6 M&As Later: What this CPO has Learned (Nichole Viviani, Chief People, Culture & Change Officer at Global Payments)

Nichole Viviani, Chief People, Culture and Change Officer at Global Payments, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about why culture makes or breaks M&A, how Global Payments aligned 27,000 people through “goals before roles,” and why leaders need to over-communicate through uncertainty.----  Sponsor Links:🔗 Learn more about Intuit QuickBooks Workforce at QuickBooks.com/workforce🔗 Learn more about Tilt at hellotilt.com/mplMPL Links:🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.----  (04:27) Nichole’s Career Journey: From Commercial Leadership to HR & Change(09:10) The Global Payments Merger & Combining Leadership Teams in Five Months(13:36) Why Culture Makes or Breaks M&A(14:53) Why Transformation Should Never Have a Start and End Date(17:10) How to Keep What Made an Acquired Company Special(20:42) Why Culture Is So Often Misunderstood During M&A(24:11) Turning Company Values Into Behaviors and Non-Negotiables(25:06) Why Truly Uniting Two Cultures Can Take Three Years(27:42) Behind the Scenes of Global Payments’ Welcome Day(32:46) “Goals Before Roles”: Creating Focus Before the Org Structure Is Final(35:08) How 98% of 27,000 Employees Got Goals During Uncertainty(37:12) Focus on What You Can Control During Major Change(38:14) Don’t Make Assumptions: Ask Questions and Stay Curious(41:56) Building Momentum Through Tracking, Monitoring & Pulse Checks(43:57) Turning an Uphill Marathon Into Achievable Sprints(44:38) Managing Team Energy Through Psychological Safety(48:03) How to Rally People and Protect Morale During Constant Uncertainty(50:54) “In the Absence of a Narrative, People Will Find Their Own”---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn---- Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.