NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang “I really discourage 1 on 1s”

Startup Archive

29 May 202403:09

Summary

TLDRNvidia's CEO discusses unconventional leadership practices, emphasizing the importance of transparency and equal access to information. With 60 direct reports, the CEO eliminates hierarchy layers, ensuring everyone is informed and empowered. He favors group feedback over one-on-one sessions to promote learning from collective experiences and discourages reliance on personal coaching, believing in self-motivated decision-making among leaders.

Takeaways

👥 The leadership team at Nvidia consists of 60 people, which is an unconventionally large number of direct reports.
🔄 The CEO avoids one-on-one meetings, preferring to communicate with everyone at once to ensure everyone is informed equally.
🗣️ Information about company challenges, problems, and directions is shared openly with all team members to avoid privileged access to information.
🎼 The CEO values the concept of everyone working from the 'same song sheet', promoting transparency and collective understanding.
💪 Providing equal access to information is seen as empowering for employees, encouraging them to contribute to problem-solving.
📉 The large direct staff size reduces the number of hierarchical layers in the company, making the CEO more accessible.
🤔 The CEO questions the conventional wisdom of one-on-one meetings for coaching and personal goal setting, suggesting they may not be the most effective method.
👂 Public feedback is given to promote learning, rather than in private one-on-one sessions, allowing everyone to learn from mistakes.
📚 Learning from others' mistakes is emphasized as a valuable educational tool, with case studies cited as an example.
🙅‍♂️ The CEO discourages one-on-one meetings at Nvidia, believing they hinder collective learning and growth.
🤝 Leaders at Nvidia are given the autonomy to decide their own practices, but the CEO's preference for open communication is clear.

Q & A

What is the unconventional leadership practice at Nvidia according to the transcript?
-The leadership team at Nvidia has 60 direct reports, which is considered unconventional. The CEO believes this practice is the best because it minimizes the layers of hierarchy and allows for equal access to information for all team members.
Why does the CEO of Nvidia avoid one-on-one meetings?
-The CEO avoids one-on-one meetings because they believe that all relevant information should be shared with everyone at the same time, ensuring that everyone is working with the same understanding and there is no privileged access to information.
What does the CEO value about having 60 people in a room for discussions?
-The CEO values that everyone hears the reasoning behind the company's challenges, problems, and solutions. This approach empowers people and ensures that everyone can contribute to solving problems.
How does the CEO view the impact of reducing the number of layers in a company?
-The CEO believes that having a direct staff of 60 people reduces the number of layers in the company by about seven, which streamlines communication and decision-making processes.
What is the CEO's approach to providing feedback to employees?
-The CEO provides feedback in front of everyone, rather than in one-on-one settings. This approach is seen as a learning opportunity for all, not just the individual receiving the feedback.
Why does the CEO believe learning from others' mistakes is beneficial?
-The CEO thinks that learning from others' mistakes is the best way to learn because it allows individuals to avoid making the same errors themselves and to grow collectively.
What is the CEO's stance on personal goal discussions and career advancement talks?
-The CEO discourages one-on-one discussions for personal goals and career advancement, preferring to address these topics in a group setting to ensure everyone has equal access to information and learning opportunities.
How does the CEO's leadership style affect the company culture at Nvidia?
-The CEO's leadership style fosters a culture of transparency, empowerment, and collective learning, where everyone is encouraged to contribute and learn from each other.
What does the CEO mean by 'working off of the same song sheet'?
-The phrase 'working off of the same song sheet' refers to the CEO's preference for everyone in the company to have access to the same information and understanding, ensuring alignment and collaboration.
How does the CEO encourage leaders at Nvidia to adopt this practice?
-The CEO gives leaders the opportunity to decide for themselves but strongly discourages one-on-one meetings, promoting the idea that everyone should know the company's practices and not just follow because it's mandated.
What is the CEO's view on conventional wisdom in leadership practices?
-The CEO challenges conventional wisdom by advocating for a flatter hierarchy and open communication, believing that this approach is more effective and empowering for the team.