In an exclusive interview, Lynne Oldham, Chief People Officer at Stash, shares expert insights on driving diversity and performance in today’s workplace. From her extensive board experience, Oldham underscores the importance of diverse board compositions for fostering open communication and collaboration. At Stash, she leads efforts to cultivate a culture of continuous improvement, adapting structures and incentives to inspire teams. Oldham challenges conventional notions, emphasizing the significance of creating an environment where employees feel valued and inspired beyond mere encouragement and incentives. For aspiring CHROs, she advocates broadening skill sets, embracing diverse experiences, and aligning personal goals with organizational missions. Oldham’s expertise offers invaluable guidance for HR professionals seeking to navigate the complexities of modern workplace dynamics and drive sustainable growth.
You currently serve on the board of a diverse set of global organizations. How have you seen the focus on diversity differ amongst these organizations?
Given the political pressures of today, I am delighted to say that the companies I work with have not wavered in their focus and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. These continued efforts on the part of companies are crucial for creating equitable workplaces and societies.
What are the key factors that determine the “ideal” board composition?
From my experience serving on boards in various organizations, an ideal board pulls people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, both professionally and personally, who are open to continual learning. This diversity is critical for an “ideal” board. Board members should be committed to fostering a culture of open communication and collaboration among management and board members. Everyone should share and uphold the organization’s mission, values, and long-term strategic objectives. Their decisions and actions should be guided by a commitment to advancing the organization’s mission and serving the needs of its stakeholders. I believe that in any good company, the best parts of its culture are an equal result of ideas trickling down from the board and ideas trickling up from the team—ideally it should come from both directions. The best boards offer their ideas, expertise, and connections, and then can get out of the way so that the teams can execute.
Stash is known to be a High-Performance Organization. How did you create this culture of continuous improvement throughout the company?
Stash’s mission is so important as well as ambitious. The vast majority of Americans work hard for their money but lack access and the guidance to build wealth—that’s what we’re here to solve. As a company matures, its culture must evolve too. At Stash, we’ve done a lot of work recently to adjust the structure of the org, and reorient towards a performance culture. As we respond to changes in the employee experience—whether that’s a shift to hybrid work, or an emphasis on pay transparency—we can iterate on the mechanisms we use to motivate, retain, and inspire our teams. It’s been extremely exciting to lead the way on a lot of those changes at Stash as we orient towards profitability and scale.
Do you find that encouragement and incentives are enough to drive top performance?
Strong performance needs to be acknowledged, but instead of relying on promotions—which I’ve found to be the modus operandi especially at start-ups—it’s important to look at the entire employee experience. Employees can always receive a better offer or a new title. What can’t be replicated is creating an environment where your employees feel inspired to deliver excellence and where they have clarity on how their work impacts company goals and the future vision.
So what advice would you give to young, aspiring CHROs?
Keep your skillset broad and don’t be afraid to move between industries. HR leaders who are willing and able to learn new businesses and how they operate will have an advantage. Our job is to make companies better using the power of their people. Find a company and team that aligns with your personal mission and goals, and provides you the opportunity to lead a team towards those goals. Different experiences give you the tools to relate to a wide breadth of employees and prospects. When the rest of the company is laser-focused on the product and what it can do for the world, the CHROs keep the team supported so the company can continue to innovate and grow.
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Lynne Oldham, Chief people Officer at Stash Lynne is a successful global Chief People Officer and business leader with 20 years of progressive experience in strategic HR leadership and key talent acquisition in various industries, driving profitable growth strategies for startups, private and public companies, and international organizations. Photo: Stash |