HRO Today March 2021 - 44

LEADING WITH EMPATHY
" One of the responsibilities of leadership is to define the
long-term vision of the organization and to establish
more short-term goals for employees in order to
transform those plans into reality, " says Lajoie. " That's
where there should be more focus-spend more time
learning about the needs and inner purpose of the
employees and then really set the tone in the approach
taken by the employees to achieve the organizational
goals. "
Once leaders understand the motivations that are
driving their employees, they can set clear expectations
and guidelines and check in frequently to see how
employees are progressing on those goals. Marius
Ronnov, CEO of Cubert, a company creating care brands
that support health and happiness, says that leaders at
his organization speak with their teams every quarter to
understand what they are trying to accomplish for the
business and how their motivations are evolving.
" Sometimes, that means that people tell me that they're
planning a family or they're saving up for a house or that
they're working really hard because they're motivated
about a certain part of the business, " he explains.
" Individual contributors have an open rapport where
they can lay their cards on the table with their senior
manager, and we can help them plan towards where they
want to be in their life and in the business. And that's
really important-this is a very open, candid rapport
where the direct manager suddenly becomes a mentor or
a confidant in the individual contributor's development.
It's at the core of what it means to be empathetic. "
Based on these conversations, managers set specific
alignment opportunities for their team members.
Objectives and key results are discussed quarterly and
in weekly one-on-one check ins, giving leaders an
opportunity to frequently connect with team members
on goals and ensuring better organizational alignment.
In turn, Ronnov says that he is also very open about
his own priorities and development goals as a business
leader. " It's a humbling experience because employees
align to my goals very often once they understand
why my priorities are what they are. Getting into a
conversation about the motivations behind priorities
and using that as a tool almost every time you connect is
really important. "
Embracing Overcommunication
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HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | MARCH 2021
Remaining candid and transparent about business
performance-good or bad-is another component
of empathetic leadership that should not be ignored.
Offering visibility into key performance indicators and
being honest about the failures of the business gives
employees a sense of shared responsibility for business
success and safety in making mistakes.
Cubert does this by leading weekly all-hands meetings
to share updates and discuss learnings. These meetings
follow the same structure every week, communicating
a range of metrics to help employees build up their
business acumen while digging into the company's
quarterly learnings.
" We try to break it down into why we think we failed
or succeeded, and then we invite a couple of individual
contributors to give us their assessment because they
were in the field creating some of these results-good
or bad-and they articulate some of the things that they
learned as well, " says Ronnov. " This gives employees
as much information and insight into the business
as we possibly can, and in return, we get trust and
responsibility. "
This is something that Doodle is attempting to implement
as well. According to Lajoie, the company has organized
weekly talks between product teams to discuss failures
and learn from mistakes together. This reduces product
silos, creates a safe space for learning, and improves
connection across the organization.
By being radically honest with the workforce about
company performance, Ronnov says that he can feel safe
trusting that his employees will make good decisions
based on what is best for the business and their
understanding of its overall objectives.
" Trust truly comes from a place of giving team members
the reigns and the resources to show what they can
do, " he explains. " That is really something we're
emphasizing-giving employees the ability to make
choices for the business and for themselves within specific
guardrails and visibility into our business. "
Creating Opportunities for Connection
While sharing goals, business successes, and even failures
undoubtably produces cohesion across teams, leaders
should also make sure that they create opportunities for
employees to connect on a personal level.
HRO Today March 2021

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