How Focus, Strong Leadership, and Culture Saved Microsoft
As I think back on my career, I never thought I would be a follower/admirer of a very large corporate brand let alone the most valuable company in the world. Having many experiences with bad leadership in big companies, I never aspired to work for one. But, Satya Nadella’s approach to leadership, culture and business 101 is very refreshing and demonstrates that any size business can succeed regardless of their size.
New Leadership, Tried and True Business Philosophy
Prior to Nadella ascension to Microsoft’s CEO throne, the company was on its deathbed. The culture was off, sales weren’t good, and morale was in the hole.
Microsoft’s post-Nadella story, on the other hand, couldn’t be more different. In fact, in his first two years as CEO, Nadella helped Microsoft raise its stock price by 34%. Furthermore, Nadella restored Microsoft’s reputation as a forward-thinking tech company (rather than a respectable but ageing PC software company), with a $26Bn purchase of LinkedIn.
Here’s what I’ve learned by observing Nadella’s ways.
Want Employees to Think Outside the Box? Provide the Box.
Satya no-BS leadership style focused on important things and brought about a culture of empowerment and entrepreneurialism.
Personally, I have a Nadella-inspired philosophy about what empowerment means, and it’s nothing to do with giving employees a “blank canvas”. In my eyes, that’s either lazy, distracted, or in many cases a lack of leadership training.
On the contrary, I believe people need boundaries to be creative.
In an agency environment, for instance, you have a creative brief for all team members, a one-page document that’s clear and concise. It puts your creatives a box, allowing them to think outside of it. I call it empowerment through boundaries, and I believe it’s a methodology that should apply across industries and in any company.
It’s More Than Ping Pong
Ping-pong tables and monthly pizza nights are great, but they’re just dressing. I’m talking about truly empowering and nurturing each employee on an individual basis.
The culture of risk-taking and boldness needs to be instilled, so employees are not fearful of making mistakes.
I encourage the companies I work with to have weekly meetings where employees are encouraged to share their stories of failure. Every week, employees talk about mistakes they made, how it impacted them, how it impacted his or her teammates. Some embrace it, some shy away. The purpose is to help foster a culture of daring employees who go against the grain for the sake of innovation, customer service, marketing, sales, product development, and the list goes on. It sends a company-wide message that trying and failing is okay, and a mistake doesn't mean that you'll lose your job.
Ask yourself:
Do your employees know the goals of the company on a day-to-day basis?
Does each employee know his or her purpose within the company?
Do you hand out job descriptions and employee training that encourages freedom and innovation?
Are you micromanaging employees while expecting them to go above and beyond?
Are employees encouraged to come to you with ideas, or are they told to checkboxes?
To attract the best talent, young and old, you need to give them a reason to come in each day - other than just a paycheck. If you do, productivity will increase.
Less than thrilled with your answers? Let’s talk.
