Themes of my career and future

Photo from Smithsonian archives

When I look backwards and forwards in time regarding my career I’ve started to see themes I’m drawn to. This list stands for the current picture of what drives me in my day to day role as a Designer and in my picture of what I’d like to keep as part of my career in the future.

Learning & Curiosity

I’m curious, I want to learn. I want new skills, new knowledge, new experiences to shape the person I am. Learning at work, where I spend the majority of my daily life, is of paramount importance to my personal well-being and mental health. I find I begin to atrophy in situations where mindless toiling is present.

Community of learners
I seek friendships and relationships with colleagues who hold similar values when it comes to pushing hard on quality, seeking a deeper understanding, creating knowledge. Being around intelligent, diverse, and happy people puts me in my best mental state.

Innovation
I want to think about what’s next? What can we do to push the bounds of human experience, progress, well-being, quality of life, etc. Seeing and aiming years into the future to set the new normal. Learning from the minds of others who are experts in their field, who are breaking ground, are the people I want to be surrounded by.

Financial Stability & Work-life Flexibility

I have a family that is everything to me. Providing for them pushes me to accomplish more. Having a mortgage, savings, etc. give me mental comfort to focus my brain on learning. This might sit at the bottom of my triangle of actual needs within a career.

Maintaining Flexibility
Having a flexible working situation so I can control my schedule in near entirety makes it possible for me to be the parent and partner I desire to be at home. I cannot live happily deferring my duties as a parent to my partner to carry for us both. I’ve seen the real effects my presence has on my relationship with my kids and partner.

Leadership

I’m still unpacking what it really means to be a leader. I find that when others are working, they constantly seek the reassurance and the comfort of a leader helping to provide direction and constraints. As I have come to understand this role more, I like being in the position to guide a group toward better value and better customer futures.

Motivating others
I love to see people improve, to see ideas improve, to grow. I want to learn better ways to motivate others than my typical path of continuing to ask why? I find not enough people dig deep enough, we can always try harder to think deeper if someone in the room motivates the group to do so in an engaging, non-forceful way.

Clarifying ambiguity
Being in situations that are new, murky, constrained, and with high-expectations allows me to rise to the challenge. I like to help others navigate the problems that don’t have clear solutions, problems that span teams, or are at a company/industry scale.

Quality

I want to be proud of the work I personally put out in the hands of customers. For the teams I lead, I want them to be proud of the work they create. I think creating products and experience at the highest quality is the best way for me to feel that sense of pride. When I mention the name Dropbox(current role) to friends or strangers, I want them to know it, love it, and see it as one of the best options they have for their needs.