In Tech, the most important platform we can build is a strong culture.

At the core of my long held beliefs as a technologist, and now as the Group Head of Technology at UBS, are that talent and team culture should be at the very top of the list of priorities for leaders. In any industry. For years, leaders in technology have been focused on innovation, transformation, cost cutting and building platforms.  Over the last decade, this has been inevitable. Especially as I believe we are moving from a post-crisis decade deeply focused on regulation to the decade of transforming Banking through technology.

Purpose and empowerment drives decision making

For me, the critical platform that underpins the Technology organization has to be our talent and a focus on evolving our strong team culture, and it's a theme that runs right across UBS, as well as a more “real” and “personal” form of leadership. I believe the personal touch is what people are craving. When I look at the sheer scale and complexity of our technology ecosystem, there are so many things we need to get right. Regulatory compliance and risk management, robust security, and the continuous availability of our systems. These are absolutes. With literally millions of moving parts across our landscape, we need to assume and trust that our people are going to make good technical and operational decisions. But the question we need to keep asking every day is whether we are creating and maintaining the right culture and environment so that our people can make good decisions, execute with certainty, and feel passionate and excited about what they do each day … drive and deliver boldly with purpose. I quite often get asked what keeps me up at night – execution, availability, cyber and the reality is that I want to ensure we are giving enough focus to culture.

A strong culture allows complex problems to be solved

UBS is committed to driving cultural change and embedding our core values through our three keys to success—which are the foundation of everything we do. So why do I think culture is the most important platform a bank can build? A strong culture ensures that everyone is focused on delivering for our clients, not ourselves. A strong culture allows us to challenge the status quo, learn from our mistakes and act with integrity. A strong culture insulates a bank from over reliance on any single leader. It diversifies leadership risk over time. A strong culture of collaboration and trust allows for the most complex problems of an organization to be solved. Without it, they can fester for years if not decades. We know that when people leave organizations they are likely to cite poor company culture or the relationship with their direct line manager as the primary reason for leaving.  And so, most importantly, a strong culture acts as the best recruiting and retention tool possible.

All platforms need maintenance

Like any platform, culture needs to be maintained, supported and tweaked to facilitate the kinds of interactions we need to be successful ... really evolved. So what are the small tweaks and interventions which can improve culture across such a large global team? For me, transparency is definitely right there at the top. Across our technology team we share information transparently about what we're delivering, what's coming next and what needs to get better—all of which is available for everyone to see and query directly. Our belief is that the more people know about what's going on, the more likely they are to feel connected to the company, the team and how we are delivering on our mission. It also needs to be personal, to be real, to be something people understand and can relate to.

Another important cultural shift is around allowing our people to make empowered decisions and be accountable when they do. In large organizations, there are so many instances of decisions being shifted up the chain. This is not behavior we should be celebrating. At every level, people need to feel comfortable making decisions within their own areas. Creating the environment to allow people to make good decisions is hugely important to me and I believe it is something that everyone on my team values too. However, empowerment also needs to be taken.

As a tech leader, I am fully aware that the global competition for talent continues to be tougher than ever. Having a strong culture is a differentiating factor and vital to our sustained success. So the most important thing we can do is continue to build and evolve our most valuable platform to support our most valuable asset — our people.

Culture is not the only tool we have at our disposal, but it is one of the most fundamental. If we get culture right, we have a chance of getting everything else right, well into the future. Ultimately, culture is the key to the effective use of technology.