#100K: Nicholas Scibetta
Germans are not very good at praising. Americans are quite different. They like to start every conversation by highlighting what´s going great. And then friendly but firmly they get down to the problems. Oh sorry, I should call it "challenges”.
All this optimism is not so easy for Germans to bear. Because we believe that compliments distract from real problems. So in fact, for us, communication with Americans can be very confusing. Everything seems to be a bit too good, too positive, missing somehow a clear commitment. (Have a look into Laura Ramoso´s insta story “My German Mother takes control”… then you know what I mean).
Sometimes that's also the case with colleagues. As a German, you believe that you are close friends with someone at work – because you do call each other by first names. But that's not the case at all. American colleagues often remains strict coworkers and they keep a professional distance. Sometimes because you are a somehow strange “European” with wired opinions and odd perspectives about the world.
But then there are U.S.-colleagues who are different. Who are just great, because they take everyone as they are. Because they see the best in everyone - no matter from which corner of the world they come. Because they encourage and support everyone in their team. And they use their American spirit and optimism to connect the world.
Such a rare one is Nicholas Scibetta, with whom I had the honour of working together for so many years. His enthusiasm, co-creation power and openness to everyone and to ideas from all over the world had been incredibly inspiring to me. He managed to connect a network of talent worldwide and I got to be part of that network. So I'm very pleased that Nicholas found time for this #100K interview.
Nicholas, dark times are behind us, right? Three years of pandemic have left their mark. But actually, it seems that everything is going back normal, don´t you think? How do you look back on this time? What experiences have shaped you? And have you learned something you might want to preserve for the future? So this difficult time at least have a further benefit. What do you think?
In addition to exposing a lack of focus and funding on internal communications across many organizations, the pandemic also illuminated gaps in traditional leadership skillsets. One specific example is the critical role of empathy in successful leadership. It is an essential leadership skill, although not brand new, which became a focus due to the unique impacts of the pandemic on individuals, teams, organizational cultures and the role of marketing and communications. Subsequently, there has been recent research underscoring the importance of leading with empathy, with a study by Catalyst on the topic being widely referenced.
It goes without saying that during the stressful time of the pandemic, colleagues, divisions and organizations were being challenged on numerous fronts. This exacerbated existing stressors, in addition to introducing new ones into the workplace. This environment required managers to flex the full complement of leadership skills, including empathy. Leaders were challenged to step into the “shoes” of their team members to understand how they were thinking and feeling about a specific situation. Those who had traditionally practiced empathetic leadership, which also has a level of vulnerability baked into it, had an added advantage in maintaining and reinforcing positive aspects of their team’s culture during this state of uncertainty.
Empathy as a leadership skill was certainly important before the pandemic; however, over these past three years, it has taken on a new level of significance in contributing to positive organizational culture, relationships, and business results. (Read Nicholas’s essay on “Empathy in the time of coronavirus” in Universitybusiness.com).
Nicholas, you've led many global – and great - teams in your career. Many of them have been very diverse and challenging – you led teams with colleagues from different countries, cultures and regions, and also colleagues from very different disciplines. You constantly inspired and motivated all of these teams. In this work I have always perceived you as an extremely creative leader. How would you define your way of working and, above all, how do you manage to be and remain creative?
The energy and creativity of others around me serves as an important driver of my creativity. I thrive on being part of a team and the ideas that come from working together. I strongly believe the process of connecting people, sharing and building on one another’s input and then connecting the collective dots leads to highly creative and actionable ideas. I also think there is not solely one way to drive creativity; some may also take a solo path and arrive at truly unique ideas.
A critical part of ensuring creative success is that everyone involved in the ideation process is heard and has the ability, patience and willingness to be open to other’s ideas – and build on them. I also firmly believe that ideas can come from anywhere and anyone, so bring people into the process from different areas of your organization. Creativity arises when people are actively encouraged to contribute to the ideation process and, in return, are generous with their thoughts and ideas and open to those of others. (That´s exactly what Alex Osborn, the father and inventor of “brainstormings” had in mind with “Rule Number 4”. Osborn asks explicitly for co-creation: “Build on other people’s ideas”. Take the advice of agency IDEO: Try to use “and” instead of “but," it encourages positivity and inclusivity and leads to tons of ideas.)
This supportive attitude says so much about you. And it certainly fits the last question: The pandemic is over. But unfortunately we are not in better times, but in more difficult ones. Financial crisis, energy crisis, climate crisis… And to top it all, we're in the middle of an opinion war. People with different POVs are becoming more and more differentiated. A communication crisis that is blocking us in so many ways. These are challenging times. Times in which everyone should resolve to do something. Find a small contribution making the world a little bit better. How do you see this and where do you get involved for a more positive world?
When it comes to getting involved, I think the first step is identifying what you are passionate about and where you feel you can make a difference based on what you can offer. Numerous organizations provide many opportunities to help others on a global, national or local level. Whether you are helping one individual or a large group, you are making a positive difference.
I volunteer for a program called "Meals on Wheels" which delivers meals to homebound individuals. I am consistently inspired by the incredible people I meet when delivering meals and I feel I get back just as much as I give. My family also supports a child in Kenya through World Vision. I also volunteer, as I think you do too, for the organization “Be My Eyes”. By simply downloading the App “Be My Eyes volunteers and companies are connected to people needing sighted support through live video worldwide. It's a fantastic example of how people around the world - no matter what culture, religion or region - can have an opportunity to help each other as a global community. (This App and it´s community is so impressive: There are more than 6.8 million volunteers from 150+ countries, speaking 180+ languages, helping 530.000 blind and visual handicapped people - For those curious about “Be My Eyes” I recommend this video from the BBC explaining how it works.)
