As I read The Open Organization, I had a recurring realization. Page after page, chapter after chapter, I just kept thinking, "Wow. This is my story." My guess is that most of us who have been part of the Red Hat team for many years will feel similarly.
The book is full of stories from Red Hatters, most that I'd heard before or been a part of, and also a few that were new to me. Regardless of whether the anecdote was familiar, it often reflected so much of my own experiences. It drove home a lesson that I'd also learned, in my own ways. It pointed to "a ha" moments that I, too, had experienced when learning to operate and lead within an open organization.
In addition to offering new ideas to companies that have taken a more traditional route, I see The Open Organization as a gift to people who join any open organization—particularly new Red Hatters. It's full of artifacts and stories that can help accelerate inclusion into a new culture. It can promote understanding and adoption of new ways of working and leading.
In short, this is the book I wish I'd had when I arrived at Red Hat in 2001, with my MBA and JD in hand, eager to make an impact.
Welcome to Red Hat
I came to Red Hat with excitement about using copyright law to turn the world of software upside down—by requiring the sharing of code versus the hiding of it.
But what I didn't expect was that my views about management and leadership would also be turned upside down. I joined Red Hat straight from a law firm, and what I understood and experienced about leadership came from my experiences there, where I gave legal advice to leaders at proprietary technology companies.
If you've ever read a John Grisham novel, you will know that most law firms have a clear and immovable hierarchy. The typical "rank order" is: legal assistants, then the paralegals, then the junior associates and the senior associates, and finally at the top, counsel and partners. Your position in that hierarchy dictates where you sit, what you do, how you speak, and ultimately, your level of power and influence.
When Red Hat hired me as the second attorney on a team of two, I thought I was being hired as an expert who senior management would consult when they needed guidance. I assumed my role would be that of a typical attorney: to explain the relevant legal issues and help the business leaders make more effective business decisions. I expected that my new colleagues would think of me just like when I was outside counsel (where I was being paid by the hour), and move quickly to adjust their decisions based on my legal advice.
A stranger in a strange place
To my great surprise (and dismay), I discovered that my new colleagues at Red Hat did not automatically give my opinions the most weight. Rather, I needed to have a dialogue and fully explain my rationale and conclusions to demonstrate the value of my perspective. Offering just the facts and a flat legal perspective did not resonate with this passionate bunch of people.
Those first few months at Red Hat were hard. For the first time in my legal career, I couldn't depend on my credentials, my knowledge, or my billable hourly rate to fast-track my influence and get others to consider my sage perspective. I also couldn't look to senior management to automatically set expectations that their teams should do what I suggested. I learned that the coders knew just as much, if not more, about the various open source licenses and their best use than I did!
So there I was, excited to be part of this mission-driven organization, but not at all sure how to best add value to it. I realized that what I needed to do most was just observe how things worked. I saw that leaders in this company emerged (they were not anointed), and the most effective managers would bring together the people who could best solve a problem, and then step aside and let them figure it out. I discovered that my biggest task was to build credibility, so that people would be willing to hear me out. To do that, I would have to demonstrate my understanding of the issues and show how I could contribute to solutions, no longer as sage outside counsel, but as an equally passionate member of the team.
Lessons for leaders
It would be a mistake to romanticize the experience of working at Red Hat. The Open Organization most often describes Red Hat on our best days, but it does offer some glimpses into how tough this environment can be. I think this book can prepare people for what life in an open organization is like: often demanding, fast paced, full of passionate people who expect to participate in decision making and who want as much transparency as possible. Sometimes it's exhausting, but it is also so very rewarding, especially when you start to figure it out.
If leaders take one thing away from this book, I hope it's the importance of passion. My advice would be this: err on the side of allowing for passion and participation for your people. Passionate participation is a big part of what's made Red Hat the company we are today.
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