The ability to work successfully across any department is a unique skill set that can be helpful in any organization. However, for a growth stage company adding new employees in waves, growing 200% annually, and trying to add structure amidst chaos, this skill set is invaluable.
That’s why for the best strategy and ops leaders at growth stage companies, the ability to work collaboratively across departments isn’t just a nice to have, it’s a must have.
And while there is a certain level of experience required to flex between departments and interact with a variety of team members, one commonly overlooked ability is building trust.
On this episode of Aspiring Ops, we had the opportunity to meet with the Chief of Staff at Relativity, Amrit Kanesa-thasan. In addition to sharing his unique perspective working with two different CEOs during his time at Relativity, Amrit also discusses why he views trust as the greatest currency available to a Chief of Staff.
Whether working across departments or between leadership and every other layer of the business, Amrit’s experience shows how establishing trust is essential to success in the Chief of Staff position.
Our Takeaway
‘Strategic planning is really difficult, and it never feels simple.’ We couldn’t agree more with Amrit, and to be blunt, it’s why Elate exists.
We built Elate to provide businesses with a framework for growth that connects a company’s vision to the whole organization.
Amrit shares that while the new remote-work environment forced Relativity to rethink how they communicated across the company, many of the principles they put in place helped support alignment throughout the organization. By reviewing company priorities each week, as well as teams performance against those priorities, Relativity found success in creating a framework that allowed their employees to gain visibility and proactively shape the company’s growth.
Aligning priorities and company themes throughout a company has traditionally been something that was static, reactive, and difficult to rollout. For too long strategic planning was viewed as a set it and forget process, usually done in Q3 or Q4, and it’s outdated the moment Q1 of the following year wraps up.
At Elate, we believe strategic planning should be an ongoing, dynamic process that connects the vision being set by leadership with the accountability, execution and alignment that is felt throughout every layer of the business.
And let’s be real, just throwing an ‘insert acronym’ framework isn’t what we are talking about. Far too many companies fall victim to the belief that an acronym is going to save their business or provide them with sorely needed structure.
The best companies shape their framework around guiding principles from these goal-setting frameworks, but customize them to align with their business. Time and time again we see that the most successful companies don’t view annual planning as a set it and forget it process. Instead they are setting a rhythm and cadence for how they are prioritizing the right things in the business and constantly driving towards an overarching vision that their company has set out to achieve.
Interested in learning more about Relativity? Check out their site here.
Interested in learning more about Elate? Take a sneak peek behind the solution used by today’s leading Strategy and Operations leaders.
