Openness at Work
One of the questions I’m most commonly asked by leaders and partners outside Facebook is some variant of, “how do you create and scale the Facebook culture?” It is very similar to the many questions I have encountered in my 19 years of a HR career and it ultimately comes down to how do you inspire people to stay engaged and take action?
I always say the culture is everybody’s job, and not a result of any ONE thing or any one person — it’s the totality of all the actions everybody in the organization takes each day. It continues to evolve each day with every new person joining Facebook, and a carbon copy of what may work for Facebook, may not work for anywhere else.
There is, however, one foundational aspect of good communications at the core of how we work that’s fundamental to effective leadership at any level of an organization: openness.
Openness is important because it speaks to what people want and expect if they are to feel some sense of ownership and emotional connection to an organization.
Openness means being open in terms of sharing information so employees know what’s going on, and crucially, feel heard. But it also means being, and expecting, an openness to different ways of working — different styles, different opinions, and, critically, feedback. It means openness to change.
Leaders, whether in business, politics, or entertainment, are successful when people follow them — when people have the information they need to do their jobs and have a clear sense of where the organization is going — and when people feel a sense of pride in and ownership over an issue or team. It’s about building trust and helping empower people to make good decisions. It’s often not enough just to share reasoning behind a decision, but also to use human language and show some empathy for those you’re communicating with.
Over time, I’ve found a few key aspects specific to how leaders can be open in a way that works for them, without feeling manufactured or in-“authentic:”
1.Be Personal: Don’t try to be something you’re not, or someone else. Be yourself. Just be yourself. That includes being vulnerable, honest. If something isn’t working, or is worrying you, share it. If you’ve struggled with something that’s relevant and learned a lesson or two along the way, share it. Sharing your own perspective on an event, a trend, or a challenge makes you more relatable and builds trust. Share a story.
“You can tag others and it is a much more elegant way to have a conversation, versus the email conversations that we were having a lot of times.” Stacie Sherer, SVP Corporate Communications, Weight Watchers.
2. Internal before external: Just about everything should be shared internally before it’s shared externally. It gives us the opportunity to get feedback, prepare for public feedback, and to refine and practice our broader messages before going to the public.
It also helps to engage people, energize them towards a common cause and execute on the mission. It makes them feel like they are a part of a community before reading about it in a News Feed or in a newspaper. It communicates that the leader treats people with respect and trust.
3. Feedback: Root your programs in feedback and use data to support wherever possible. Often the feedback helps you figure out what point you’re trying to make. And be clear about what kind of feedback you want, where and how you want it shared, and what you’ve learned or what changes you’ve made from the feedback.
Feedback also helps all people get better together. Without it, people can see the problems and become complacent or jaded if they don’t think their opinion matters or that their insight can make a difference.
4. Enthusiasm: It’s infectious. It inspires. It builds trust. Use it when you can. Especially for people who might not be familiar with an area of work or an issue, it’s your job as the owner of the project or issue to convey excitement and passion, and why people should be interested in a given topic.
5. Internationalize: Remember, increasingly, businesses have audiences for whom at least some English isn’t a first language. Making sure to be clear about your terms and what you mean is important. Clear, simple language is best. Doing meetings and events, or publishing notes or posts with international time zones in mind goes a long way to helping people feel included and being an open, continual part of the conversation.
“I feel like I work down the corridor [from] colleagues in other countries — I feel like I know them so well because of the connections they make on here. That is unique to Workplace versus some other platforms,” Stacie Sherer, SVP Corporate Communications, Weight Watchers.
Going back to my original question at the beginning of this post, “how do you create and scale culture?”. We have been very fortunate in having the benefit of Workplace by Facebook, which has been instrumental in helping create that openness, being personal, sharing internally before externally, giving and receiving feedback, showcasing enthusiasm and internationalizing by translating across languages.
With 19 years of HR experience under his belt, Sameer Chowdhri is the global lead for CHROs and digital HR experts who use Workplace. An avid golfer and car enthusiast, Sameer is a father of twins and is currently reading the “Originals” by Adam Grant.
