For Good.
I have been thinking on what it means to do my work “for good,” for impact, to lead change. Looking at it in the context of the work I want to do with my teams and in my organization I have come to ask myself… “What if I were to build a foundation that allowed the people that I work with, and for, to be their best selves? To do their best work?” Even better, what if I was to do this in a way that impacts not just their job, but their families, and those they interact with… for good.
What would help them be good? What interactions can I have with them that will help them do their work, whatever it may be, for good?
I’ve been working on setting up a framework that allows us to encourage this kind of behavior, to encourage this “for good” type of work.
But first, what is “for good?”
When I started to think about what good is, I started to think about what is my good? What is good for me? What is the thing that drives me? What is the thing that helps me make something good?
I want to create a world where my wife and daughters feel empowered to be their best selves, to have the freedom to do so, regardless of any challenges. I want them to be strong and centered in a way that allows them to bring positivity and impact those around them. I also want this for my teams, those who report to me, and those I work alongside.
But, sometimes what happens is… I still go to work, and there’s still days where I’m like, “Fuck it. I’m so done with this, or that.” Or I’m a bit frustrated, and reminding myself of my purpose doesn’t fix my frustration. The question becomes “how do I get past that?” I am of the opinion that I need to build a way for myself, and for those around me, to continue to think about our “for good”, to center ourselves in our purpose.
So, how does this work? This “for good,” doing something for good when it comes to our teams? One of the things that we’ve done in the organization where I work, at least in the line of business that I work in, is come up with this phrase
“We are to inspire each other to reach our goals, and to do the best work of our lives in a fearless, candid, and supportive environment.”
I love that. I love even more that this comes from the top. Our leadership is saying, “Regardless of where you work… Designer, developer, account manager, or the dude who’s cleaning the bathroom, this is our shared vision.”
And, it’s not “Make good user experiences.” It’s “Be this.” When I start to work in a way that is in line with this statement of purpose, it leads to positive outcomes. Not only in the work I do, but in the relationships I build. And relationships are everything.
“Relationships are EVERYTHING.”
How we interact with our partner teams impacts our ability, and our team’s ability, to do our best work.
The reality is that acting in this way rarely happens naturally. Our projects get hectic, communication gaps arise, and best intentions can fall by the wayside.
If I’m not in sync with the rest of my leadership team, and the teams we partner with, we are going to be at odds, working counter productively. As a result, I will contribute to an environment that cultivates frustrations, mis-communication (or no communication), silos, and politics.
And, so, as I come to work knowing that I’m trying to make a better place outside of my job, I now am working from a position of my happiness not being entirely dependent on work scenarios and/or performance. My overarching purpose sits as a north star to look to when things are messy, when I don’t want to show up as my best self. I can now go in, ready to work with my leadership team to create an environment where our direct reports can carry out the vision of the broader team.
So getting back to my thoughts on a frame work for teams to do their best work…
Be emotionally intelligent
It starts with our team determining that we want to be sensitive to our surroundings, and how we engage those around us. Whether or not we agree with them, regardless of if we share principles with them, or not, we need to be aware of who we’re working with, and how to work best with them.
From that, we can start to build trust, and identity, with them. And through that, we can be more efficient as a team.
Be present
Next is participation, cooperation, and collaboration. If I am aware, if I’ve built trust, and we have an identity, as a team, for how we’re interacting, we’re starting to work together more efficiently, now I can engage my partners in a way that brings better collaboration, better cooperation.
I hear a lot of talk about, “What do we need to do to get people on board? How do we get a seat at the table? While I understand the sentiment here, but if that is the only goal we are being really short sighted. Spend as much time worrying about what you’re going to do once you get there. We need to be participating, cooperating, collaborating. Making the tradeoffs that, sometimes, make us cringe. But, build equity and trust with our partners.
This is design “for good”. It’s investing in the relationships we have, with the people we work with, to build products that are going to shape and impact others.
Be vulnerable
This one is tough… Work environments rarely support, let alone reward vulnerability. Vulnerability is often seen as weakness, and to some extent it is. I am of the opinion that weakness is ok. If we can create a safe place for understanding one another’s weaknesses, we can better support one another in the work we do. This is not easy, and often requires us leading with vulnerability, which is fucking scary (not clown scary, but scary). The times that I have started a conversation or meeting, by stating my intent, sharing things that I am concerned about, or admitting that I don’t have the answers, I have experienced less defensiveness and more open and collaborative outcomes. When, as teams, we were able to set our egos aside we could get to solving for our goals as opposed to getting bogged down in turf wars and political posturing.
Yes, people may take it as weakness, or try and take advantage of us. I am not saying to throw yourself out there recklessly. What I am saying is we need to be smart about it, and take an approach of smaller incremental change. It is important that we are explicit in stating our intent for a team culture that supports vulnerability. Starting by being vulnerable with our own teams, and then we can move towards more vulnerability with partner teams, and ultimately the organization.
Sense, understand, respond
The ability to sense and understand human energy, emotional responses, information, connection, and influence is crucial to the work we do. The more we understand others the more we can be better collaborators.
When we start to follow these steps, and build one on top of the other, we can get to a position where, as a team, we make better decisions. We will have better solutions, because we have a diverse set of inputs, and insights. Our productivity grows because we’re not getting mired down in politics and he-said, she-said, and undermining each other along the way to further our agenda.
This is what I start to see, as design for good. It’s the simple little things of showing up every day and building this. It is something that can expand, something that can cascade down through teams.
The future of teams, building products digital or otherwise, is rooted in creating human connections in moments that matter. Pretty sure that is the optimist in me, but we have an incredible opportunity to use our work for positive outcomes.
I invite you to join me in this effort to be present in the moment, and seek context and understanding of what’s happening in that moment. And then, you can use that to further a conversation, to get it back on track when it’s gone off the rails. Be aware of your surroundings.
Here is some additional reading that I have found helpful.
