An inspired community: Connections beyond the workplace

by Jenna Landi (Director, Brand Research) and Rachel Hardy (Director, Consumer Product Marketing)

To write this article we got together for a hot yoga class, followed by coffee (tea for Jenna) and a jam session at a local cafe.

Working remotely can make it hard to establish trusted connections and relationships that go beyond business. Through some org shuffles, we got put in a room and asked to collaborate better. Before that, we knew of each other, but had never really spent time getting to know each other. And what came out of a tough experience of solving for collaboration was a supportive and productive friendship. In this article, we want to share how we did it and how it’s helping us bring our best selves to work.

Our story 

First, we got to know each other as people and we realized we had a ton in common outside of work. We both live in Brooklyn, are moms to two young girls, love yoga and each day we find more in common with each other. Since then we have become trusted work partners and friends, bonding over our shared experiences. 

Next, we assumed best intent on the work front and identified a few initiatives to collaborate on. Working together has allowed us to see each other shine, and helped us support one another around blind spots. The result has been a relationship that fosters giving and receiving feedback in a trusted, supportive way alongside a friendship that makes us genuinely excited to log on for work in the morning. 

But it’s not just good for us, here’s why making work friends is good for the business: 

• Better work as a product of collaboration: Finding unexpected points of collaboration across our teams.
• Trust: Building trust across teams to have difficult conversations and being open and trusting to receiving feedback that comes from a good place.
• Motivation: Having a friend at work makes your work experience more enjoyable.
• Act as informal career coaches for one another: As leaders, being able to seek people management advice and share our tips on how to keep a smart team challenged, engaged and visible.

Post hot yoga writing session

Q&A with Jenna and Rachel 

Jenna: As a leader, why do you think it’s important to have friends at work?

Rachel: Work can be extremely trying. I think of it almost like being an athlete – you need to take care of yourself to show up as your best self while you train, sweat and play the game. Part of that practice is, in my opinion, having friends at work. A person whom you can inherently trust, complain to, ask for candid feedback and someone to pump you up when you have a big presentation or a big day! So in summary, I’ll say three C’s: coaching, confidante and confidence. 

R: What is your morning routine or your five-to-nine before your nine-to-five? How do you take yourself from early morning wake ups, lunch-making and drop-off to showing up to work, ready to go? 

J: Having young kids means you never have to set an alarm. Most days, I feel like I completed an entire work day’s worth of effort before 9:00 am. It’s getting up, getting breakfast made and on the table. We try to sit together as a family for 10-15 minutes every morning. Then it’s the flurry of getting dressed (Don’t forget the socks! Did you brush your teeth and hair?). Our kids eat school lunch, and I’m deeply grateful for that support. Then it’s out the door, we walk to school and daycare. I’m usually back home by 8:30am, and that’s when I take a deep breath and get myself ready for the day. Many mornings, I take an hour to do a walk in Prospect Park or yoga - it’s time I try to reclaim before the work day chaos begins. Because once I open the laptop, there’s no stopping!  

J: On the other side: how do you log off at the end of the day? What are some boundaries you’ve created?

R: I wasn’t able to do this until I had kids. Now that I do, I am literally forced to log off as my nanny leaves at 6:30pm and someone has to put the kids to bed. The hours of 6-8pm ET are blocked off on my calendar and it auto-declines meetings, and for those two hours, I can be fully logged off and present with my kids. There are definitely days where I log back on to wrap up something important, or respond to Slacks, but it’s after a well-deserved break and only if it helps me feel more prepared for the next day. 

R: I feel like you manage to stay so positive at work, and always show up professionally and organized. You somehow always put your plan into a perfect document in five minutes. How? What’s your secret?

J: Positivity and optimism is a life value for me -- it’s in the core of my being and part of my personality. Everyone wants to have fun at work, but there’s a tendency to take things so seriously. My goal is to find a balance: how can we be productive (prepared, organized) and genuinely enjoy the work (finding the levity). I think it’s possible, and I try to foster it for myself and my team as much as I can! And it doesn’t hurt that I genuinely enjoy the people I work with and the work I do. I also know that if I don’t get it on paper quickly, it’s gone from my brain.  

J: You have a unique ability to see the big picture, and strategy. You always have the right words! How have you cultivated that skill to pull back and connect the dots? This is something that your entire team -- and our company -- really benefits from. 

R: To be honest I feel like it’s a blessing and curse and just the way my brain works (I think it’s called an “N” in the Myers-Briggs framework — I’m an ENTJ). When I’m reviewing work, or having a conversation, my mind always jumps to the big picture and dot connecting. How have I cultivated it? I invest time in relationships across the org (and specifically ensure that I have regular 1:1s with folks across the org). These trusted relationships allow me to not only see the big picture but also bring the right people and teams together to get the work done. I encourage my team to do the same, and I use my relationships to help my team get their work done.

Both: What motivates you to stay at Pinterest? 

R: 100% the people. This is the most collaborative, kind and intelligent culture and group of people I’ve ever met at work. I’m genuinely inspired each day by the people that I get to work with, and it makes it so much more enjoyable and easier to power through. 

J: I absolutely agree with the people. I’ve been at Pinterest over seven years now, and I’m still making new friends and - crucially - learning new things from all of the smart people I get to work with. And I’m proud to work for a company that brings value to people’s lives: I’m an avid Pinner and love working for a product that brings joy and inspiration!