"Implementing a transparent culture starts with feedback loops that allow for constructive criticism at all levels of the organization."
Kyle Kroeger Tweet
Meet Kyle Kroeger, an entrepreneur, and finance expert. After working 10+ years in sustainable private equity and impact investing, he realized there is a significant lack of awareness regarding how to invest and where to invest your money sustainably. With The Impact Investor, he is focused on providing the proper informational content to bridge the gap between institutional and retail investing. The Impact Investor is committed to donating 10% of all profits to organizations focused on social equality, responsibility, combating climate change, and sustainability.
On the other hand, Kyle’s also a professional traveler and the founder of Via Travelers. He quit his job to travel and explore the world following the pandemic.
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We’re happy that you could join us today! Please introduce yourself to our readers. What’s your story?
Kyle Kroeger: Thank you for the opportunity!
I worked over a decade in finance and private equity and I learned quite a lot about the industry. Eventually, I realized that there is a gap in awareness regarding how to invest and where to invest your money sustainably. With my company, The Impact Investor, I am focused on providing the proper informational content to bridge the gap between institutional and retail investing. The Impact Investor is committed to donating 10% of all profits to organizations focused on social equality, responsibility, combating climate change, and sustainability.
Apart from this, I’m also an avid traveler and have traveled to over 10 countries with my newborn in 2021 alone, including trips to 10 national parks. I’ve documented all my travels and shared them on my blog along with tips and tricks for other travelers.
CEOs and leaders usually have different motives and aspirations when getting started. Let’s go straight to the beginning. What was your primary goal for starting your business? Was it wealth, respect, or to offer a service that would help improve lives?
Kyle Kroeger: There was a lot of misinformation about how to invest your money sustainably and that’s where I got the idea. I always wanted people to know more about this and figured I could start The Impact Investor to fill in the gap.
It has been a difficult journey but eventually, I got to where I needed to be. After working 10 plus years in sustainable private equity, I had the knowledge to start this business which includes advising people about how to invest sustainably. I also partly started this business to improve lives by assisting organizations focused on social equality, responsibility, combating climate change, and sustainability.
Tell us about 2 things that you like and two things that you dislike about your industry. Share what you’d like to see change and why.
Kyle Kroeger: Things I like:
There are a lot of career opportunities in the finance industry. Finance professionals are in high demand across the globe and it’s a very lucrative industry to be in. Furthermore, there is evidence that finance promotes entrepreneurship, assists people in making better life decisions, and alleviates inequality and poverty.
Things I don’t Like:
A lot of people believe that morality and legality are the same in the financial sector. The second part I dislike is that there are a lot of exclusively self-serving individuals in the industry. This industry may facilitate greed more so than any other.
Companies around the world are rapidly changing their work environment and organizational culture to facilitate diversity. How do you see your organizational culture changing in the next 3 years and how do you see yourself creating that change?
Kyle Kroeger: I believe my organization’s culture has always been democratic and it will continue to be democratic in the days to come. I probably will, however, facilitate even more inclusivity.
I’ll do so by asking about what their problems are, listening closely, and offering solutions. I’ll also make more inclusivity possible by celebrating employee differences. I’ll probably start by introducing a meditation/prayer room to communicate to them that they’re in an inclusive and supportive environment.
According to the Michigan State University “An organization’s culture is responsible for creating the kind of environment in which the business is managed, and has a major impact on its ultimate success or failure.” What kind of culture has your organization adopted and how has it impacted your business?
Kyle Kroeger: My organization has adopted a democratic culture. This type of organizational culture encourages a greater degree of participation from all employees. It has also encouraged more employees to speak up and bring more viewpoints to the table. Moreover, this culture has allowed us to solve problems more efficiently. The number of possible solutions grows as more minds work on an issue. While choices may be made more slowly – the results are obtained through a more thorough procedure.
Richard Branson once famously stated “There’s no magic formula for great company culture. The key is just to treat your staff how you would like to be treated.” and Stephen R. Covey admonishes to “Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers. What’s your take on creating a great organizational culture?
Kyle Kroeger: A great organizational culture can be created in a number of ways such as by empowering employees, hiring the right workers that fit the culture, and effectively communicating company values. I believe, the most important part, however, is to engage workers all throughout the year. Employee engagement remains a serious issue, with only 34% of employees enthusiastic about their jobs according to some studies. Leaders may engage workers by ensuring that they understand how they contribute to the company’s objective. This makes employees more committed to the organization’s objectives. Employees should be informed of the company’s mission, annual goals, and numerous action plans. Keeping employees informed about the company’s performance and progress toward goals throughout the year is essential for creating a great culture.
The overwhelming majority of more than 9,000 workers included in a recent Accenture survey on the future of work said they felt a hybrid work model would be optimal going forward, a major reason for that being the improved work-life balance that it offers. How do you promote work-life balance at your company?
Kyle Kroeger: I always encourage short breaks after every 50 minutes. The human body was not built to spend hours upon hours staring at a glowing screen with no breaks. To overcome this, it’s critical to encourage your employees to take small breaks during office hours.
I encourage activities to help workers get through the day as well such as lunchtime running clubs or walking meetings outside the workplace. During extremely hectic times, I invite meditation practitioners to deliver internal seminars so that employees may acquire the best coping methods for dealing with pressure.
How would you describe your company’s overall culture? Give us examples.
Kyle Kroeger: I believe our culture is very inclusive. For example, we make decisions with all employees, and their opinions and views are taken into account before each decision.
We recently had to decide whether to increase our service pricing and we used input from employees that are the closest to the action to make that decision. In my experience, decisions that are made with the employees have always turned out best.
It is believed that a company’s culture is rooted in a company’s values. What are your values and how do they affect daily life at the workplace?
Kyle Kroeger: Our values entail helping people and increasing awareness regarding certain types of investment, particularly sustainable investment. We hope to help people by educating them. We also aim to help organizations that support social equality and sustainable practices in order to help the world become a better place little by little.
These values encourage our employees to go the extra mile in helping people that come to us for guidance. It also contributes towards a healthier workplace culture as there’s a cordial vibe throughout the day that encourages employees to help each other with day-to-day tasks.
Share with us one of the most difficult decisions you had to make, this past year 2021, for your company that benefited your employees or customers. What made this decision so difficult and what were the positive impacts.
Kyle Kroeger: The most difficult decision I have had to make was to let go of a few freelancers that we hired and had built a strong relationship with over the years. Unfortunately, costs had to be cut but this allowed us to keep the business afloat which meant that full-time employees would continue to have jobs and be able to provide for their families.
An organization’s management has a deep impact on its culture. What is your management style and how well has it worked so far?
Kyle Kroeger: I would say that my management style is also quite democratic as I like to bring in input from every level in the hierarchy. Many workers enjoy this management style because it allows them to use their abilities to their greatest extent by entrusting them with a great deal of responsibility and meaningful work. This engages them and motivates them to work harder and I believe it’s worked out incredibly well for us. We have a very dedicated workforce which I can confidently say is priceless.
Every organization suffers from internal conflicts, whether functional or dysfunctional. Our readers would love to know, how do you solve an internal conflict?
Kyle Kroeger: I do so with an open-door policy. To prevent conflict from escalating, I foster an open communication atmosphere in which employees feel comfortable sharing their concerns with upper management. Implementing an open-door policy is one method to help with this. I believe that workers should feel free to approach management about any important issue without fear of repercussions under this policy. It entails active listening, questioning, and the use of cooperation. Employees are more willing to reach out whenever there is a problem with this in place, which helps avoid confrontations or keeps them from progressing further.
According to Culture AMP, Only 40% of women feel satisfied with the decision-making process at their organization (versus 70% of men), which leads to job dissatisfaction and poor employee retention. What is your organization doing to facilitate an inclusive and supportive environment for women?
Kyle Kroeger: One of the most important characteristics of a great corporate culture is transparency. That means always encouraging open, honest, and respectful conversation. What is the significance of this for women? Because genuine transparency acts as a deterrent to our most pervasive prejudices.
Implementing a transparent culture starts with feedback loops that allow for constructive criticism at all levels of the organization. Anonymity might be beneficial in some situations. This encourages open and honest discussion about the company’s and its workers’ many ongoing difficulties. There are anonymous communication tools that provide a voice to employees who favor alternative modes of communication and would otherwise be unable to speak up, such as women. We use tools such as Tinypulse as it facilitates a more inclusive environment for them.
What role do your company’s culture and values play in the recruitment process and how do you ensure that it is free from bias?
Kyle Kroeger: I set up an interview panel made of a diverse set of colleagues. Forming a panel with a varied collection of colleagues (in terms of gender, race, economic status, and age) helps you assess a candidate from a broader viewpoint and make a more informed choice by mitigating any personal unconscious prejudices.
We’re grateful for all that you have shared so far! We would also love to know if there was one thing that you could improve about your company’s culture, what would it be?
Kyle Kroeger: I believe I would like to give employees more autonomy. Although I do have quite a democratic culture in place, I think we’re at a point where I trust my team enough and am able to give them more autonomy. I think that is what I would most likely aim to improve next.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Kyle Kroeger: I think keeping up with trends and having the ability to pivot is the greatest challenge for businesses today. COVID-19, as you may know, had an impact on every sector and enhanced competitiveness across all businesses. Companies had to rethink their business strategy and discover new ways to generate money as a result of the pandemic. Such a quick change benefits those who are willing to change, while conservative and slow-to-adapt businesses are left behind.
This has been truly insightful and we thank you for your time. Our final question, however, might be a bit of a curveball. If you had a choice to either fly or be invisible, which would you choose and why?
Kyle Kroeger: I would probably choose to fly. As I mentioned, I’m also a traveler so not having to go through the long lines at crowded airports would be a dream come true!
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Kyle Kroeger for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Kyle Kroeger or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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