Kristy: What Culture Means To Me

Self-organization lead me down an unexpected path.

Being a woman in tech, I encounter the effects of unconscious gender bias regularly. I want to stress the “unconscious” part, these are the things people don’t even realize are influencing them, things people have no idea they’re doing. Things like someone stopping by the Information Security area asking questions, and with each answer I give they turn to one of the men and don’t continue to engage in the conversation until one of the men nods in agreement with my answer. While it doesn’t protect from this particular gender bias, I realized that Holacracy provides protections that create an environment in which some actions based on unconscious gender bias are not possible.

I decided to write an article about my discovery and shared it with some people at work. Within a week that article traveled farther than I ever thought it would and before I knew it I had women from all over the company emailing me, stopping me in hallways, coming by my desk to tell me their stories or asking for advice about gender bias in our workplace. I knew we weren’t immune to it, but I had no idea so many others were suffering from the effects of this. What I heard from these women more than anything was “I thought it was just me.”

This is when I realized the full potential of Holacracy. I had sensed a tension (a gap between where we were and where we could be). I had a unique perspective on this issue, no one else in the company knew just how many women needed help. So I, an Information Security Analyst, engaged my authority as a partner in Holacracy to resolve this tension. I found a team that had a purpose of “Inspiring Zapponians to be the change they want to see”, and decided that felt like the right place to process this tension. I proposed a role (like a new position to be filled in the company) for Diversity and Inclusion Specialist. I was added to the role and began to develop a diversity plan. When I began sharing that plan with others I discovered that almost everyone wanted to be a part of it. I was engaging people, inspiring people, I was leading, and I was trusted to do it.

Where has this unexpected path lead? There is now a diversity team dedicated to making diversity and inclusion a fundamental priority of our company. I gave a talk on our campus about unconscious bias and how we can work together to change the way we handle it, and a week later someone came to me to tell me that I had changed her life. I spoke and it made a difference to someone. I used to think “Who am I to change this?” “If I thought of it, surely everyone else has too.” “Why would anyone want to hear what I have to say?” I didn’t accept that I had the ability to solve these problems until Holacracy gave me a voice. And I realized I had something to say when people started listening.

My thoughts on unconscious bias and self-organization as the socially responsible way to operate a company have reached people in India, Austria, and England in addition to our local community. Holacracy didn’t just give me a voice, it gave me a powerful voice. None of this would have been possible if Zappos hadn’t trusted me enough to give me the authority to change anything I sensed the need to change. Culture means to trust.

Self-organization lead me down an unexpected path.

Being a woman in tech, I encounter the effects of unconscious gender bias regularly. I want to stress the “unconscious” part, these are the things people don’t even realize are influencing them, things people have no idea they’re doing. Things like someone stopping by the Information Security area asking questions, and with each answer I give they turn to one of the men and don’t continue to engage in the conversation until one of the men nods in agreement with my answer. While it doesn’t protect from this particular gender bias, I realized that Holacracy provides protections that create an environment in which some actions based on unconscious gender bias are not possible.

I decided to write an article about my discovery and shared it with some people at work. Within a week that article traveled farther than I ever thought it would and before I knew it I had women from all over the company emailing me, stopping me in hallways, coming by my desk to tell me their stories or asking for advice about gender bias in our workplace. I knew we weren’t immune to it, but I had no idea so many others were suffering from the effects of this. What I heard from these women more than anything was “I thought it was just me.”

This is when I realized the full potential of Holacracy. I had sensed a tension (a gap between where we were and where we could be). I had a unique perspective on this issue, no one else in the company knew just how many women needed help. So I, an Information Security Analyst, engaged my authority as a partner in Holacracy to resolve this tension. I found a team that had a purpose of “Inspiring Zapponians to be the change they want to see”, and decided that felt like the right place to process this tension. I proposed a role (like a new position to be filled in the company) for Diversity and Inclusion Specialist. I was added to the role and began to develop a diversity plan. When I began sharing that plan with others I discovered that almost everyone wanted to be a part of it. I was engaging people, inspiring people, I was leading, and I was trusted to do it.

Where has this unexpected path lead? There is now a diversity team dedicated to making diversity and inclusion a fundamental priority of our company. I gave a talk on our campus about unconscious bias and how we can work together to change the way we handle it, and a week later someone came to me to tell me that I had changed her life. I spoke and it made a difference to someone. I used to think “Who am I to change this?” “If I thought of it, surely everyone else has too.” “Why would anyone want to hear what I have to say?” I didn’t accept that I had the ability to solve these problems until Holacracy gave me a voice. And I realized I had something to say when people started listening.

My thoughts on unconscious bias and self-organization as the socially responsible way to operate a company have reached people in India, Austria, and England in addition to our local community. Holacracy didn’t just give me a voice, it gave me a powerful voice. None of this would have been possible if Zappos hadn’t trusted me enough to give me the authority to change anything I sensed the need to change. Culture means to trust.