At Feed Media Group, company culture matters. Two and a half years ago, our company looked very different – we had a team of 12 employees working in an office. As we entered a new phase of growth, we inevitably had to evolve in the ways we collaborated. Now, as a team of almost 40 employees experiencing hyper-growth and working remotely, we felt it was timely for us to revisit our core values. It is important to us that each employee contributes to shaping our organizational culture and sees themselves represented in our core values.
Through our company-wide DiSC Assessment, I discovered that my top motivators include developing relationships, making connections, and being able to use my intuition in my work.
Combined with my unique career experience nurturing donor relationships and facilitating trainings – I felt well-equipped and excited to tackle this update for our team. When I started this project, I wanted to ensure that each of our employees had the opportunity to contribute and share feedback while also being mindful of their time. Therefore, in order to maximize participation, I set up three different ways to participate: a survey, community brainstorming sessions, and a 1:1 listening tour to dive deeper into organizational culture. I’m excited that the vast majority of the company was able to participate in shaping the final outcome!
After synthesizing all of the data, I was able to help articulate the three core values that really matter to us today. As a company, we are driven to:
- BE KIND.
We nurture healthy interpersonal relationships treating each other and our customers with respect, honesty, and open-mindedness. It doesn’t mean we always agree – true collaboration means that sometimes we will disagree and still commit.
Kindness helps us lead with intention, being mindful of our interactions with others and the impact those interactions have.
- EVOLVE.
We have a deep-seated desire to learn.
As a result, we are resourceful – whether it’s finding innovative solutions to business needs, or leveraging and growing employee skills to create growth opportunities within FMG. An innovative mindset is essential to our work. We remain adaptable and embrace change.
- OWN IT.
We take full ownership, are empowered to execute ideas, and take pride in the impact of our meaningful work. We look for solutions and constantly ask – how could we do this better?
While we enjoy the freedom of working autonomously, we also trust our collaborative team to follow through and do what they say they will do.
Core values are not only what is true and authentic for us right now but they are also meant to be aspirational. We pride ourselves in nurturing an environment that allows for a healthy work-life balance, so as a result, we strive to empower our employees to define healthy boundaries.
Personally, I find it inspiring to have found a community that is so aligned and yet vastly diverse. The authenticity that exists amongst our team is unmatched. We witnessed a few of the creative and brilliant minds on our team, at our recent company retreat during TED Talk hour. Presentations included:
- “UX Development: Where Design and Engineering Meet” by Hugh Guiney
- “Black Metal And Its Influence In Modern Pop Music” by Juan Hernandez-Cruz
- “Women Empowering Women And What I’ve Learned Going To Burning Man That I Weave Into My Everyday Life” by Amy Bauer
- “Celestial Navigation And The Art of Communication: Sailing And Leadership” by Dario Slavazza
Bottom line, a great organizational culture leads to business success. What I know for sure is that building a team community like this was no accident, at FMG we lead with intentionality.
As a result of this process, we are now revisiting and updating our working norms. Additionally, we will be incorporating the core values into our annual review process. This will enable accountability, as we put the values into action, embed them into our work, and continue to evolve.
Join our team of creatives working remotely, and working together to help everyone experience the power of music!
