When I left Meta, I was leaving a treasured team who I’d worked with for many years. I left the team with some parting advice that if the team repeated to themselves, it would be like I was still there. This advice aimed to capture the guidance I’d been imparting on the team for the last several years - the sentences we say over and over are often how others remember us. I share these here as well to help share a bit of my philosophies and approaches to work - I hope you find it helpful in thinking about your own approaches.
Don’t let great be the enemy of good - It’s so easy to continue to want to make things better. But at the end of the day, our goal is to get to action, and so make sure you aren’t holding work back that could be very useful now to keep perfecting it. Like this list - I could wordsmith and come up with ideas forever, but I will fight that bias. 🙂
Get it done early - Being on top of things, proactive, and organized will take you a long way.
Lean into relationships - Influence is hard, but investing into relationships will go a very long way for helping you get things done. Really get to know people as people, understand their perspectives.
Be kind - At the end of the day, we are all human, want to be treated well, and want to do a good job. Be generous with others - it’s the environment I personally want to work in and makes everyone happier.
Own your work life balance - Sustainability is important - your career will be long. Pick what matters to you and protect it. Block your calendar. Fit in breaks and walks throughout your day. Be transparent about your priorities.
Create feedback loops to stretch yourself and grow your comfort zone - Most likely the thing that scares you will actually go really well when you try it. Try small things that scare you, and then watch for those feedback loops to encourage yourself to keep going, and ultimately expand what is in your comfort zone.
There are different ways to influence people - Be thoughtful about what matters for an individual. Is it data? A customer success story? Lean into what matters for the individual.
And, a few philosophies on leadership (which can apply to collaboration as well!):
People first - focus on the people, and good work will follow.
People do their best work when excited - set people up with the opportunities that they want. Intrinsic motivation is huge.
Make sure people understand what you are asking them to do - If someone isn’t doing something that you’re asking them to do, are you sure they understand the details of what you’re asking? Can you demonstrate an example to make sure that your ask is clear?
Lead from behind - The individual you are leading knows more about the context of the space - trust them, enable them to act autonomously, set them up as the face of the work. But, be there behind the scenes to help them.
And lastly, everything in this post is a choice. These are the choices that feel right for me. You don’t have to make the same choice as me, but do make an intentional choice. Choose who you want to be.
If you want to bring more choice and intentionality to how you approach work, reach out to explore how I can help.
