Leadership is not:
Dumping work, never abandoning tasks or responsibilities without proper handover and support, which negatively impacts team efficiency and overall user experience.
Competitive environment, We want our best designers to be mentoring other designers not shutting them down. It should never feel like a competition when delivering work.
Goals based solely on company performance, each team member needs specific actionable goals that improve their skills which indirectly and sometimes directly ties back to business goals.
No growth opportunities, each designer is unique and so is there career growth, the more you push them into a mold the less likely they are to feel motivated about growth.
No salary audits, times change and so does salary, itโs important to ensure your team feels and sees how much the company values their time and efforts.
Always โThe Intern,โ as your team grows you need to provide them with new opportunities to continue expanding their skillset.
Leadership is:
Daily Happiness
Work-life balance - I will always defend the team's ability to unplug, and balance their workload.
Find happiness in the projects they work on, or help navigate the company to find work that does.
As involved as needed
Outside of regularly scheduled syncs, I learn when/how to interact and collaborate.
I have full trust in you and your capabilities, weโre all professionals here.
Iโll join you in the 11th hour, the fire drill, the last minute stakeholder preso.
Celebrating the Wins
Acknowledge the great work being done in the moment, never will I ever lurk around to catch you doing something wrong.
Facing Challenges
Staying connected has reached new challenges, nothing can top a whiteboard session, but understanding the importance of connecting and community helps us get through the ever shifting future.
Empathy & Listening
Understanding why is the root of UX, the same curiosity applies to our team and those we work with. Empathizing with others builds trust and stronger teams.
Frequent one and ones, and participation in group chats to help build and establish trust/relationship.
Problem Solving
Another fundamental part of design and UX is problem solving, I apply this mentality to my teams and how they function. I collaborate with the team through retrospectives to improve weekly.
Ample Growth
Always know or and discuss how your career is/should be growing and what opportunities can we make to accomplish those hopes and dreams.
Shared Knowledge
I want to learn from you as much as Iโd like you to learn from me. Iโm not afraid of someone being better than me at something since thatโs an opportunity to learn something new or improve!