Kami Bond is the Senior Vice President of People at Uptake, a Chicago-based predictive analytics company that was recently valued at over $2 billion and was considered one of Forbes’ hottest startups in America. Prior to her role at Uptake, Kami has had a wonderful career in various companies such as Cielo Talent, Aon Hewitt, GE Healthcare and Sapient. She has been in the human capital space for about 20 years in technology or technology-enabled professional services organizations and is now a dedicated career-mom.
In this episode of The Culture Gap, Kami talks about the importance of being authentic and real and about the need to develop the people in your team and organization. She discusses the possibility of pushing yourself to things beyond the limits you thought you could reach for and how a mismatch between the culture of an organization and individual values can result in a loss for both parties. Welcome to Culture Gap.
Key Takeaways:
[:43] Daniel introduces his guest for this episode — Kami Bond.
[1:43] Who is Kami Bond?
[2:35] What are some of Kami's deepest held personal values? Who are some of the leaders that have shaped the some of the values that Kami brings to her organization as a leader?
[4:54] Kami has had a long career of working with diverse companies. What is Kami's mental model for people and culture, and identifying gaps that need to be closed through the strategy of the company?
[7:55] What has Kami learned in her experiences about the role of communication in closing culture gap?
[12:44] Daniel and Kami touch on the reality of the fact that getting company culture to where it needs to be is a full-on, dedicated process.
[15:57] What has Kami learned about change management at GE, one of the most iconic companies in America?
[20:40] Kami discusses whether the Chief Human Capital Officer is or should be, by default, the Chief Culture Officer? What role does the CEO or President have in this aspect?
[23:22] How does Kami approach the duality of internal communications in culture, and the external branding at the same time?
[24:52] In her career, Kami has been a champion to minimize and eliminate gender and diversity gaps inside organizations. While progress has been made, how much further do we have to go?
[29:10] What is the regional role in terms of values adopted by a company? How does Kami intend to bring in other values that are not traditionally within the region as her company grows?
[32:47] Companies need to be unapologetic about their culture and the fact that it is not for everyone. A mismatch between an individual's values and the company culture ultimately results in a loss for both parties.
[35:04] How does Kami interpret Uptake’s CEO’s declaration about reducing drama, politics, and bureaucracy in the workplace and how does this translate into concrete actions?
[39:53] From a culture and feedback perspective, how does Kami approach working with four generations in the workforce? What is her advice for a multi-generational workforce, with a special emphasis on the power of the Millennial generation?
[43:58] What advice would Kami give her younger self?
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