The “Decoder Ring” Method For Building High-Performing, Autonomous Teams With Steve O’Brien Of Syneos Health Talent All-Stars podcast

The “Decoder Ring” Method for Building High-Performing, Autonomous Teams with Steve O’Brien of Syneos Health

2M ago 26:50

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Can you break traditional management structures and still drive exceptional results?

Steve O'Brien, SVP of People Solutions at Syneos Health, proves it's possible with his innovative "decoder ring" approach to talent leadership—managing 25 direct reports without a single scheduled one-on-one meeting.

In this episode, Steve explains how he balances efficiency with employee engagement, why decision-making should be pushed down to remove bottlenecks, and how psychological safety and autonomy drive performance.

Steve also talks about:

The 3 biggest priorities new leaders should tackle
Why some “creative tension” is healthy for talent teams
How to leverage quarterly performance reviews for big wins

Connect with Steve on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemobrien

Connect with us:

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