It’s been 90 days since I started my dream job designing at Slack, and I want to take a little bit of time to look back on the most fulfilling three months of my life. Beyond my output — writing an article to be published on the Slack Design blog, art directing assets for the coolest brand campaign I’ve ever worked on, creating meaningful relationships with my coworkers and teammates — I’ve been thinking about the framework within which I approach my input, AKA the interactions with others that make up my days.
My skip manager Josie Jeffries (whose Slack Design article I internalized every word of and nervously spewed back to her during my final interview) always tells us to “lead with confidence”. To be frank, that scares the hell out of me. Confidence in myself is not something I excel at, but I’ve realized all that leadership means is showing up as the best version of yourself in order to bring out the best in others. That’s hard for me, but something I’ve learned about humility from the late Clayton M. Christensen has been helping me along:
Humility is defined not by self-deprecating behavior or attitudes but by the esteem with which you regard others.
Humility is thinking that everyone you meet — the barista, the VP, the wanderer — has something to teach you. If you go through life thinking that your experiences will teach you all you need to know, you’ll end up close-minded and disappointed. But if you see every interaction as a chance to uncover a singular bit of knowledge, you’ll never stop learning, and therefore, never stop becoming a better version of yourself than you were before you met them. If you respect every person you come across, doggedly convinced that every person’s story is one you can grow from, you’ll be a lot better off.
Speaking of someone I hold in high regard, my mom has been asking me how I’ll measure my life: by career satisfaction, creative output, how happy I make others, joyful moments, etc. So far I’m thinking that each different answer I give is equally as valid as the next. Last year I optimized for professional fulfillment: feeling valuable to others, contributing to the success of a team, and working on something I cared about. The past few months, making my family feel supported has been my priority. Last week, I wanted to make as much cool shit as I could possibly churn out. Today, I want to enjoy working on projects with people I look up to, enjoy a good friend’s birthday celebration, and call my parents. These answers are all equally worthy, and I’m excited about the new ones I’ll come up with in time.
I’ll leave you with this quote from Christensen:
Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people.
Every person I’ve interacted with so far has made me better. I want to do the same for the people I’ve yet to meet.