Culture under pressure defines real leadership – News

Every industry claims culture as its cornerstone, but the real test comes when things go sideways. When chaos strikes, it reveals whether teams can lean on honesty and trust or whether cracks begin to show.

Culture isn’t measured by smooth sailing for Nam Le (pictured), senior vice president and general manager of embed at Workato Inc. Rather, it’s forged in the messy reality of fast-moving business, where authenticity and candor set the tone for innovation.

“I try to deliver … good news and bad news [at the] same speed, same velocity,” Le told theCUBE. “Anybody can say they have a good culture when everything is going well. I think we have a culture where when I tell you you did well, you’ll believe it. Because when you’re not, I’m going to tell you … it comes from that same place, and that’s kind of where it starts.”

Le spoke with theCUBE’s Savannah Peterson and Rob Strechay at the WOW: World of Workato event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, News Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed his approach to leadership, culture and what it takes to thrive in the evolving software-as-a-service landscape. (* Disclosure below.)

A culture that turns pressure into progress

SaaS has been expanding for decades, but not every company has delivered lasting value. A reckoning is underway for firms built on niche ideas with limited impact, according to Le. The ones that endure are those whose strategies deepen value through hard, often unglamorous work.

“Every day we wake up, we do the hard stuff,” Le said. “Companies that feel like they share that DNA with us: Take on the stuff your users dread in the morning. If you can do that, I promise you, this is going to be a moment for you to thrive. And if you don’t, if you feel like you’re doing the easy stuff, someone is going to eat your lunch.”

That mentality drives his team at Workato, which focuses on solving complex integration problems others avoid. Instead of chasing low-hanging fruit, Le emphasizes ambition: The bigger the challenge, the better.

“Give me something valuable to solve for,” he said. “The longer we’ve been doing this, the greater the moat that we’ve been growing for us and anybody who wants to even enter into the ecosystem now. If someone can solve it, it’s going to be us. And if we can’t solve it, I bet you no one else is going to.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of News’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the WOW: World of Workato event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the WOW: World of Workato event. Neither Workato Inc., the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or News.)

Photo: News