EstimateOne, a tech start-up in the construction industry, is on a journey to autonomous teams where coaching and feedback reign supreme. Using technology as an enabler, they have implemented cross-functional streams that are aligned to different parts of the business.

With not a manager in sight!

This has created a customer-first ethos with no hierarchy that is purpose-built for the business. James Law is leading this mission as Chief of Staff. During his presentation at HR Innovation & Tech Fest NZ, James outlined their key strategies for success.

Watch the full session here, or read a summary of the key takeaways below.

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Below are highlights from his session, edited for clarity.

Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose

Our people told us they wanted hard edges and a soft middle. And what they meant is they wanted parameters. Most people want an idea of where the parameters are, and in between those parameters they want as much autonomy and flexibility as possible.

Self-Managed, Cross Functional Teams (No Managers!)

We felt it was a bit weird that adults were telling other adults what to do every day, so we got rid of managers and broke the business into cross-functional teams. We wanted to build an organisation that didn't rely on one-to-one interaction, and was instead an ecosystem that supported everything you'd get from a traditional manager-employee relationship (mentoring, feedback, guidance, organisational direction, understanding values etc).

Setting Expectations

There is real value in creating a lengthy document that outlines your organisation's expectations. Don't assume that no one reads anything anymore. Don't just think up a pithy title and an acronym with a few words. It doesn't work. People don't understand what it means, they don't ask the questions about it because they think somebody else will, and you don't create an opportunity for a conversation about what's not in the document. All you create is people telling stories in their head about what they think might be the expectations.

Feedback Moments

We closely follow the ideas of Kim Scott and her thoughts in her book “Radical Candorâ€'. She talks about “ruinous empathyâ€', being so empathetic that you're afraid to give feedback. This unlocked something within our people so they started to feel OK to give feedback to others. We also talk about feedback in every meeting we have, similar to mining companies that have Safety Moments in their meetings, we have Feedback Moments where we share feedback that we have given and how it was received/actioned.

HR Leadership

HR people often focus on risk rather than opportunity. Don't be those people. Look for opportunities to make your organisation work better and for people to enjoy what they're doing more. You can only do that by breaking the status quo, getting rid of a lot of the BAU stuff and focusing on the work that adds value.

About the Speaker

James Law has worked at some of Australia's leading online businesses such as seek.com.au, realestate.com.au, betfair.com.au and Envato. He is now plying his trade as Chief of Staff at EstimateOne. He is deeply passionate about creating environments that allow great people to do their best work.

James was a top rated presenter at HR Innovation & Tech Fest NZ 2018.