Sorry Mom

You know that classic parable about the cobbler’s children having no shoes? The shoemaker is is too busy with other work to provide for his or her own children. This is prevalent in the technology industry too! I last updated my personal “website” almost five years ago. It’s hand-coded html instead of WordPress because I …

Squad Goals

A few keys to distributed success Since becoming the lead of my team I’ve spent a fair bit of time helping my team members  define career growth goals and track their progress. Everyone is different and their growth can obviously take many forms—from skill-building to efficiency to leadership. That said, I have noticed a few …

Listen Up

How does Automattic incorporate “listening” into its design process? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVMQ-1lJ6c Two weeks ago Automattic had its annual all-company in-person gathering in Whistler, British Columbia. I got to catch up with dozens of colleagues and meet dozens of new ones. One of my favorite things about distributed work is the melting pot of perspectives it creates. …

Up the hill Backwards

I wrote in June about my early experience leading a remote team and the experimental tool I borrowed from behavioral economics to help foster the growth of my teammates. The ‘tool’ is a set of four questions I ask every two weeks during one-on-one sessions each designer. How do you think you’re doing the last …

Remote Leadership

I believe remote work is the future. I’ve been working as a designer for Automattic for three years and I worked from home half time the two years prior. Before that I did freelance work on nights and weekends at my dining room table. Working remotely allowed my wife and I to move from Philadelphia …