🤝 Working with me

Meta

Hi! If you are reading this we are probably about to start working together. I am excited to get to know you better, and if we haven’t already we should have a chat over coffee, lunch, or beer. I’ve tried to reflect on how I work, and I have organized some notes about that here. I hope it will help us work well together even sooner, and perhaps give some context to some of my quirks.

Mindset

1. I am an idealist by nature. I try to work on things I believe in, and I assume most people have good intentions. Early in my career, I could be a bit dogmatic, feel free to call me out if I slip back into that.
2. I have learnt by experience that there is in fact rarely a single best way to do things. I have also learnt that talk and big ideas are worthless without action. Despite being an idealist by default, I am working hard to be as pragmatic as possible.
3. When making decisions, I try to maintain a bias towards action and progress. Instead of trying to make the perfect decision, I try to make good enough decisions that also lead to learning, a chance of impact, and further progress down the road.
4. I will work hard to make decisions supported by data and broad insights from stakeholders, but when necessary I am also comfortable taking a more intuitive decision that seems aligned with a broader framework or strategy. In any case, I will take responsibility for the consequences and their resolution.
5. I will bring my whole self to work. I might sometimes overshare things from my personal life. I will make jokes, sometimes they might be good ones, but mostly they will be awkward and fall flat. I don’t expect the same openness from others, but I will be open to whatever part of yourself you decide you want to share. If any of this makes you feel uncomfortable for any reason, tell me and I will try to tone it down.

Communication

1. Direct feedback is the most efficient way for me to improve myself. If you don’t like something I did or said, please tell me. I am curious to understand and learn, so I appreciate it even more if you give me as much context as possible.
2. A face-to-face conversation about feedback would be preferred, but I know it is sometimes uncomfortable. Anonymous feedback is better than no feedback, so if you prefer, you can always share feedback using my form: Seb’s Feedback Form
3. I know I can come across as very certain, maybe even overconfident, but I am working on creating space for others in discussions. If I fall short, please don’t hold back, I am eager to hear your input.

Collaboration

1. I am a curious person. I love Product Management because of the broad variety of work, disciplines, and people I get to work with. If we are working together I will be interested in the details of your space. Don’t feel it comes from a lack of trust, and don’t shield me from the details. Engage and share, but if you feel I am going too far you can also ask me to back off.
2. I am always happy to work together or provide feedback on the spot, but I know that I am way more effective when I take time to gain context, review artifacts and give a topic some thought. I am really grateful when somebody takes time to share a pre-read before a meeting. I will try to be disciplined around reviewing it, though sometimes I will fail.
3. When collaborating, I sometimes create a rough draft of a document or design to help make communication more explicit. It is not set in stone, it is more of a conversation starter. Feel free to change, improve or even scrap it altogether.

Availability and meetings

1. I will try to block off recurring 121 times at least every fortnight with some of the people I am currently collaborating with. I do this as a forcing function for discussions, but you shouldn’t wait for this slot if you need me, and we can cancel the slot if we don’t need it.
2. I work with a lot of people and it is tough to have recurring 121s with everyone. Please grab time with me when you need it, even if we don’t have a 121 scheduled. Sometimes I might need more time to focus, or spend time with others, and I might cancel our recurring 121. I am sorry, it is nothing personal, I am open to reconsider if you think we need the time, and I am always open to an ad-hoc chat.
3. I prioritize being available to others during core working hours. If you need my time or input, you’re welcome to claim it—even if I seem busy. I’ll protect my time when necessary, especially if I’m under deadline pressure or have conflicting commitments, but otherwise, I try to be open and responsive.
4. I will schedule focused time to get stuff done. I try to protect it, especially from recurring meetings, but if you need me urgently there is no harm in asking me to be flexible. I will generally do my best to accommodate.
5. For focused work like reading, writing and analysis, I find myself quite productive in the early morning or late at night. This also helps me be flexible, and a present husband and father. I avoid messaging people at this time, but if I do message you, I certainly don’t expect a response.