Onboarding + Remotely + in a Pandemic
Alt. Title: What I learned in my first month of #onboarding to Facebook during a #pandemic
A month ago yesterday I started onboarding at Facebook to their Learning & Development Organization. To say I was excited is an understatement — probably obvious. I’ve learned a lot in these first few weeks but there are 3 things Facebook has taught me that I did not expect, that have forced me to do a whole lot of unlearning of my own.
We picked you for a reason.
From the second I got there, I’ve been asked to contribute. Not just sitting in, silently. Not just passively observing as others do the real work. New faces are new faces, sure, but being new does not equal being useless. Facebook values new minds, fresh eyes, and has actively pursued the insight and experiences I’ve had, and the expectation is that apply that to my work. Right away. No trial period. We picked you for a reason — and we want all of that, and we want it now.
Hoarding information isn’t a strategy to help everyone succeed.
Whether it’s sharing the latest Chrome tab-grouping technology or sharing the history/context around projects -- I’m finding excitement in folks’ desire to pool resources. Some workplaces foster environments where people are forced to imagine, build, and be their own greatest resource because no one will be that for them. It’s been a breath of fresh air to see everyone throw what they’ve got onto the table. After all, the more we pitch in, the more we have to work with, right?
Management isn’t a status, promotion, or reward.
This one really got me. Facebook doesn’t treat management like a golden ticket, a special club, or reward for tenure. Few are so passionate about management, and it’s not for everyone. Kudos to anyone who (like Facebook) refuses to incentivize their workforces towards management by monetary reward -- that muddies the waters on fit, passion, and drive for work like that.
If there were one theme or takeaway from my first month here it would be this:
Lead with who you are; what you need to accomplish together will follow.
Of course, joining Facebook, I was apprehensive about:
Starting something new
Starting something new, remotely
Starting something new, remotely, in a pandemic
All of these things plus more, but in bold.
But the Facebook team has shown up in a way I wasn’t so sure I’d be lucky enough to see & feel for myself. Routine meetings and impromptu 1x1s alike have baked-in “how are yous.”
So how am I doing, you might ask?
