It’s important to understand how I approach work and what to expect from me. Let’s get to know each other...
My Design Philosophy:
I’m driven by empathy for people and a tenacity to sweat the details. I enable my team to uncover insights and human needs to ideate, conceptualize and design impactful experiences.
My team is my number one priority.
My team is why I’m here. I want to spend time with my team on an individual and group setting to understand what makes them tick. I want to know about their goals, dreams, opportunities, challenges, and favorite tv shows. I want to know all about who you are as a person. I want what’s best for the individual and will help them achieve their goals through coaching, mentoring, and creating opportunities for them to succeed. I will challenge my team to be better and will push them to think bigger. I’ll provide a safety net for them for when they miss the mark, because that’s going to happen… and that’s ok. We learn from our mistakes, it’s part of the journey to get better. Appreciation inspires motivation: I will always look for opportunities to put my team in the spotlight and share their work with a wider audience. It’s not me: it’s we.
Relationships are the foundation of trust and partnership.
We’re going to be spending more time with each other than we do our families, so let’s work on our relationship. My goal is to get to know everyone at an individual level, understanding what makes you, you. I strive to build psychological safety in my team and those I interact with. I work hard to create a setting where we can challenge each other in a safe environment, free from second guessing motives. We should be willing to compromise how we do things and be willing to explore new ideas. We should laugh. A lot. You can count on me to share a corny joke (or three). Work should be fun, let’s make sure it is!
I strive to be a selfless leader.
My leadership style starts with humans. I am a firm believer that we rise by lifting others. My goal is to be positive, courageous, and foster a collaborative mindset in my team and others around me. I pride myself in my active listening skills and will ask questions back to make sure I understand what you’re saying. I will be on the lookout for stumbling blocks. I’ve seen a lot of tricky situations in my time and I want my team to know that I’m in your corner to help navigate it, together. I will provide in-the-moment feedback: critical to grow, which will always be done in private, or positive to inspire, shouting from the rooftops. I will always have your back.
How we meet and rituals we’ll build.
Meeting with my team on a regular cadence is important to me. Here’s how I plan on doing that:
- 1:1s: This is the designer’s time. I aim to have these at least once a week for 30-60 minutes. The designer owns the agenda and we can chat about anything, preferably not giving status updates. Coaching can be done here or other meetings or a mixture of meetings.
- Design reviews: I’d like to host these at least once a week. These should be informal and create a platform for designers to share what they’ve been up to with the rest of the team. Designers can talk about some challenges they’re facing or how you’re approaching a specific project.
- Design critiques: these are critical for us to solve problems. These should be formal and have a specific problem we’re trying to solve. We’ll bring in experts in the capability to help the designer solve the problem.
- Casual events meetings are needed, too. These may happen in 1:1s and team settings. Don’t talk about work, let’s talk about our favorite show, play a game, or have a happy hour. Let’s get to know each other better as people.
Help me improve by giving me feedback
I am not perfect and will make mistakes. Let me know when I fail, it’s an opportunity for me to learn and be better. You can do it anonymously or directly to me. There will never be blowback from me in any form, I see feedback as a gift and an opportunity to improve.
Above all, be kind.
Treat others how you want to be treated. We’re all on a journey and at different points along the path.
I promise to show empathy and respect at all times, someone is showing this with me.