My values
- Kindness. You can be the world's brightest and most competent software engineer, but if you're not kind to those with whom you interact, you'll never reach your full potential. Be kind.
- Ownership of work. I do my best to be proactive and self-motivated, self-improving and treating root causes instead of symptoms. I avoid half-measures and leave things better than I found them.
- It's better to ask forgiveness than permission. I'm eager to get things done, and when I see something that needs fixing, I fix it. From my experience, proactiveness usually triumphs over unnecessary red tape and hierarchical chains.
- A healthy, supportive and collaborative environment is crucial in a workplace. I like to belong to a team, solve problems and work together to achieve a common goal. I believe in giving credit where credit is due and celebrating the successes of others. We can accomplish much more as a group than as individuals; teamwork makes the dream work.
Feedback
- I will give feedback and expect to receive feedback in return. It should preferably occur as real-time as possible and be specific.
- I appreciate any type of feedback, both positive and negative. I struggle with underlying messages, though, so please be direct!
- Radical Candor works well for me - it depends on trust, safety & compassion.
Conditions I like to work in
- Egalitarian leadership.
- Continuous learning culture.
- Trust by default.
- A lot of autonomy to make decisions (not just me).
- Encouragement to ask stupid questions (there aren't any).
- Honesty, humbleness, and no unnecessary hierarchical chains.
Things that rub me the wrong way
- Meetings with no agenda.
- Micro-management.
- Distrust and lack of transparency.
- Doing work without understanding the "why and why now."
What I need from others
- Understanding and acceptance of other people's cultures, values, and backgrounds.
- Willingness to try & passion for putting in the effort.
- Trust and encouragement to work autonomously (but knowing when to ask for help).
- Care about reaching outcomes together and a desire from everyone to be the best possible that we can be.
Personal quirks
- I fidget a lot. I am 100% listening as I do this.
- I am very much a morning person and often start work between 6 and 8 am.
- My work style can seem a bit chaotic from the outside, but I'm actually very organised and structured.
Other things to know
- A firm believer in using intuition when we don't have all the facts.
- Can have firm opinions, always loosely held. Always willing to change course if evidence points away from the original plan.
- I try not to have opinions on things I don't understand.