Stewards: Nurturing People

Career growth and support

We each have our own career goals, ambitions, and specific experiences we look for at work. At Galois, we are all accountable for our own career progress. Without managers, this approach becomes foundational, as there is no manager to provide career guidance. But sometimes short-term responsibilities can get in the way of us attending to our more long-term goals.

At Galois, together, we own the company, and the practices we follow stem from a desire to attend to each other, because we want our jobs to be more than just paychecks. For us, there’s a human imperative to support and encourage the introspection necessary to explore what is important to us, and what we can do to achieve that at work.

So, how do we ensure that everyone is thinking about their long-term goals and career and getting what they need out of their day-to-day at Galois?

Enter the role of the Steward.

The purpose of a Steward is to make sure that Galwegians are getting the most out of their work experience at Galois. A Steward is a coach and a mentor, but also, much more than that. In our customer/performer terms, if someone chooses to have a Steward, they are then accountable to their Steward for acting in their best interests at Galois.

 A steward is there to help a Galwegian discover what is important to them about their work, and to be a coach in getting a more positive and valuable experience at work.

Stewards are completely optional, but most Galwegians generally elect to have one. Our aspiration is that all of us have an empowering sense of responsibility for getting the most out of our work experience, and Stewards support that.

Stewards aren’t HR specialists recruited from top business schools. They are other Galwegians (engineers, operations people, research leads, etc.) who have offered to perform as Stewards. This way, we get mentoring and support from our peers, folks who may have Stewards themselves as well, and who also have other day-to-day responsibilities at Galois.

The relationship with your Steward has no hierarchical basis, nor is it based on working together day to day. There is, however, a long-term commitment between a steward and a Galwegian that will survive changes at Galois and any changes in responsibilities. When we’ve conducted surveys in the past, the Steward relationship has always been the most valued experience at Galois.

The organization isn’t human, we are.

The Steward role is founded on the deep recognition that each of us is on an individual journey; that the value we need to get from our work is unique and can shift over time; and that supporting and encouraging the personal accountability for reaching that value is the most respectful contribution that we can make for each other.