• Mette Hindborg Gade, CPO at Pleo


• 27.05.2022 09:15 am
#CPO #leadership #fintech

Like all the best changes, my transition from tech consultant to fintech CPO was one born of love and deep belief in the mission lying ahead. 

In March, I rounded off a ten-year chapter in McKinsey to join Pleo,  a smart business spending solution, as Chief People Officer.

It was a big move. Despite Pleo’s recent valuation of $4.7Bn and rise to unicorn status, we are only seven years old. And a Fintech. A very different kind of company to McKinsey. 

For every problem at McKinsey, there was a network for colleagues globally to pull upon for insights, sparring, and practices. There was never a challenge without an expert that had relevant experience. 

At Pleo, with our hypergrowth, in some ways we are a new company each and every month. The solution to the exact same problem may be different today than it was six months ago. And while we pull on our internal expertise and our network for solutions, we are in a constant ‘build’ mode.

But even though it’s a shift in perspective and in role, there are many commonalities between my former role and the next.  As I got to know Pleo during the fall of last year - the organisation, the leadership - I fell in love with the culture, the people, the mission, and the challenge that Pleo represents. 

Like McKinsey, Pleo is full of curious and talented people, people who are as fascinated by problems and as passionate about solving them as I am. It felt like there was an aura to the company - a spark of magic. 

And I believed from the start that my skillset would help Pleo grow and scale whilst maintaining that spark that makes the company so distinct.

Because the fact is, Pleo has big ambitions. This year alone we’re aiming to grow our existing remit in countries such as Spain, continue on our journey to take on new markets, and bring on more than 500+ new colleagues. A challenge which I believe will be equally exciting and rewarding. 

So how can I bring together the learnings and insight I gained from my time at McKinsey in a way that works for Pleo? 

How can I ensure that I’m really helping drive the company vision of making people feel valued at work? 

It’s an intriguing ambition that sits very close to my heart - especially as we grow at tremendous pace. Because the nature of people’s needs changes yearly, monthly, and sometimes even daily. 

The first thing is all about bringing calm to chaos.

I thrive in chaos - yet enjoy instilling structures that create clarity and space.  

We are going through an extraordinary growth period and currently see over 80 new starters every month. That makes my role as challenging as it is rewarding as these people not only get embedded into our diverse culture, but also bring in a little piece of culture of their own. We want to nurture a company culture that makes every Pleo’er feel proud and valued to work here.

More than this, we need to create an environment that builds psychological safety for individuals.  This is how we’re able to successfully nurture a positive and innovative culture. As leaders we have a big part in this. We need to openly share our challenges, our failures, and invite people into a safe space to challenge.  

We then have to offer training to all employees - especially when they first join the company - to build emotional awareness, awareness of our own behaviours,  and insights on what happens when we interact with each other at work. We think this is key to self-mastery. 

From here it’s about asking ourselves how we ensure that employees regularly reflect on how they feel when they come to work and whether they feel valued. At Pleo, we conduct biweekly sentiment surveys among all employees. This gives teams a tool and a starting point to discuss how they are feeling: Do they feel valued, are they happy at work, do they feel empowered, how can we help and support them to achieve their best.

After all, the magic starts with teams - so you really have to foster that openness and conversation. If we know whether something is wrong in certain groups - for example, in terms of specific gender identities or those who have just returned from parental leave - we need to take targeted initiatives.   

The second thing is to never underestimate the role of candour and care in building a forward thinking culture. 

Companies - particularly as they scale - need ways to foster candour and embody care. 

But you also need to distinguish between being caring and just being nice. We want to remain a truly forward-thinking company - as we scale - it becomes even more important that everyone contributes toward that vision and that we keep each other honest about what works. 

Open conversation is essential. Transparency and honesty need to be present to show care for one another. And in turn, this is important not only for the wellbeing of individual employees, but also for company growth and performance. 

In any case, I think that honesty and caring are not mutually exclusive. They go hand in hand. 

What I learnt at McKinsey is that a successful company - no matter what size - is built around happy individuals and high-performing teams. 

But these two things cannot be split apart. They’re two sides of the same coin and are mutually-reinforcing.

Because for me, the most important thing is that people feel valued when they come to work, and know that what they do matters. That they are happy and have what they need to perform to their fullest potential. 

As CPO at a scaling fintech unicorn, those two elements are more important than ever. And that’s what I’m focused on ensuring we maintain at Pleo.