Part 2: No as a negotiation Barrett: I don’t know the answer to this, I’m just posing the question: Do lots of people have horror stories of saying, “No I’m at capacity” and getting a big backlash? I have a few of those stories myself. But is that the norm…

Part 1: Making the invisible visible Mia: I hear a lot of people saying they feel like they can’t say No. Your manager says, “I need you to do this thing!” but you don’t have time. Or maybe your teammate asks you to take on responsibility, and you need to say No. April: I think it’s…

Design your next discussion — Facilitation is one of the most undervalued leadership skills around. Sure, lots of attention is paid to flashier qualities. Google any list of essential skills for leaders and the top five will include some combo of: “communication, creativity, delegation, trustworthiness, feedback.” Of course those skills matter, but even more essential…

We are honored to welcome Courtney to the Design Dept. team. She brings a wealth of experience — including working at the intersection of business and design — to her role as a Leadership Instructor. We’ve enjoyed getting to know her perspective, and thought you might too. How has your…

Part 1: Deciding your direction — With our careers, as with most things in life, society dictates a path forward in a straight unimaginative line: High School → College → Grad School Dating → Marriage → Kids Designer → Senior Designer → People Manager But the truth is that we are all individuals, and the straightest…

Resilience will see you through — The change we’ve all experienced in the last two years is far from normal. But it is our new norm. And making this new norm sustainable is critical to our well-being. Building resilience is one way you can help yourself create the internal resources you need to navigate adversity. Remember…

You can design your team’s transition Change often signals an opportunity for growth. But when you experience change, it doesn’t always feel like an opportunity. You’re not necessarily thinking, “Oh, yay!” Likewise, when your team is confronted with change, chances are they won’t immediately see it as a positive happening. …

Leading your team through adversity — To say that our lives have changed a lot in the past two years is to say the sky is blue. So much has changed — and changed so radically — that 2019 seems to have taken place decades ago. We don’t work in the same way. We don’t interact…

We are honored to welcome Melanie Araujo-Valdes Olmos to the Design Dept. team. Melanie brings a wealth of experience to her role as a Leadership Coach and Instructor. We’ve enjoyed getting to know her perspective, and thought you might too: How has your background in psychology shaped your career path? …