Sunday Rewind: Scaling from 60 to 1,000 people

This week’s Sunday Rewind is a 2020 post from fintech Wise’ Chief Product Officer Nilan Peiris that reflects on the company’s growth management as it scaled customers and staff.

In 2020 Wise was still called TransferWise, and Nilan explains how the company was formed out of frustration with the expense of sending money overseas. Its growth was rapid and its culture had to evolve to keep up with this growth. Nilan evaluates some of the most important aspects of this culture.

Good managers and good management

Consistent good management helps teams move faster. Nilan says that autonomous independent teams allow Wise to move very quickly because “we have devolved decision-making to teams closest to our customers”. Everyone has a line manager.

Onboard with clear goals and then empower

Nilan defines someone as onboarded when they’ve understood what matters to customers and how to “get stuff done”.

Autonomous teams not individuals

Teams with clearly defined mandates move faster. There are no autonomous individuals, everyone is part of a team.

The buck stops with the lead

Leaders taking ownership of getting teams to “work” helps Wise to move faster.

Leaders don’t make decisions on behalf of the team

Leaders empowering by “default” help Wise to move faster. The team, not the lead, owns the strategy and KPIs.

Teams can work across the organisation

Teams owning customer problems help Wise to move faster. Teams have all the resources within the team they need in order to have an impact.

Read the original post: Scaling from 60 to 1,000 people