission to tackle, with a more lasting impact on the world.
Fantastic. Here is the primary question of our interview. What are your “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1 . Start with trust. Trust building must be intentional and never assumed. It begins with a willingness to be vulnerable and is followed by processes that create opportunities for regular real talk, radical transparency, and focus on the facts and numbers. In the end, it’s about following through and doing what you say you’re going to do.
2 . It’s all about the talent. You can have the best product in the world, and the best processes ever imagined, but if you don’t have the right talent and the right DIVERSE mix of that talent that is capable of challenging each others’ ideas, beliefs, and biases, you will never reach your full potential as an organization.
3 . You are THE example of what ownership and accountability look like to the organization — all eyes are on you. Be willing to admit your mistakes, be willing to change course when you need to, and hold yourself accountable for results. Failure anywhere in the organization is personal.
4 . Ruthlessly prioritize. No matter who you are — you can’t stop time, add hours to your day, or magically be in two places at once. This means you must be diligent about questioning how you spend every minute of your day. If it’s not value-added time, it’s time wasted. It’s not always easy to delegate, but with trust and the right team, delegation is the only way to maintain effectiveness.
5 . Stay curious and stay humble. Leading a company does not mean that you know everything. Remaining curious and continuing to learn from those around you — whether they be employees, customers, colleagues, or mentors — is critical to your success and continued growth and to the success of your business.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Changing the face of innovation and entrepreneurship in the U.S. and allowing more underrepresented groups to meet their full potential. If you look at the tech industry today, only 15% of CEOs are women, and women-led startups received only about 2.3% of global venture capital investment in 2020. I would love to see these numbers inch closer to 50% or higher.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
It is from a book I enjoyed reading for my kids called “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse” by Charlie Mackesy. “‘Is your glass half empty or half full?’ asked the mole. ‘I think I’m grateful to have a glass.’ said the boy.” This is a great lesson in gratitude and one that I think about often.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them
I hold a deep admiration for Melinda Gates and her contributions to the progress of global health, development, education, and social justice. Her unwavering commitment to advocating for women’s rights and gender equality is particularly significant in our world today. I feel a strong sense of alignment with her passions.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.
