Be intentional instead of reactive

By Erica Keswin

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

About Erica

Erica Keswin is an internationally sought-after speaker, bestselling author, and workplace strategist who partners with some of the most well-known companies in the world on how to bring their human to work. For the past two decades, Erica’s work has defined what it means to be a human leader. Erica’s Human Workplace Trilogy: Bring Your Human to Work, Rituals Roadmap, and The Retention Revolution was published by McGraw Hill and each debuted as a Wall Street Journal bestseller. 

When Erica isn’t writing books, she delivers keynotes, leads workshops, and coaches top-of-class companies and individuals to help them improve their performance by honoring relationships in today’s hybrid workplace.

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