Written as an open letter to one of the teams I managed (UX/UI Designers) during my work for Orange.
You know those corporate policies where external communications should be internally consulted and agreed upon by the legal department, PR and god knows who else?
Yeah, fuck those rules.
Today I will tell you about the best team I have come to work with and for whom it is an honor and pleasure to serve.
Malwina Demczuk, Joanna Depowska, Katarzyna Dobrowolska, Anna Dontsova, Maria Heś, Natalia Jach, Zuzanna Jakubowska, Diana Jankowiak, Weronika Jaroch, Monika Karbowska, Marta Kiszko, Izabela Klarzak, Aneta Kowalska, Jolanta Krzywdzińska, Anna Kućma, Monika Michalska, Viktoriia Nechai, Magdalena Pasek, Magdalena Pitera, Kat Rybińska, Magdalena Sabak, Izabela Sulowska, Magdalena Tararuj, Kinga Wojtuń, Aleksander Dębowski, Paweł Filip, Łukasz Gałach, Jakub Kalitowski, Przemysław Kęsik, Konrad Kloch, Szymon Kulicki, Sebastian Łukowski, Maciej Możejko, Sebastian Pawiłojć, Jacek Sęk, Łukasz Śliwa, Patryk Zasuwik – this one’s for you, Legends.
Unleash the Minds, Break the Silos
Corporate processes can stiffen delicate minds – those that are sensitive to every whiff of change and that sense future trends and solutions before most people know about them.
These procedures protect against chaos and ensure the safety of them, but they can also limit creativity – that’s natural. It’s been a bit like that with some of you, but all it took was a few simple procedures to unleash your potential:
“What do you think about this?”,
“And how would you do it?”,
“What if we’ll do it your way?”
and above all, “I trust you – after all, you are the specialist”.
It was after asking such and similar questions, after conducting several workshops, hackathons, design sprints that I learned what talented people I work with.
Every day I find new reasons to admire you. When the design process didn’t match reality – we simply changed it. When we needed support from other departments – we just worked together without asking if we could.
We see the sense and value in it – together.
Surrounded by current & future Experts
I love how you teach me. You have an amazing knowledge of interface ergonomics. When we work together or when I get to know your projects already in the works, every now and then I am amazed by the way you think. I’m fascinated by every new idea you want to implement for our team.
And – gosh – you are incredibly hungry for knowledge and absorb it like a sponge. Frontend basics? No problem. IT architecture exercises? I’ve had a great time watching you figure out how web applications work in detail and how to understand developers more easily in their daily work. Behavioral analytics? It was enough to provide you with direct access to the vendor of solution and you rock in this area (also questioning the data – thank you for still having critical minds). AI? We race together to see what anyone can find more & more interesting (or stupider, to have a laugh together).
I see in you senior designers yourselves, all of you. Most of you have been them for a long time, and some of you will get to this stage because they are just starting out in the job market.
The truly Diverse & Honest People
I have the privilege of working with people of different talents, personalities, orientations, nationalities, ages (there is probably more than 20 years difference between the youngest and the oldest person; I guess, because it doesn’t matter to us) and – above all – character. And I love it. I think that if I had to find a common point in this team – it would be good hearts.
When the hierarchy builds even a small but nevertheless distance between us, I am from risking and bridging it as much as possible, not you.
From servant leadership, transparent communication, trusting again and again in spite of doubts on the other side all the way to support in tougher times or simply being emotionally available. I am for you, and I know that this is not the most common approach in large structures.
When the bravest people point out to me what I’ve screwed up (and no joke, they tell me straight forward when I’ve fucked up big time) – and don’t suffer any consequences for it, and in fact receive gratitude, it’s easier for the others to get the courage to act. I’m patient, I’ll wait for each of you.
And when did I find out most beautifully that diversity is in your blood? During our Christmas meeting, when I saw the gingerbread cookies with our competition.
My favourite Meme Squad
You have taught me that not everything has to lie on my shoulders. That we can have a space, in which I feel safe and open to you. And you send me brutal (xd) memes when I speak up from vacation (thank you for them – they work).
I almost died laughing when I saw my “birthday card” on FigJam, but I also stopped a few times with a shrug.
What I still love about you is your healthy detachment and wonderful humor. When reality presses down on us, it’s the best memes that you yourselves create that save us from absurdity and insanity. You are professional meme therapists – for me and each other.
You are the best. Don’t let yourselves be told otherwise.
(or drop me the name of the one who says so and the literalness of the bag – I’ll take care of it).
Michał, always at your service.