Clarity is kindness: How transparency builds trust
Recently Geoff Watts, Global Vice President of Human Resources for Wilson Sporting Goods, joined us to talk about what it takes to lead meaningful work in a hybrid culture today. Geoff shared insights for today’s leaders on how to give people what they want most: trust and meaningful work.
Prefer to LISTEN to this conversation with Geoff? Click here to listen to it on our podcast, Reimagining Work from Within
A strategic leader who empowers his people
I met Geoff through one of our Vancouver-based partners, Bev. From my first chat with him, I was hooked. I consider myself so privileged to talk with leaders who are doing it right; those who are championing their humanness by stepping into trust and vulnerability to lead the workplace cultures of today.
Geoff, an acclaimed cyclist and runner himself, currently serves as the Global Vice President of Human Resources for Wilson Sporting Goods. He has worked around the world, leading HR and other teams in the sports industry. He and the Wilson team
lead their hybrid culture alongside 1,200-plus employees, bringing the company’s unique purpose – “empowering every human to live like an athlete” – to life. And so much more.
He believes that making work mean something is an essential pursuit, and that the key to great business results is to have great people, set a clear vision, and then empower them to do their best.
We sat down with Geoff recently to chat on our Within People podcast, Reimagining Work from Within. Give it a listen here, and read on for highlights of our conversation.
What does it really take to lead meaningful work in a hybrid culture?
We framed our conversation with Geoff around Within’s four focus areas for an equitable employee experience: growth, reward, connection, and flexibility.
GROWTH: Fostering meaning and well-being in a hybrid culture
To start, I asked Geoff how he and the leadership team at Wilson inspire their people to do work that’s meaningful to them.
“First I think it's important to be clear as an organisation where you're headed,” he told me. “When you're clear where you're headed, why you exist, and what you stand for – it’s really easy for employees to want to be part of that, and to bring their full selves to work every day.”
And how do Wilson’s leaders foster and support well-being? Short answer: Clarity is kindness. When you give people clarity on the must-win battles, he said, it allows them to step into responsibility and make the right choices for themselves individually. From this place, they support leaders in meeting the goals of the company, taking care of themselves along the way. “When you get really clear on what you need to achieve as an organisation, leveraging your purpose, then you can create goals and objectives as to what you need to achieve individually,” said Geoff.
To create this clarity and connection to their growth ambitions, the leaders at Wilson each created a video answering these three questions:
What were you most proud of last year?
What are our must-win battles for 2022?
How do you empower every human to live like an athlete?
This sets the direction for growth and gives employees the context they need to connect to where they are going together.
“And that helps everyone filter away what is not important,” added Geoff. “This clear direction enables each person to look at their own priorities and go, OK, I need to start this’, ‘I need to stop that’, or ‘I need to continue this.’”
In turn, this enables each person to make their own choice as to what matters. “And that's really what we need,” said Geoff. “We need each person figuring it out for themselves. That's when we'll scale. And we need to give that longer-term clarity [on our growth goals] as an organisation.”
REWARD AND CONNECTION: Recognizing meaningful work and building community
I also asked Geoff how Wilson creates a sense of belonging for its people. “Through our MVP program, we recognize teammates from around the world who are living and demonstrating our values,” he said. “We ask our global team for stories from around the business and share those stories quarterly.”
The benefits? People receive recognition for great work and start to feel a global connection to one another. “One interesting thing that I actually hadn't expected – maybe one of the most beautiful parts of the program – is that, as we're telling the stories [of the culture champions around the business], the faces of the nominators are also getting shared with our people around the world,” Geoff told me. “ They're putting a face to a name of someone that maybe they'd heard about, but hadn't seen, or had never been in a meeting with. It's stripping down some barriers of understanding within our organisation.”
From there, the momentum builds. People are then on the lookout for more stories to share, further raising awareness.: “When you get really clear on where you're going and what you stand for, the stories that come out are just incredible,” said Geoff. “It's so fun to be surrounded by that. And people just kind of come out of the woodwork saying, ‘We did this and we did this.’ And, ‘Did you know about that?’ It’s incredible to translate these stories into something that all of our employees across the company are experiencing and aware of.”
FLEXIBILITY: Creating space for self-direction through clarity
For Geoff, it comes back to clear objectives and priorities. “[This clarity] enables each person to know what they are accountable for,” he said. And when they know what they’re responsible for, they can then design their lives accordingly, making sure they can achieve the company’s priorities, while also getting the other really important things in their lives done.
“The organisations that are creating a great environment for their teams are the ones helping their people live with urgency and prioritize what’s really important,” he added. And that can be really hard for leaders to operate in. “But increasingly, it’s an absolute requirement for great leaders to plan effectively – so their people know, each day, each week, and each month what must be achieved at each interval.”
Try Wilson’s sharing strategy to create clarity and connection in your own hybrid workplace
To create meaningful connections with your people, try answering these questions and sharing your stories:
What were you most proud of last year?
What are your must-win battles for the rest of 2022?
How can you live your purpose even more?
Then, share the answers with us! We love to see where you’re going and growing.