Back in 2014, Microsoft veteran Satya Nadella became CEO and tapped Kathleen Hogan, then the organization’s chief vice president of worldwide services, to be Microsoft’s chief people officer and executive vice president of HR. He quickly handed her a big task.
In 2015, Nadella called for a major transformation of Microsoft’s culture: from a “know-it-all,” fixed mindset culture to a “learn-it-all” growth culture, Hogan says.
Before Nadella issued this call for action, the sprawling organization operated with siloed departments whose employees often waged internal political battles in a highly competitive atmosphere. This toxic environment resulted in the software behemoth falling behind on key technological innovations like mobile computing, gaming and social media, Hogan previously told HR Executive.
Hogan spent about a year laying the groundwork for transformation, focused on defining Microsoft’s “aspire to” culture. She led focus groups, met with employees and managers, organized a “culture cabinet,” and connected with her community of HR executives.
“A lot of times, there is a culture, but it’s not defined. It’s not explicit. We are explicit about what we aspire to, which is this growth mindset,” she says.
The team brought Microsoft’s 200,000 employees worldwide along on the journey. For instance, leadership created hackathons to generate employee input on the culture transformation and has used its listening systems to constantly evolve how it instills a growth mindset.
Fast-forward a decade, and Microsoft has seen its culture transformation pay off in many ways, from improved employee feedback on sentiment and DEI surveys to better customer feedback, Hogan notes.
“We always joke, the minute you think you’ve arrived and have a growth mindset is the minute you have a fixed mindset,” says Hogan, noting that Microsoft’s culture transformation will remain in a state of change or growth, regardless of the many accolades it has received to date. For some HR leaders, that’s a dilemma they would gladly have.
“I humbly say there’s still a lot for us to learn on this journey,” says Hogan, HR Executive’s 2021 HR Executive of the Year.
Hogan recently sat down with HR Executive for a video interview to discuss transforming Microsoft’s culture—which she says has been the greatest challenge she has faced as chief people officer at Microsoft and the most significant opportunity.
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