From Corporate Culture to Shared Leadership: Kristen Diamond Finds Alignment

Kristen Diamond, Chief Marketing Officer of The Masiello Group, has led a dynamic and rigorous career. She spent ten years working in the automation software industry and several other startups, focusing on B2B marketing. In addition, she has worked for global companies and corporate environments where she describes the pace of development as “hypergrowth” and decision making driven by Board and shareholder sentiment.

However, after the beginning of the pandemic, she knew that she was ready for a change.

"I re-evaluated my priorities and realized authority culture corporate environment, found in many Silicon Valley tech companies just wasn't for me," she recalls. "The Sunday Blues were real,” she recalls.

Knowing that there would be a series of layoffs at the start of the pandemic, she made an unorthodox request.

“Put me on the list,” she recalls of a conversation with her HR representative.

While she enjoyed the team of people who worked for her, a combination of misalignment of personal and company values along with a lack of work/life balance signaled to her that it was time to go. 

 So, after she was laid off, she took some time to think more deeply about her core beliefs and evaluated what was most important to her.  Not one for idle time, within months, she had obtained her real estate license and was ready to enter a new business.

Though she had all of the tools to begin her real estate practice, something told her to wait. Recruiters were reaching out to her, so starting another job was an option, but she wanted to make sure it was the right cultural and team fit. Her priority and non-negotiable was to find a transparent company where she could trust that people came first.

When The Masiello Group contacted her, she felt it was serendipitous, given her recent endeavor to become a real estate agent. Kristen accepted the role of Chief Marketing Officer. She immediately began to admire the inner relationships and working culture of The Masiello Group, describing them as “embracing change in the real estate industry.”

Rather than relying on the old model of firms, The Masiello Group has embraced a system that equips agents with the tools they need to serve clients best.

“Real estate has traditionally been very old school -- knocking on doors, picking up phones,” Kristen recalls. “The Masiello Group is unique. Instead of having each agent act entirely independently, doing their marketing and outreach, The Masiello Group seeks to help agents with their marketing so that they can focus on what they do best -- building relationships with their clients.”

Most importantly, shared leadership has created a team culture where Kristen can do what she loves most -- collaborate.

“Shared leadership has forced me to forget and re-wire some of my corporate ways,” she reflects.

The moment that highlighted this for Kristen was during an interview process for an internal position. She freely voiced her opinion on two candidates, and when a third person who hadn’t even considered it, realized they had the autonomy and trust of the team to put their hat in the ring, Kristen thought it was a “no-brainer.” She knew this was shared leadership in action.

“Shared leadership has tested me,” she admits. “I’ve doubted it, but I have already learned so much from it. The ability to co-create in an open and frank environment is enlightening.”

Though the Shared Leadership Journey will not be simple and will require practice to get it right, it is a path that is in line with Kristen’s values.

“In my career, I have learned you make decisions trying to understand where that decision ripples out to, and who it might touch in effect. Getting buy-in before you make major decisions is paramount. Collaboration is crucial.”

We are honored to support Kristen and The Masiello Group on their Shared Leadership Journey. For the last two years, we have partnered and learned together, co-creating new ways of hiring, communicating, decision making, and relating. And that's just the beginning. The Masiello Group launches a 16-week virtual Shared Leadership Journey this fall for several of their teams. We look forward to sharing more about their cultural transformation. Learn more about their journey here.

If your team is ready to dive in with us? We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch!