Ethicsverse Day Bonus Session: Becoming The Office of Unlock

After decades of being branded as the “Office of No,” compliance professionals stand at a transformational crossroads that could redefine their entire industry. The traditional approach of positioning compliance as a necessary evil—complete with endless training modules, policy binders thick as phone books, and enforcement-focused interactions—has created a self-perpetuating cycle where business stakeholders view compliance as an obstacle to overcome rather than a partner to embrace. But what if everything we’ve been taught about compliance effectiveness has been fundamentally backwards?

This special episode of The Ethicsverse explores the transformation of compliance and ethics functions from traditional “Office of No” models to innovative “Office of Unlock” approaches that simultaneously enhance business enablement and risk mitigation effectiveness. The discussion introduces objective-centered risk management (OCRM) as a framework for aligning compliance efforts with business objectives while maintaining ethical boundaries and regulatory requirements. Key themes include the psychological dynamics of hero-villain frameworks that inadvertently position employees as adversaries rather than partners, the power of intentional rebranding to create goal-seeking behaviors within compliance teams, and the application of decision-useful information principles borrowed from GPS navigation technology.

Featuring:

• Hemma R. Lomax, Deputy General Counsel, VP, Global Head of Ethics and Compliance, Docusign
• Nick Gallo, Chief Servant & Co-CEO, Ethico

Reject the Hero-Villain Framework in Compliance

• Compliance professionals inadvertently position themselves as heroes protecting the organization from villainous employees, creating an adversarial dynamic that undermines influence and engagement.
• This framework emerges not through explicit messaging but through subtle attitudes and approaches that treat employees as threats rather than partners in risk management.
• Instead, compliance should position itself as the strategic guide—similar to Dumbledore in Harry Potter or the Ocean’s 11 orchestrator—who brings together the right teams at the right time to achieve shared objectives safely and efficiently.

Implement Objective-Centered Risk Management (OCRM)

• Effective compliance requires aligning risk management efforts with business objectives rather than swimming against the organizational current with separate compliance agendas.
• This approach demands understanding and embracing the company’s growth goals while ensuring responsible execution through strategic guidance and support.
• OCRM transforms compliance from a blocking function to an enabling function that helps stakeholders achieve their desired outcomes swiftly, safely, and strategically.

Conduct Perceptions Analysis to Bridge Reality Gaps

• A four-quadrant exercise reveals critical disconnects between compliance intentions and business perceptions: what compliance thinks about itself versus what business thinks about compliance, and what business thinks about itself versus what compliance thinks about business.
• This analysis typically uncovers that despite good intentions, compliance is still branded as the “Office of No” or “Office of Slow,” creating barriers to effective collaboration.
• The exercise builds trust by allowing honest discussion of mutual perceptions and creates a foundation for intentional culture change.

Rebrand as the Office of Unlock Through Intentional Identity Shift

• Strategic rebranding from “Office of No” to “Office of Unlock” creates a powerful goal-seeking mechanism that influences behavior at both individual and team levels.
• This isn’t merely changing titles but making a bold commitment that focuses energy and attention on finding opportunities to enable business success within risk parameters.
• When a 56-person compliance team rebranded as the Office of Unlock, they naturally began seeking ways to match their actions to their identity, ultimately opening multi-million dollar deals and entire new markets.

Provide Decision-Useful Information Like GPS Navigation

• Compliance should function like Waze navigation, providing real-time, journey-specific guidance that helps stakeholders reach their destinations safely and efficiently rather than overwhelming them with comprehensive policy atlases.
• This approach involves understanding each stakeholder’s specific path, providing relevant risk intelligence for their particular journey, and enabling crowdsourced feedback to improve guidance for others.
• The focus shifts from compliance coverage to compliance utility, ensuring information directly supports decision-making in context.

Master Pattern Interrupts to Change Stakeholder Expectations

• Human beings are pattern recognition machines, and changing influence requires interrupting expected patterns through unexpected positive responses and solution-oriented approaches.
• When stakeholders expect the “Office of Slow” but encounter the “Office of Unlock,” this pattern interrupt creates cognitive dissonance that opens opportunities for relationship transformation.
• These moments of surprise—offering to solve problems rather than create barriers—can convert anti-compliance stakeholders into engaged risk management partners.

Balance Survivor Brain and Sage Brain for Optimal Decision-Making

• Effective compliance leadership requires acknowledging both survivor brain (fear-based, risk-averse thinking) and sage brain (curious, innovative, solution-oriented thinking) while maintaining balanced influence from both perspectives.
• Survivor brain provides valuable risk assessment and caution, while sage brain enables creativity and possibility thinking essential for business enablement.
• Rather than eliminating fear-based thinking, professionals should name both voices, give them equal weight, and use their combined input for more comprehensive decision-making.

Focus on Service Rather Than Enforcement Mentality

• Compliance effectiveness increases dramatically when professionals genuinely view internal employees and business partners as customers deserving service rather than subjects requiring enforcement.
• This service orientation drives professionals to understand stakeholder needs, provide value-added guidance, and measure success through stakeholder outcomes rather than compliance metrics alone.
• The shift from “what do we need from them” to “what do they need from us” fundamentally changes interaction dynamics and collaboration quality.

Implement Gradual Transformation Through Daily Practice

• Sustainable change occurs through consistent daily practices rather than dramatic overnight transformations, similar to training for endurance sports where small improvements compound over time.
• Professionals can start by asking in each interaction: “How do I show up as the Office of Unlock in this moment?”
• This approach builds new behavioral patterns gradually while allowing for course corrections and continuous improvement, with success coming from persistent pursuit of potential rather than perfection in execution.

Embrace Experimentation and Learn from Outcomes

• Compliance professionals must overcome fear of failure by reframing experiments as learning opportunities that provide valuable information regardless of outcome.
• Thomas Edison’s perspective—discovering 10,000 ways not to create a light bulb rather than experiencing 10,000 failures—demonstrates how mindset reframing enables continued innovation and growth.
• The key is maintaining intellectual curiosity about what works while building systematic approaches to test new strategies and scale successful interventions.

Closing Summary