How alternative leadership brings out the best in people

This blog post is written by Anette Bruvik Sinnes

My business title is COO, but I almost never use it. Two and a half years in ExploCrowd have taught me that our company culture trumps titles and business hierarchy. And more importantly – our alternative business approach provides both social and economic rewards.  

Every company has its pros and cons, but already in my early ExploCrowd days it became clear that this was a company playing by totally different rules. And I say that in the most positive sense!

I will try to explain how our company’s leadership approach brings out the best in people – and in me.

Anette Bruvik Sinnes, ExploCrowd | Photo: Anne Lise Norheim

Successful recruiting does not need to be CV based

In ExploCrowd, it is all about teambuilding. The employment process is about getting to know each other through spending time together as well as personality tests. Your education and experience matter, but not in the traditional sense. It is always more interesting to discover human abilities and collaboration skills, to find out what kind of person you are and what you bring to the team. Because of this approach, your resumé is subordinate to everything else. To me, this was the first time I had a job interview without going through my CV. I remember it was surprising, different, and at the same time, quite liberating.

Rapid decision-making processes lead to new initiative

One of the things I am happy to witness at the office almost daily, is the short distance between words and action in our company. The “let’s do it”-attitude leads to short decision processes, but another positive ripple effect is that it lowers the threshold for new initiative. I think the lack of a traditional business hierarchy is key to the company’s strong sharing culture. Seeing what a simple proposition can lead to is motivating for the whole team.  

A truly diverse team makes it all more interesting

When building and expanding the team, Sidsel is conscious of bringing in people with different personalities and cultural backgrounds – as opposed to hiring the same person repeatedly. This makes the team more complex and, much more interesting. In a diverse team, there is not one answer to a question – there are always numerous. And with the way our business in structured, everyone has a say in decision making. This has great value for the dynamics of the company.

Transparency is key

In ExploCrowd, we share everything. And by that, I mean: Everything. And not only with the core team! Both clients, consultants and partners are treated as colleagues in our meetings, there are no mumbling in corners or VIP meetings. Everyone is included, no matter what your role or responsibility is. And, in addition to making everyone feel welcome, this enables us to move extremely fast.

…and the Unboss Organization is the future, right?

Sidsel strongly believe in the “Unboss” culture, which has been a new and positive experience to me. I think, and hope, that this leadership philosophy will expand to more and more businesses and companies in Norway and globally. When motivated by a purpose, and inspired to do our best, it is easy to be passionate for what we do – together.