13 August 2021
Good People
We said farewell to Agz this week, as she leaves us to fulfil her long-held ambition of joining GDS. Agz and I started at dxw within a week of each other, and alongside many other changes have seen the company double in size in the four(!) years we shared here, and all the growing pains that come with such a transformation. In all that time I’ve been able to rely on her to tell me how things are without sugaring the pill. Thank you, Agz. Będziemy za tobą tęsknić! 🖤
Every cloud has a silver lining though, and one of the last things Agz did at dxw was to line manage Beth through to the conclusion of her probationary period this week. Early on, Beth was singing Agz’ praise for creating a safe and supportive space in their 1:1s. Well done, you two 💚
It often feels like the most challenging part of being a manager is unpacking the legacy of people’s managers that came before and shaped how they now view your role, be it a result of (mostly) inexperience, (occasionally) ineptitude, or (thankfully rarely) abusive behaviour. All of this while endeavouring not to contribute to that legacy yourself.
The single most rewarding part of my job is when I feel that a person’s trust in me to be their biggest supporter is noticeably increasing.
I conducted an interview this week and invited a couple of our recent recruits to be on the panel. Interviewing is one of my favourite things and it was lovely to see the two folks both new to being on the other side of the (metaphorical) desk taking to it like ducks to water and enjoying being included ❤️
Good Work
I was invited to join a promotion panel this week for someone from our technology team. As part of this, I was made privy to their well-written promotion process and documentation. I’m looking forward to cherry-picking from it as a basis for the design team’s new framework implementation 😎
As part of a bid we were asked to explain how we make the services we design as inclusive as possible. A huge part of this is how we recruit as a company, and how that shapes the teams we place onto projects. I have to admit the importance of this is something that I had overlooked in years gone by, thinking that as long as we were testing the things we designed with the people who’d use them, we couldn’t do any more. Wrong. I now strive to avoid homogenous teams and the blinkered design that they can produce.
Good Stories
Setting out for a bike ride on the first fine morning of the week, I discovered that my rear tyre was completely flat. There followed a mixture of disappointment (no sunny pre-breakfast ride) and excitement (I’m keen to get experience of fixing and maintaining my bikes). It’s really been over 35 years since I fixed a puncture on a bicycle. I am old.
This crow with an unusual call has been taunting us for a whole year of being unable to catch a glimpse. This week it sat bold as brass on the garage, shouting at me while I ate breakfast. I love you, Weird Noise Mystery Crow 🖤
Twitter changed the typeface it uses and folks had their two pennies worth on the hellsite about it. Older headz know that after a week it’ll be like nothing had changed; people read best what they read the most.
