No Private DMs

No Private DMs

Update: 2025-10-14
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On today’s HR Heretics, Kelli and Nolan debate radical workplace transparency: eliminating private Slack messages. They explore tensions between cultural openness, practical communication needs, and effective use of asynchronous tools.

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KEEP UP WITH NOLAN + KELLI ON LINKEDIN

Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/

Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/

For coaching and advising inquire at

https://kellidragovich.com/

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00 ) Intro

(00:13 ) The “No Private DMs” Rule

(01:04 ) First Reactions: How This Would Actually Work

(01:54 ) The Case for Transparency: Underground Slack Channels Are Toxic

(02:35 ) The Reality Check: Leaders Still Need Private Conversations

(03:42 ) Is Radical Transparency Just Performance Art?

(04:20 ) The Productivity Problem: Slack Surfing vs Getting Work Done

(05:11 ) Creating a “How We Slack” Document with Clear Rules

(06:15 ) Using Public Channels to Develop Holistic Leaders

(07:13 ) The Jensen Huang Model: Why He Doesn’t Do One-on-Ones

(08:12 ) Sponsors: Ethena | Metaview

(11:34 ) Hyper-Transparency from the CEO Builds Trust

(12:31 ) It All Comes Down to Judgment

(13:11 ) The Audio Message Revolution: Why Voice Beats Typing

(15:20 ) Good vs Bad Audio Messages: It’s About Sender Judgment

(16:15 ) The 10x Pace: Why Traditional Meeting Cadences Don’t Work Anymore

(17:34 ) Final Thoughts: Experiment with Your Communication Style

(17:46 ) Outro



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hrheretics.substack.com
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No Private DMs

No Private DMs

HR Heretics