How I lead
Six habits that shape how I lead. They're what I hold myself to, and what my teams can expect from me.
Lead with empathy
Empathy builds trust, and people who trust their leader take more risks and share better ideas. Compassion still includes the hard conversations. I go into them understanding what the person is dealing with.
Protect the team's focus
When a designer is caught between stakeholders who each want something different, I step in. I get the partners to agree on priorities, so the team has one clear direction and room to do good work.
Advocate for what people need
I speak for my team in the rooms they aren't in. That means pushing for resources and making sure their work is seen and credited.
Mentor, and open doors
Mentoring is some of the most important work I do. I've had access to opportunities and networks that many people haven't, and I use that to open doors for people who might otherwise be overlooked.
Show how the pieces fit
Information architecture is still how I think. I start with what the customer is trying to do, then ask teams to map the whole experience so each person can see where their work fits.
Keep people at the center of AI
I've designed with AI since early IBM Watson work at USAA. At Zillow, my teams put AI inside the tools agents already use, where it supports their judgment. I give teams protected time to experiment, and a person still answers for what we ship.
"I wanted the work to be good, and I cared about what happened to the people doing it. I began taking responsibility for both."