Integrating two separate corporate cultures into one during a merger is essential for success–but what’s the best way to achieve that? In the opening fireside chat at From Day One conference in Denver, Denver Post reporter Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton sat down with Peter Leckemby, head of talent management at DISH Network, to discuss his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities that come with a merger.

Leckemby was getting his degree in criminology when he started a job at The Home Depot “for college beer money.” His role led him into management, and he stayed with the company for 16 years. He quickly learned how much he enjoyed leadership development, went on to earn a coaching certification, and then joined DISH as a leadership development specialist.

“It’s been an interesting year,” said Leckemby of 2023. “Back in February, we were, like a lot of big tech companies, a victim of a cyber attack. That started the year off in the spirit of adventure, which is one of our core values, but not the kind of adventure you want to be on. It was a challenge. We were reeling a little bit, and we had a lot of big goals to hit this year,” he said.

Leckemby discussed some of their goals and reflected on their achievements for the year, including “providing coverage on our network to 70% of the population.” Then right on the heels of that in late summer, “we announced that we are merging with our sister company, EchoStar,” he said. They also launched Boost Infinite, their first postpaid network offering.

Chairman and DISH co-founder Charlie Ergen spun off satellite operator EchoStar from DISH in 2008, but remained in charge of both companies. Then on December 7th, after this chat, the Federal Communications Commission approved the merger, reuniting Ergen’s telecom empire.

Even with common ownership, the merger will prove a challenge. “We have similar cultures, but different values as they’re written out. The values at DISH began as “Pride, Adventure, and Winning,” said Leckemby. They went on to add “Curiosity” to the mix, and are working through that.

“For us, it’s about going back to what the values are as they’re lived out, and what is important to our team members. I like to think that curiosity, pride, adventure, and winning will carry over, because we have that anchored to all of our talent management practices.” As they go through the merger, they’re making sure they do the right thing for team members, he says. The employees are top of mind and the focus of all the efforts in place.

Building trust with team members during the upheaval caused by a merger can be an ongoing challenge. “We haven’t always done this right,” said Leckenby. But this year they launched a new listening strategy to get better. The first step is to listen to employees and understand what’s important to them. What are they stressed about? What are their anxieties? What are their pain points? Listen, and then be clear and transparent about the decisions, says Leckemby.

“Our leadership team has done a really good job of being more transparent and having more upfront communications with all team meetings, announcements, and just being very upfront about ‘here's what we know, here’s what we don't know,’” he said.

In spite of the challenges, Leckemby has found great opportunities in the changes presented by a corporate merger. “The merger has presented a tremendous learning opportunity, where you really find out how resilient your employees are. In recognizing that resilience and tenacity, there has been a lot of positivity in the workforce and excitement for the future. People are jumping in, they’re curious, they want to learn. So we’re seeing our values show up a lot throughout the process, and that will carry us into the future.”

Cynthia Barnes has written about everything from art to zebras from more than 30 countries. She currently calls Denver home.