Leading by Serving: Why Best Designs Start with People

Ah, the corporate jungle. A land of deadlines, caffeine, and the perennial quest for productivity. Amidst the hustle, while I was fashioning out designs for that toothpaste you probably use every morning (yes, at Colgate), a profound realization dawned upon me: there's more to leadership than just pushing pixels and managing spreadsheets.

Ever had a teammate who's suddenly underperforming? While your first instinct might be to channel your inner Simon Cowell and serve up some ‘constructive criticism’, consider this: once, amidst a whirlwind of design chaos, I had a team member who seemed off. Instead of the usual “Hey, step up your game!” pep talk, I chose the path of the patient listener. Turns out, she was grappling with her mother's illness. It wasn't her design acumen that had taken a hit; it was life throwing a curveball.

And that's the thing. At the crossroads of business and humanity, one realizes the truth - behind every great product is an even greater team. And guess what? That team is chock-full of human beings. Shocking, right?

Now, I'm not advocating for you to turn every team meeting into a therapy session. But as leaders, our mission should be simple: value the human, not just the employee. When you're chasing after KPIs and quarterly results, it's easy to forget the very essence of teamwork: trust, understanding, and collaboration.

Here’s the golden nugget I'd like to offer: become a servant leader. Yes, it sounds like something Yoda would say, but hear me out. Your primary role? To serve, then to lead. It’s not about bossing people around. It’s about lifting them up. It's about being there, right in the trenches, braving the storms with them.

My stint at Amp Agency reaffirmed this. Apart from crafting those snazzy user experiences (humble brag), I learned the delicate art of being a leader who’s both a mentor and a student. Embrace feedback, give it generously, and remember, the leadership dance is a two-way tango.

In the age of Zoom and Slack emojis, nurturing the team's culture and connection is even more paramount. At Cision, with a ticking deadline and an ambitious product to revamp, I could have easily gone full 'dictator mode'. But the groundwork of trust, camaraderie, and mutual respect had been laid. So even in the face of urgency, the team rallied together, not out of fear, but out of genuine commitment.

So, next time you’re in a leadership pickle, channel your inner ‘servant leader’. Because if a guy who once designed for toothpaste can lead with heart in the tech world, so can you. Remember, it’s people over pixels, connections over code, and always, always, humanity over hierarchy. Cheers to leading with empathy and a touch of wit!