“Anyone should be able to tell me anything”

Sep 30, 2015 07:32 GMT  ·  By

Satya Nadella replaced Steve Ballmer at the helm of Microsoft in early 2014, and now he's credited with bringing a completely new energy in the company, as the software giant is transforming into an entity that's focused on consumers more than ever before. Or at least, that's the final goal.

Nadella has a totally different approach as compared to his predecessor not only to consumers but also as far as employees are concerned, with Microsofties considering him a true people person.

And in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Nadella explains how he manages to keep the company together and reduce the gap between the leadership team and the rest of employees.

First of all, Nadella says that he holds a 4-hour meeting with the senior leadership team every Friday in order to make sure that he knows every little thing that's happening within the company, but also to discuss future plans and how the company's business can be further improved.

“Once a month we have an eight-hour meeting, and the other three weeks we have a four-hour meeting. The senior leadership team of any company [has] got to stay on the same page. Any organization can easily devolve into a bunch of silos,” he explains.

Meetings with employees

And that's not all. Nadella also pays sudden visits to employees at their offices to talk to them directly and hear what everyone has to say. He believes that every Microsoft worker should be able to tell him anything, an approach that emphasizes the company's commitment to open communication with everyone.

“Anyone should be able to tell me anything. That’s the culture we strive for. I actively spend a lot of time with my leadership team, but I also spend a lot of time with the grass-roots employees. I go visit people in their offices. Sometimes unannounced… you can ask a few questions and know what’s happening,” he continues.

Nadella's strategy clearly sounds like a smart step towards the “One Microsoft” plan that he wants to establish, but this doesn't mean that it's all just milk and honey within the company. Some new workers are still having a hard time integrating into their new teams, and managers don't seem to help at all in a number of cases. Maybe this is where Nadella should improve things.