The Importance of Values
It’s my belief that values are important. They can provide motivation when times are rough, giving you inspiration to push through. They can be a touchpoint for difficult conversations, helping to bridge the gap with shared understanding. They can unify diverse points of view, spark creativity, improve focus and remind of what’s important.
At Atlassian we’ve got some really great company values. Many companies do. Google, for example. Great values. There are others: Facebook, Heroku, Airbnb, Zappos, Etsy, etc. I could go on and on.
I love thinking about how these apply to my day-to-day as a designer. Recently I sat down and tried to write down, mostly for myself, what Atlassian’s values meant to me and to my work as a designer. I also sat down and thought about some of my own values, both as they apply to my work as a designer, but also as they apply to life in general.
A design eye on Atlassian’s values
I’ll start with Atlassian’s company values, which are great and a big part of what attracted me to the company.
Open Company, No Bullshit
Atlassian embraces transparency wherever practical, and sometimes where impractical. All information, both internal and external, is public by default. We are not afraid of being honest with ourselves, our staff, and our customers.
A designer’s take — don’t be afraid to share your work. Share it early, share it often, share with everyone. Design is a process and in my experience sharing is key to getting the best out of your work.
Build with Heart and Balance
Every day we try to build useful products that people lust after. Building with heart means really caring about what we’re making and doing–it’s a mission, not just a job. When we build with balance we take into account how initiatives and decisions will affect our colleagues, customers, and stakeholders.
A designer’s take — caring about what you do, but also setting aside time and energy for yourself is an important part of being happy. Stress can be a great motivator, but push it too far and your work, and life, could suffer for it.
Don’t #@!% the Customer
When we make decisions we ask ourselves, “How will this affect our customers?” If the answer is that it would screw them over, or make life more difficult, then we need to find a better way. We want the customer to respect us in the morning.
A designer’s take — this almost goes with out saying, but if you’re designing for someone else you should always be doing your best to address their wants and needs. This is much, much harder than it might sound, and there are certainly many times when you’re faced with an impossible decision, but understanding the whys involved can make you a more empathetic, and a better, designer.
Play, as a Team
We want all Atlassians to feel like they work with Atlassian, not for Atlassian. We think it’s important to have fun with your workmates while working and contributing to the Atlassian team.
A designer’s take — design is mostly about people. It’s really easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, especially when you’re working with technology and not see all the humanity around you. At the end of the day we’re building software for people with people. Keeping that front of mind is important.
Be the Change You Seek
We think Gandhi had it right when he said, “We need to be the change we wish to see in the world”. At Atlassian we encourage everyone to create positive change. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve our company, our products, and our environment.
A designer’s take — designers should feel empowered to drive change. In fact, we’re in a unique position to be very effective change makers. We should never be afraid to suggest improving an experience, any experience, when we see opportunities to do so.
Some of my own values
It’s hard not to internalize this stuff, and I’ve been “collecting” values my whole career. Here are a few more that I practice (yes, I actually try and practice this stuff regularly, haha) and work into my day-to-day. I think they fit pretty well with Atlassian’s company values.
Adopt a Beginner’s Mind
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki. From Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
It wasn’t that long ago I heard this phrase shortly after the way I approached my work and my life changed irrevocably. Working with a beginner’s mind allow you to see possibility that you might otherwise miss. It also puts you in a mindset where you can experiment and learn, accepting failure as part of the process. For more on this way of thinking check out the excellent Empty your Cup by my colleague Marie-Claire Dean.
Embrace Diversity
In my experience, diverse teams, working together with shared values and clear vision, are the most creative and most effective. As well, taking steps to diversify one’s own thinking whenever possible, can lead to amazing bursts of creativity. Going out of your way to look at things from different angles, get differing points of view, and work with people from different backgrounds or disciplines will result in many more opportunities and options to explore.
Seek First to Understand
Ok, this one is also sort of an Atlassian value, but I’ve glommed on to it. This comes from Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habit’s of Highly Effective People. Originally, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
We say this a lot at Atlassian, and it’s something I’ve taken to working into my day-to-day life, as well as my design process. In essence it’s the act of informing yourself about something before passing judgement. When it comes to giving or receiving feedback, for example, understanding the thinking behind a particular decision, or diving deep into the context, constraints and points-of-view involved can equip you to add much more value and avoid unnecessary conflict.
Create Constructive Conflict
Finding your un-comfort zone can be a great way to kick-start your flow. Some of the best work comes from a place of positive tension or conflict. It can be hard, but leaning in to that conflict can be very rewarding.
I don’t think I’d recommend being contrarian just for the sake of it, but taking the stance of a Devil’s advocate can push work in new, interesting and creative directions. As well, you should never be afraid to speak your mind. “Consensus is for losers,” I like to say.
Ask Questions
It’s very hard, but very freeing, to be ok with not knowing something. Learning is a great goal to have and exploration is a big part of the design process. In fact, I’ve got design projects going on where the primary goal is knowledge. Making a point to ask questions, especially when you feel really silly doing so, can open lines of communication and collaboration that wouldn’t otherwise be open, and will make you a better designer.
Listen
This one almost goes without saying, but it’s easier said then done. Beyond the actual value you get from listening, I find, along with asking questions, it’s a great thing to practice. Practicing active and attentive listening, and working to be present and deeply aware and in the moment during conversations has innumerable benefits.
Action Begets Action
When faced with an opportunity to act it’s almost always better to take it than to sit. Realizing that failure often leads to learning, which can lead to success and not being afraid to try something new is core to design. When in doubt, just start working. Go nuts and don’t worry about it, just do something. You might even consider jumping on the Crazytown Train right from the get-go!
Help Out
Offering to help, or being available to help, will almost always put you in a great place to learn and grow. Most of my favorite work, and my best opportunities, have come from accepting a simple request for help.
Want to work on a diverse team unified by shared values and (usually) clear vision? We’re hiring.
If you enjoyed this post and want more of the same, you might consider following Designing Atlassian!
