Structure Has to Follow the Problem | Lindsey Wendland

<p>Lindsey Wendland started her career at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, working on partnerships for its music series and on patron loyalty. She moved into business operations, picked up HR work when a colleague went on maternity leave, and never left. She&#39;s now Head of People. She and Maddie talk about why patron loyalty turned out to be a lot like employee loyalty, what she learned watching the orchestra come back from a musician strike, and why she&#39;d rather write a policy after the same problem shows up three times than write one for a problem that might never happen.</p><p><strong>Takeaways</strong></p><ul><li>Patron loyalty and employee loyalty come down to the same question: are you getting what you expected out of this exchange? For an employee, that means being paid fairly, being respected as a person, and having your skills put to good use.</li><li>Most people problems start pretty small. If you get the small things right and don&#39;t dodge uncomfortable conversations, some of the really big stuff never happens, and you build trust along the way.</li><li>To understand what a team is up against, she sometimes sits in on a meeting that has little to do with her, just to listen.</li><li>&quot;Structure has to follow the problem.&quot; If you get the same question three times, it&#39;s probably time to send something out about it. Every process you add is something people have to work around, so it has to earn its place.</li><li>Eat the frog: do the hardest thing on your list first. The conversation you&#39;re dreading doesn&#39;t get easier when you wait.</li><li>Early in your career, get comfortable with failure. Do things before you feel ready. You probably won&#39;t make the same mistake twice.</li><li>Bring problems to HR early. They tend to be smaller, and there are better options.</li><p><br></p></ul><p>Connect with Lindsey on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-wendland-52024020">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-wendland-52024020</a></p>