Exploring how culture is a building block for career success with Danny Guillory and Taylor Orr

In 2021, Dropbox is at a cultural inflection point. While we previously anchored our culture to perks and physical amenities, like our employee cafeterias, with Virtual First, we must be more intentional when we connect with other people. Dropbox’s success is determined by how well we work with each other. Culture is not separate from our work — it is how we do our work.

As part of Career Development Days, Taylor Orr, Performance Management Lead, recently chatted with Danny Guillory, our Chief Diversity Officer, on the important connection between career and culture. Here are a few highlights from their discussion.

Build high-quality connections

Research has shown that the more strong ties someone has within their organization, the more likely they are to have a positive experience. We should be deliberate about relationship building! Danny and his DEI team set a goal to meet two new people per month, while Taylor joined Coffeebox (an internal Slack channel dedicated to the love of coffee) for networking.

Virtual First creates new career opportunities

Here are some tips on how to thrive in Virtual First:

• Continue to grow your network: Challenge yourself to meet new people beyond the few you interact with every day. You’ll be able to hear about new opportunities and areas of the business you’re curious about.
• Deepen knowledge of your craft: Become an expert in your field to improve your results and build credibility. The deeper your expertise, the more you’ll be called on to consult on higher level projects.
• Constantly ask yourself what you like and dislike about your job: Figuring out what gets you excited about work can help you identify where you want to build your craft.

Our culture enables our our strategic priorities and goals

How do we leverage our culture to evolve the core, invest in the future, and operate with excellence?

• Establish purpose: Make sure team members understand how their work and their team’s work fits into our overall strategy.
• Share vulnerability: People are taught to demonstrate strength and avoid showing weakness. However, if we don’t share challenges, they’ll become bigger issues.
• Build safety: We need to feel psychologically safe to have difficult discussions, challenge ideas, and provide different points of view.

Be a culture carrier

Here are some best practices on how to be stewards of Dropbox’s culture:

• Know your team members and build relationships.
• Suggest starting meetings by connecting with your team’s purpose.
• Normalize conversations around the challenges we’re facing, both personally and professionally.

Want to explore developing your career with Dropbox? You can check out job openings here.