Team members are scattered across different clients and projects; our weekly critique and collaboration time allows us to share project work with and get feedback from the entire experience team. There are several goals of this ceremony:

• visibility: we get to see what is going on across different projects.
• efficiency: because of this visibility, we are often able to find patterns and commonalities that helps us build efficiency and consistency in the work.
• skill building: depending on the focus of each session, we are actively practicing the skills of presenting work, providing feedback, or generating and iterating on ideas.
• quality: because of the efficiency and skill building, our work continues to get better.

Accountability sprints are essentially group focus sessions, or a type of virtual body doubling. For a designated period of time (from 30-90 minutes total), team members can join a sprint when they are struggling with focus and need to push through a work task.

At the start of the sprint, each team member shares what they are working and what they hope to achieve by the end of the sprint. Then it's cameras on and microphones off for the duration of the sprint time. As time winds down, we reconvene briefly to provide updates on our progress.

Accountability sprints can be pro-actively scheduled a few times a week, and can also be triggered by any team members "on the spot" if they have a deadline coming up.

(This practice was inspired in part by [Cave Day]).

Inspired by Tanya Snook, unstuck meetings combine the collaborative spirit of the weekly crit & co-lab with the spontaneity and accountability of an accountability sprint.

Design work involves a lot of problem solving, and sometimes we just...get a little stuck. Unstuck meetings are less about having team members solve a problem for you, and more about talking through a struggle in order to provide clarity. Many times, simply asking for help, getting on a short call, and having a few sympathetic team members ask some questions is all someone needs to get unstuck.

Hiring is one of the most challenging parts of a management role. I attempt to balance the needs of the organization to find the right talent with the humanity of the candidates engaging in (an often frustrating) job search.

To try and ensure the best experience for those on both sides of the table, I advocate for the following:

• Review all applications myself, and select the candidates for the screening interview.
• Clearly articulate what the process looks like for candidates selected for interviewing.
• Limit the hiring process to three interviews: screening interview, hiring manager interview, and team portfolio review.
• Never require a take home test.
• Create interview guides for each stage of the process.
• Use a consistent matrix to compare each candidate qualifications as fairly as possible.

The part of my leadership practice that has changed the most over the years is my approach to 1:1s. I used to consider these meetings a time to share updates on project work, or address issues team members bring up, but I've since changed that perspective.

My 1:1s now are primarily about building a relationship with each of my team members, and more specifically, about creating psychological safety and trust. It's about getting to know what each team member needs to be successful and feel valued. And whether they are a coffee or tea drinker.

Time spent on these 1:1s are like an investment with accrued interest. Team members know they always have scheduled time with me, so I get fewer one-off requests during the week. They also don't hesitate to come to me quickly if they are struggling or need help because we've already built trust; conversely, I can often see trouble on the horizon and work to minimize impact or prevent it altogether.

The word I use to describe my approach to professional development is clarity.

First, it is essential that each team member understands the expectations of their role and how their performance is evaluated: what does good work look like in this context?

Second, the different skills we expect team members to use on the job need to be both articulated and supported. We are currently using a set of 10 skills for individual contributors to describe the different types of work we are routinely tasked with on projects. (These include three foundational skills: professionalism, collaboration, and feedback). I describe clear expectations for five different levels in each skill category, and then map skill levels to job roles.

Finally, each team member has a personalized growth plan based on their current skills and level and the skills they are interested in growing. We set clear, achievable quarterly goals (examples: "complete this introductory training course on design sprints"; "do a 30 minute internal presentation on what you've learned about accessibility this quarter") and revisit regularly.

I like to say that ideas are like promises, as the word “promise” holds duel meanings.

To hold promise = to have the capacity for excellence. In project work, this part of the promise is our creative energy, our ability to problem solve and come up with great ideas.

To make a promise = to commit to an action. In project work, this part of promise is our ability to focus, execute a solution, and deliver.

When teams are struggling to deliver, I’ve found it helpful to use a 2x2 to identify where team members are struggling (is it creative energy? focus? both?) and then map to specific activities that can be helpful.