About Me

My Working Style

My approach to my work has evolved a great deal over the course of my career. Here are some of my greatest insights:

• Building trust and consensus with partners is truly foundational

• Pay attention to what your stakeholders are nervous about

• Communicating design strategy is just as important as the designs themselves

• Design must be approached and evangelized using the same language used by stakeholders (e.g. specific metrics, KPIs, OKRs, etc.)

• Involving other teams throughout the product/project lifecycle requires more effort but helps avoid serious issues

• Deliver on short-term needs but always think strategically - both in terms of what we deliver and how and when we deliver

• Always work to improve the organization’s UX maturity level

How I Build, Lead, & Manage Teams

I have been managing teams since I was 18-years-old, and my approach has shifted dramatically. I learned some hard and important lessons, and as a result, I have become very passionate about this topic. Good management is incredibly impactful not just on the quality of work, but also on all the people doing the work.

Early in my career, I naively thought successful team management meant showing and telling members of my team exactly what I wanted them to do, and then making sure it was done accurately and quickly. I discovered that I had a talent for envisioning and articulating solutions before others could, and I because I was also accustomed to navigating ambiguity, it seemed clear to me that my role was to explain my vision and have my team execute on it. However, I learned that this is a terrible way to lead. Not only was it stifling for creative team members, it also hindered discovery of alternative solutions, and it simply could not scale as the size of the teams I managed continued to grow.

Over time, after leading many projects and people, and after studying about the art of managing teams, I dramatically revised my leadership style. As a result, the quality of the work was very high (even at scale), my team was happier and had less turnover than other teams, our partners were happier, and I was deepening my bench of talent by building new leaders.

What did I learn?

• Managing a team well means getting to know team members and caring about them on a personal level

• Understand the strengths and weaknesses of individual team members; build up strengths where needed and educate them on areas they can grow

• It is essential to establish healthy processes that foster good work

• Provide designers and writers with the room they need to exceed, but with the support and direction that they require

• Prioritize 1-on-1 meetings

• Attend to the needs of each team member, as well as the work

• Foster mutual respect while maintaining an appropriate professional distance

• Managers play a crucial role in shaping a team’s culture and the atmosphere in which they work

• Deeply understand the needs of your partners