Erica Keswin

The Figure-It-Out Mindset with Colette Stallbaumer, General Manager of Microsoft 365 and Future of Work at Microsoft

How do the leaders of one of the biggest and most successful tech companies in the world lead in the Hybrid Revolution? With a figure-it-out mindset. Today on the podcast, Erica chats with Colette Stallbaumer, General Manager of Microsoft 365 and Future of Work at Microsoft. Colette explains Microsoft's approach to Hybrid work—it’s centered around a three-part framework: people, places, and processes. They’re using technology and research to implement best practices around empowering managers, hiring diverse talent, embracing flexibility, creating connection and culture in new ways, and staying agile with touch points. Because at the end of the day, as Colette asserts, leading IN a crisis is far different than leading OUT of a crisis. Instead of taking our bad pandemic habits (like working into the evenings and weekends and taking endless back-to-back Zoom calls) with us into the Hybrid Revolution, Microsoft is shifting away from reactive and into proactive processes. Colette also shares some professional and personal rituals from that past year that made quarantine a bit brighter. Listen in to hear insights from one of the leading vanguards in the future of work.

Quotes

1:48 – “We no longer believe that work is a place, right? It’s more of a state of mind and that we want to help be successful in this new normal from anywhere.”

3:05 – “In Hybrid, which we’re moving into now, there isn’t a standard. Everything becomes more complex in flexible work. And that’s really the new leadership challenge for every leader and every organization. It’s going to be figuring that out and figuring out how to empower people in this new, new normal.”

12:43 – “We have a three-part framework around people, places, and processes…And it obviously starts with people. Getting that people piece right is critical.”

23:38 – “The key to flexibility is lots of little things that can have a big impact.”

24:21 – “Taking just a small break—even 5 to 10 minutes between meetings—has a dramatic impact. It resets your brain, it lowers your stress levels, and it increases your cognitive function. And so we just last month came out with a new default setting in Outlook, so people could set that automatically in their organization.”