Hi - I’m excited to be working together. Here’s a guide to give context on my values, strengths, and growth areas. (Something I first discovered via Julia Zhuo.) I’m sharing this so we can develop a strong relationship based on deeper mutual knowledge of who we are and how we operate. I’d love to learn anything that this inspires you to share.
How I view success
Whatever the outcome, we come out with greater respect for each other. Success takes sacrifice. It’s important to me that we have honest conversations during growing pains. Even healthy work environments have circumstantial stressors, and I believe in cultivating the emotional safety for being human. We’re not just colleagues.
Our work breaks boundaries. If we’re not having the above sorts of conversations, then we could shoot higher and dream weirder. We set standards and deliver output that our peers consider inimitable. Like how unseen discipline and creativity goes into our favorite films—it takes soul. Soul that the corporate world could use fresh injections of.
How I communicate
I’m an external verbal processor. I think through writing and speaking. If I’m asked to speak on the spot in meetings, we might embark on a winding path because I’m trying to arrive at the core of what I want to say. This can be great for sharing context and rationale, but it’s not always the most efficient way to make decisions. Some of my best collaborators are ones who listen intently and replay my words back succinctly in a way that drives clear forward direction.
This is why async communication, visual concepting tools, and remote collaboration work great for me. I’m often clearer in writing because it gives me space to self-edit before sending a message, or take notes to track my thoughts during a live meeting. Regardless, I’m working on being more deliberate with my words in both async and live situations.
Things I do that may annoy you
I can better manage time. I might be a few minutes late to meetings. I’m working on being consistently punctual because I do respect your time. Sometimes I go overtime on meetings because I enjoy the conversation. In the right times, this is good for the business - carving out margins for open ended conversations that flow from preset or flexible agendas - because real magic can happen there. I do my best to gauge the situation, but feel free to be direct to keep the conversation on track. I won’t be offended - I get it, we don’t always have the time for play.
What gains and loses my trust
Gain my trust with good work that breaks best practices. Propose ideas beyond what we’ve historically done or what others have already found success with.
Come prepared to meetings so our time can be as fruitful as possible. Pre-read materials and send materials to pre-read. Listen proactively, take notes, and follow up. (I’m a fan of being off-camera to help focus on listening and responding.)
Show me something I don't know. Send me an article that made you think of me. Whether obscure or mainstream - I love it all. Feed my creativity and I’ll do the same with you.
Trigger me by voicing your opinions on creative work that aren’t rooted in curiosity for the why. I trust you’re good at what you do; trust that I’m good at what I do. Respect my craft rather than making declarative suggestions.
My strengths
If you’re into these things - my Strengthsfinder top 5: Strategic, Maximizer, Futuristic, Intellection, Connectedness
I think divergently. I work well with blank slates and can bridge methodical processes with nonlinear thinking. I come into meetings with ideas for us to consider new ways of seeing/doing things, likely pulled from a niche corner of the internet. Pretty much anything inspires me, especially if it’s not directly related to my work. (Can rephrase this as: I write poetry, which helps me write efficiently in a business context. Not the other way around.)
I love connecting with people - and connecting people. I build strong relationships across disciplines and industries. Let me know if I can help connect you with someone.
I maximize connections. I’m a fan of the bullpen concept, initiating bullpens, and driving conversation. I thrive when in collaborative spaces that encourage spontaneity, assuming there’s aligned strategy and direction at the foundation. As described by ex-Youtube VP Shishir Mehrotra:
“The bullpen is” a creative experiment that turned into a hallmark of our process. Many of our meetings included a long “bullpen” period. The time was intentionally unstructured and without any agenda, where the only rule was that you had to stay present. This would lead to many “multi-threaded” discussions happening in parallel, and if you didn’t have anyone to talk to, you could just keep working on your own. Many of these discussions would have naturally become ad-hoc meetings, and instead got handled in a timely manner. It also led to a much tighter leadership team since the list of interested parties in a topic was often different than might have been originally imagined.
I care a lot. I have an intrinsic motivation that applies to whatever I do. Because I’m a writer who uses language to emote and get others excited - I work well with sales and recruiting/people collaborators.
My growth areas
In my communications, I’m working on leading with the decision - then following up with the context. Otherwise, I’m prone to overarticulating my thought process. I’m working to prune down to sharing just the right amount of information when working with others.
In my management style, I’m working on providing the right amount of direction. A coworker has described me as an aspirational coach, which, great, but I understand there are also times I need to map out concrete processes so ideas get clean execution. I want to nurture creativity and strategic thinking, but sometimes I leave too many blanks and it might be overwhelming. I assume you can connect the dots or raise your hand for support, but it might also be more strenuous than I expect. Please tell me if more direction will help you be more efficient. I’m working on the balance of giving enough direction so expectations are clear, while allowing space for creativity.
I value teammates who push for clear articulation and documentation of process, and who proactively problem solve when old processes invariably stress and break as they grow to accommodate new tactics.
What I expect from people I manage
Don’t ask forgiveness, radiate intent. Signal next steps so I know you’re thinking ahead. Show your work early and often, at least in the beginning of our working relationship.
Operate with structure and systems-thinking. Drive our 1:1s so it’s clear to me what you need and by when. Organize your asks so it’s easy for me to help. Show me you’re thinking about all the dependencies and steps in your work. Bring it back to our big picture and long term goals.
Prepare for our feedback sessions. I will always be thinking about how I can help you grow, but for best results, this takes dedicated thought from your end as well. Share your own insights so I can respond to them.
Lead with positive resilience. I don’t expect metrics to motivate people. People motivate people. I’ll give external validation but there’s also your own intrinsic motivation that I can’t give. This has been key to my own journey - I’ve been lucky to have fantastic managers but I’ve also had to learn to manage my own insecurities (an ongoing process!). Let me know if I can support you more here.
How I give and receive feedback
My feedback philosophy is flexibility. I’m open to receiving and delivering feedback in both ad hoc and in intentional containers, whether voiced out loud or written. I’ll note quick feedback after the moments that trigger it, and then recap in dedicated 1:1s to review consolidated learnings.
In summary
Generally speaking - I’m often most comfortable when I get to be an editor. It’s when I naturally ease into flow state - when I trust my judgment and get to bring out the best of the people I’m working with.
The way I operate somewhat draws upon the Chinese businessman paradox. Cedric Chin (linked) puts it in a more tactical way but the relational way is - they get drunk together and then make millions, not the other way around.
It reminds me of Joan Didion’s portrayal of Martha Stewart’s “proprietary intimacy.” I can’t turn off the passion but I can temper it. Refine the zeal with grace. Understand when to give and when to hold back.
Looking forward to working together, whether now or in the future 🙂
Interested in more on today's weird work world? Sign up for my infrequent newsletter hyperdisciplinary.
