What are you passionate about in life and at Elabor8?
Not sure if I would describe myself as passionate, but I like to keep things real and authentic.
I learned while spending a lot of time hiking and skiing in the mountains that conditions can turn fast, that we’re not in control so it’s a good reminder to be grounded and put good vibes out into the world. That translates to my work life and how I’ve approached working at Elabor8, treating our clients and team well and making sure the person comes before the work.
Ultimately I think there are always better ways to do things which is my primary driver. It’s usually the case that those improvements involve process and the people in the system are often forgotten or prioritised last. My main crossover area with my values and Elabor8’s is that we value people first and really make sure that we’re doing the right thing by them.
What does a typical day at Elabor8 look like?
Back when I was a consultant it was usually a pretty frantic morning. Being involved in delivery, or a transformation means a lot of synchronisation as the day begins so we’re clear on the focus for today. Then subsequently running or planning inceptions, delivery meetings, or other sessions like prioritisation, reporting, and retrospective sessions. In the afternoon I might have started to look at the longer-term plan for the client and check in on Elabor8 Slack, OKRs, and activities like running meetups that I was involved in.
As I’ve moved into management my focus is much more widespread. A day now usually involves a good amount of time managing accounts and speaking with clients, coordination with our management and operations teams, meeting with consulting team members, and developing ways to improve the way we do our work. That could be in our engagements or internally. We’ve been focusing a lot on finding ways to reduce meetings by using asynchronous methods, so there is a lot of collaboration to do in Slack, Miro, and G-Suite.
Describe Elabor8’s culture?
People often ask me why I have stayed with Elabor8 for a long time and my answer revolves around culture. Within the first few weeks of joining I realised the autonomy that I held to get involved in whichever initiative I was passionate about, and I did. Elabor8 has always been full of really smart individuals, but at the same time, there is a culture of humility and openness. Everyone is willing to share information and help others get better, or understand a concept or learn about an experience.
What’s the one thing you do that helps you connect with clients?
I always try to understand each person in their own situation and what they’re trying to achieve. If I can understand that then I’ll be able to think ahead to what their concerns are and what they need from me. When I’m doing work I’m focused on that but I like to take time to check in on others and see how they’re really going.
What do you like to do outside of work?
With two young daughters, I don’t have a ton of time up my sleeve but I watch NFL and Ice Hockey and keep up with my teams. I’ve also been doing a ton of cycling which has given me a lot of benefits including new friends, drastically improved fitness, and an outlet to just switch my brain off and not think of anything. I used to go see a lot of rock, metal, and punk bands but that’s taken a backseat with COVID.
What’s the top tip you give people wanting to work in this field?
I learned during this pandemic to be smart with your energy. It’s very easy to burn yourself out either working too much, working inefficiently or shying away from delegating and collaborating. Listen to your mind and body, give yourself some slack if you can when you’re not firing on all cylinders.
