Aspiration, explained
Let’s spend more time focusing on our strengths by asking and answering simple questions like, “What’s going well around here, and how do we do more of it?” As we pose these positive questions, we expose what’s working so more people can learn from it.
If your copy is not handy, here’s Chapter 5 from Do Better Work, which is all about this topic.
Examples / Observations
Observation created over 4 years agoStephen publicly highlighted the work that Brittany and Matt B. did to keep queue size down when reindexing all Lessons: https://lessonly.slack.com/archives/G8Q5B0EVA/p1607543001201000 This shout-out not only encourages those on the receiving end to continue being good stewards of our systems, but gives all developers an example to emulate. I'm sure not every engineer would have considered the impact of enqueuing any number of jobs—perhaps now they will, and might even remember that keeping queue depth to within a few hundred is a good thing, as Stephen pointed out.
Observation created over 4 years agoI've seen Haley write out a ton of well thought-out shout-outs for folks, and it always injects a significant amount of joy into my day. Not just when they're for me, but it's just nice seeing someone be so enthusiastic about breeding a culture of gratitude and appreciation for our teammates.
It's easy to see something good, have a dull sense of appreciation for it, and then move on with your day. But it seems like when Haley witnesses something that someone is doing right, she's doing so with a lens of love and celebration. It becomes more than a fleeting chuckle or feeling of being impressed, it amplifies the positive thing into something more. It highlights what's working and makes everyone feel good in the process!! It's positive reinforcement that gives other people on the team an opportunity to learn from something they might not have otherwise seen.
Haley is great at making people feel good about what they're doing well, but she also has a tactful approach to giving criticism. She's reviewed a ton of my PRs to date, and has given me a healthy amount of feedback. I'm glad that she stated she gets low-key excited when she picks up one of my PRs, because I feel the same way when she does a review for me. I know I'll have really QUALITY feedback that's delivered in a way that doesn't make me feel dumb or like I've done something wrong.
It comes full circle, because I think her ability and willingness to give gentle criticism makes the aforementioned compliments feel all the more valuable and genuine. The best compliments are those that come from someone you know isn't just trying to placate you, so that's just another reason these patented Haley Shout-Outs feel precious!
This is my updated affirmation of how much I appreciate having Haley as a teammate, which is a sentiment that originated pretty much as soon as I started at Lessonly! 🎉
Observation created almost 5 years agohjkhkj
Observation created almost 5 years agoFeaturing:Anne L.We ask clarifying questionsWe highlight what's workingWe get agreementsQualitative ResearchCommunityEvaluative User ResearcherAnne Marie is an absolute rockstar to work with. Salesforce is no small animal to tackle and she came in with no context, asked great questions, challenged our squad, and whipped together an incredible research plan and executed it. I personally wrestled with how to wrap my arms around the never-ending questions around reporting and how it could go in so many different directions. She had a heavy hand in stringing together what we were trying to find out and making the user testing actually successful. I’m amazed at the level of insights we've gained from her meticulous script and ability to ask important clarifying questions. I appreciate her dedication to her craft and how she's always innovating on how to better her research practices.
If you ever get a chance to sit-in on user testing with Anne Marie, I highly recommend it. User testing can be difficult because you also have to manage the emotions and feedback from other humans. Her ability to guide users through research problems without creating biases is quite the balancing act. She's also incredibly friendly, accommodating and creates a comfortable environment that generates wonderful discussions. I've learned to be a better listener just by observing her. She can pivot on a dime or dive to 10,000 ft depths to really understand the root of the problems that our users face.
But what I'm most impressed with is Anne Marie's commitment to treating everyone equally and as humans first. From checking in with each of our squad members individually on mental health, to being incredibly compassionate and sensitive to what our clients are facing during this time, I really am blown away by how brings brightness to the room no matter where she goes. She's stepped up for me when I needed help, validated my feelings when I've been overwhelmed, and I know she has my back. It's a pleasure working with her and I'm so excited to get to be on her team.
Observation created over 5 years agoFeaturing:Conlin D.We put learners firstWe share before we're readyWe ask clarifying questionsWe highlight what's workingWe own our requestsWe recognize the opportunity in challengesWe inspire others to do better workWe don't wait to be told what to do, we take initiativeWe put the team before ourselvesWe challenge ourselvesWe critique, we don't complainCommunityInitiativeMentorshipProduct DiscoveryDiscovery engineerFront-end architectFront-end engineerLast week, I did a code review for Conlin. In the PR description, he did a phenomenal job at leaving detailed testing steps and notes around why the story was necessary. Beyond that, however, he also went out of his way to thoroughly talk through the issue on a deeper level. He explained the research he did on the problem, potential solutions (and why they wouldn't work), his decided solution (and why it does work), as well as the history and potential future of the problem. As both a reviewer and fellow engineer, I was really impressed by how much thought and effort went into this.
While I already find myself aiming to be as clear and informative as possible in my PR descriptions, seeing this inspired me to raise my standard going forward, and left me feeling grateful to work with Conlin.PR of Reference - https://github.com/lessonly/lessonly/pull/7482
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