Engagement Strategist Charlotte Taverner
A conversation about loving people and using things (and not the other way around), creating headspace during stressful times, and some damn early mornings
[A note: Our brilliant editor Dee worked on this interview with Charlotte before moving on to her new role at the Munk School of Global Affairs. As I’m getting it ready to publish after her departure, I see two stories happening: one is the story of Dee, whose behind-the-scenes editorial work has helped shine a light on the amazing people at Domain7. If you haven’t been following her series, check it out.
And the next story is the one you’re about to read: Charlotte. You’ll hear Charlotte expand on her role and origins and philosophies, but one thing you have to know about is Charlotte’s extraordinary capacity: Her capacity to build trust and bridges with partners, team members and clients; her capacity to handle surprises, crises, stress and peaking workloads with grace and optimism; her capacity for joy and spontaneity. She brings a steady, powerful force of empathetic leadership that lives up to what she describes here: the ability to create amazing conditions for people’s best work. It’s an honour to be Charlotte’s teammate, and I hope you enjoy getting to know her a bit here.
- Kevan Gilbert, interim editor]
What do you do at Domain 7?
I’m an Engagement Strategist, so my role sits right in between product management and strategy. A question I get often with regard to my role is: “What’s the difference between what you do and what any other project manager does?” In many ways my role and a PM’s role are the same: managing client relationships, team resourcing, overseeing timelines, deliverables and budgets, et cetera. The difference is that on top of managing a project, I also help clients rethink and improve their digital properties. I help them to continuously grow and develop on a month-to-month basis — and to push forward their business objectives.
What did your path to what you’re doing today look like?
Very zig-zaggy. If I look back I definitely can’t say that I’ve clearly been walking in the direction of becoming an engagement strategist.
Right after high school, I pursued holistic nutrition and at the time that was the pinnacle of all things to me. I was convinced I’m going to change the world by making people healthier and by helping them understand their food habits and needs. It was really enlightening and really helped me understand people and what motivates them. It’s one thing to be full of knowledge and it’s another thing to share that knowledge by communicating with people in a way that makes them feel motivated and ready to change.
So, from there I took on a role managing an arts cafe in the Lower Mainland, which was a whole different kind of people management and learning about what motivates people and how to collaborate well. Working at the cafe really fostered my love for working in a team and in an environment where people can just be there best and let their creativity and skills shine.
After that I’ve had several random roles, primarily in people management and human resources, and about five years ago a friend who was working at a digital agency said to me, “Hey, you’re really good at what would be considered project management skills at my work.” Up until this point, I hadn’t even considered project management as a career, but after that conversation I got really curious and started transitioning my skills from HR into a digital agency environment…and that takes us to today.
My role as an engagement strategist and a project manager is to create an environment where people can do their best work, and to do that well, people need to feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to their job.
It seems to me that although your path took a couple of turns, there’s definitely a bit of a red thread here or a common denominator.
Yes, I agree. It’s the organizer in me. Since I was a two-year old kid, I’ve loved to organize my room and I loved to plan my calendar and my friends’ calendars. But I also think it’s my appreciation for people and how much I like working with people. Project management is so much more than spreadsheets and budgets. At the other end of all these tasks are real people.
What gives you purpose in your work?
I am a very social person. I love people. I love people’s stories. I like to learn about people’s lives. And I think that project management done well, brings all of that to the forefront. My role as an engagement strategist and a project manager is to create an environment where people can do their best work, and to do that well, people need to feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to their job. That’s what makes me excited about my work, when I get to see those glimpses of people’s brilliance and creativity, and I get to see the different lenses they bring to their work. That really inspires me.
There’s this blog I really like, The Minimalists, and there’s a statement somewhere on there that says, “Love people and use things, because the opposite never works.” I think that’s true in project management, more than anything. It’s so easy to see our teams as “the things that make the stuff that we need to deliver”, but it’s so important to recognize that they are people, and they need to be cared for. Project management as a practice, so often centers on tools and tool sets. Tools are hugely important, but anyone can do that part of project management. Anyone can learn Trello, anyone can figure out how to manage a budget, and organize a calendar. Eventually, we might get to a place where that side of project management will be automated, so the value that we actually can add as project managers long-term really is the people part.
What is one of the most important things you’ve learned in your job?
Well, I can’t think of a better word and I know it’s such an overused word, but I’d say empathy. The ability to say, “I see you. I care about you.” I think that’s the foundation of working together and being partners and moving towards a common goal.
Any project manager knows how stressful it can be to get to that point in a project where everything is high stress and there’s that big goal that we have to hit. A lot is on the line and that can be really taxing on team members. You can react in a way where you just keep cracking the whip, or you can take that scenario as an opportunity to tell someone that they’re doing amazing work, that you’re seeing their efforts and show that you’re genuinely concerned that they’re okay and working with them to make their work life sustainable until we get where we need to be. I think, going back to what I earlier said: that’s what it really means to me to recognize that team members are people and not means to an end.
Don’t get me wrong. That can be hard sometimes and I’m also just human and not perfect, but reminding myself that people come first really helps me to catch myself and make sure people are cared for.
Having an atmosphere at the office where people make jokes and have fun is really conducive. It helps me burn off a lot of emotional stress.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed at work? How do you center yourself?
A multitude of things. Practicing mindfulness, for one. I’ve been using the Headspace app for quite a while now. That’s usually one of the first things I resort to when my head is spinning and things start to feel out of control. Being able to stay present with what I’m working on at any moment is usually my greatest challenge when I’m managing a multitude of projects and I have lots of meeting and Slack is exploding with messages. That moment of pausing and re-centering and creating space to be present often works wonders.
Also, just laughing about silly things. Having an atmosphere at the office where people make jokes and have fun is really conducive. It helps me burn off a lot of emotional stress.
As someone who has to be reachable and online for the most part of your job, do you make it a point to take “offline” times?
Yes, during the week I rarely get any offline work time. There’s just always too much going on, but on the weekends for sure. I really try and create offline space, because I really need it. I need to be disconnected every once in awhile. Downtime is important, and I need that to be able to come back to work on a Monday and to feel ready and feel energized. I’ll often spend time knitting and sewing (I just finished a sweater!), and going on adventures outdoors with my dog.
Is there something in your role you find challenging, and how do you address challenge?
You know how I said earlier that my role kind of sits between strategy and project management? On the one hand that’s great and I love it, but on the other hand that comes with its challenges. There’s the PM in you saying, “I only have this much time, and I only have this much budget.” Wehereas the strategist in me is like, “Think big! Anything goes! The world is your oyster!”
I’d also say to be good at project management requires me to be in a different kind of headspace than when I do strategy work. Especially when I need to put my strategist hat on, it can be challenging to get focus time on my calendar, which is necessary for me to deliver good strategy. So I’ve been trying lately to be really frugal with my Mondays, especially Monday mornings. I try as much as possible to keep them meeting-free.
Are you a morning person?
Yes, definitely. Mornings are my most productive time. Me and a couple of colleagues actually did the 21 Damn Early Days challenge recently. For 21 days, we got up at 4:30 am. That didn’t include weekends. Just Monday to Friday. The challenge is over now, but even without the challenge, I usually wake up at 5 am or 5:30 am. Today I was up at a quarter to five and headed to Kits Beach with my dog. I love that time when it’s still empty and the sun is rising and the sea is calm. Those moments are such a gift. I get time to reflect on what’s really important to me and give myself space to be intentional about my time before I get on with my day.
What are three things that have inspired and influenced you?
Krista Tippett | On Being
I love how On Being opens up so many animating questions at the center of human life: What does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live? Krista has a remarkable way of drawing out the most beautiful and insightful conversations with the most brilliant minds. Two of my favourite episodes are the conversation with Anil Dash on tech’s moral reckoning and Krista’s chat with poet Pádraig Ó Tuama.
Joshua Fields Millburn + Ryan Nicodemus | The Minimalists
Such a great blog. I especially love this quote: “Minimalism is the thing that gets us past the things so we can make room for life’s important things — which actually aren’t things at all.” This applies to so many areas in life, including the art and science of project management. How do we remove clutter to create environments in which our teams are empowered to flourish and do their best work and be their best selves?
Spotify | Productive Morning Playlist
Music is a requirement in my daily work rhythm, and Spotify’s “Productive Morning” playlist is one of my go to’s when I need some lyric-free brain food. Funny story: I’m a wearer of earbuds, as opposed to over-the-head earphones, and with my long hair, my co workers often can’t tell I’m plugged in and attempt to kick-off a conversation that I am deaf to. It has caused some awkward moments and has resulted in me being given the “cone of silence”, a hand-crafted head piece that notifies colleagues to the fact that I’m in fact wearing headphones and can’t hear them.
