I’ve been studying LinkedIn as a company since 2017 when I was writing Bring Your Human to Work. One of the most impressive things I learned was about how about former CEO Jeff Weiner’s “not to be missed” All-Hands Meeting occurred every other Wednesday at 10 a.m.
That doesn’t sound like much, does it?
Okay, how about if I tell you that everyone—even senior direct reports—attended, and religiously?
And that when Microsoft bought LinkedIn, I heard rumors that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella suggested changing the day of the meeting, but Weiner felt that the All-Hands on Wednesday at 10 was so ingrained into the culture that it stayed.
And what if I tell you that I was just at LinkedIn with Dr. Chrissy Roth Francis, LinkedIn’s Director of Talent Management, and it happened to be a Wednesday, and there was a lot of buzz in the air, so I thought…could it be?
I couldn’t imagine that after all these years and Jeff Weiner’s exit, that the All-Hands meeting was on for that day.
But it was!
Dr. Roth Francis told me that during the pandemic they played around with a few different days and times—virtually of course—but nothing stuck. So yes, the LinkedIn All-Hands meeting is still on Wednesdays.
And better yet—she said that many people make Wednesday an “anchor day” to come into the office, go to the All-Hands, and see colleagues IRL.
At LinkedIn, they know how to build community.
With so much coming at us all the time—big changes, new ideas, pendulum swings, not to mention more meetings than we could possibly attend—it’s easy to be reactive instead of intentional.
And a lack of intentionality is a recipe for resentment.
5/1/24
