Spotify is one of the bigger companies to have embraced remote-work post Covid. Since it has a long history of operating with a traditional in-office model, it means more nuanced approach is needed to culturally transition to the new model, compared to newer companies with ‘remote-minded’ teams being built ground-up.
We spoke with with Vasu Gulati, Subscriptions Lead at Spotify, to delve into his MO for ensuring a smooth transition during the transformative phase. In an era of radical new approaches, he surprisingly relies on a classic time-honoured practice to support the transition.
‘Feedback Culture’ FTW
“In remote setups,” Vasu points out, “communication can sometimes feel disjointed. The ‘Feedback Culture’ is like a catch-all safety net”.
The transformative effect of this happens when it is not seen as a process, but as a mindset. Vasu shares, “It’s about a culture of feedback “baked” dialogue, where feedback isn’t a separate formal thing. It is part of the daily exchange, as is hello/hi etc”.
Vasu explains “This approach isn’t like sporadic performance reviews, it’s about cultivating an environment where feedback is a natural part of our day to day interactions”.
Leaders play a pivotal role for such a culture to flourish, he further highlights.
“As a leader it is my job is to encourage openness and vulnerability, making it clear that feedback is a shared responsibility, not a mere top-down mandate. To create a vibe where feedback easily flows on all the aspects team feels worth voicing out on.”
Vasu’s ‘Feedback Culture’ fluidity transforms remote leadership from distant management to ground-up co-creation, keeping the team in sync on all matters big or small, thereby amplifying its collective intelligence.
Especially in the absence of hallway bump-ins which often took care such ‘subtle’ communication needs within the team, this approach ensures that no perspective goes unshared, despite the physical distances among people.
“Remote collaboration depends on understanding and trust,” Vasu shares. “When feedback becomes an inherent practice, there are lower chances of things slipping through the cracks. I believe that this practice flips the disadvantage of being physically apart on its head and has overall improved our communication.” Vasu shares.
However, translating such a behaviour from ‘off-the-record’ hallway interactions to structured team meetings isn’t as straightforward as it sounds.
To make such exchanges happen isn’t as simple as choosing to do it, “That’s the difficult bit,” Vasu elaborates. “It is not easy to be radically honest in forums like team meetings. Feedback can be as uncomfortable to share, as it is to be at the receiving end of it. This is where the encouragement to drop the formalities becomes crucial and remind the critical role this, sometimes uncomfortable, practice plays in helping us do well as a remote-team. “
But the rewards of this practice go beyond just work success —it’s also deepens friendships. “When people feel safe to share their thoughts more freely, comfort levels among distant colleagues also go up and their relationships deepen. And that is a gift which keeps on giving by further improving our communication”.
Vasu’s remote leadership insight demonstrates the maxim “feedback is a gift.” And in remote teams, this gift is invaluable. By learning from this insight, leaders finding themselves in similar situations can effectively guide traditional teams through the transition into the remote work era.