GitLab Values and Culture Interview, Darren & Sid

Sid (co-founder and CEO) and Darren (Head of Remote) discuss GitLab's values and culture.

➜ Learn more about GitLab's values:

➜ GitLab's value hierarchy:

➜ Learn more about GitLab's all-remote culture and processes:

➜ GitLab's biggest risks:

✪ A list of questions and topics covered are below ✪

1. Were all six values documented at GitLab’s inception?
2. While the top-level values are somewhat common across organizations, the sub-values strike me as highly unique and serve to describe the nuance in what makes GitLab unique. Would you agree with that?
3. “Loss of the values that bind us” is in our Biggest Risks. We’re working to surface them as early as possible to applicants and make sure that new hires are given time to ingest them, but what else do you think the company needs to do as we scale?
4. Do you feel that all departments are given equal opportunity to internalize the values during onboarding? How are those in sales, compensated based on quota, encouraged to take time learning values rather than jumping straight into sales?
5. I was shocked at how real the values felt when I joined. Many feel like traps. Embracing GitLab values could get you blackballed or terminated at other organizations. How can we ensure that people give themselves permission to drop prior organizational baggage and embrace a fresh start and new values?
6. What’s the recommended approach for speaking up when you feel that values aren’t being lived (or they simply aren’t understood/someone isn’t aware of them)?
7. Many of the values seem to express a desire to not pass judgement on colleagues. In prior organizations, I’ve felt that a lack of perfection could lead to reprimand — that every move would be heavily judged. Is it intentional that GitLab’s values promote a less judgmental and more trusting atmosphere? What benefits have you seen from this, and why don’t more companies do this?
8. Does the Values Hierarchy exist to resolve disputes when two or more values could be argued to support two different outcomes?
9. Do you have a desire to see other companies copy and implement GitLab’s values? Have you seen any companies do this to date?
10. Have investors or outside parties remarked on our values in meaningful ways that you’d like to share?
11. Have you thought about new ways to reinforce our values? How would you recommend a team member propose new ways to reinforce values? An MR to our values page?

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