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Trust & Product Design(joelcalifa.com)

over 7 years ago from Joel Califa, Senior Product Designer at GitHub

  • Joel CalifaJoel Califa, over 7 years ago

    "Author" here or whatever. What do you think? :)

    5 points
    • pjotr .pjotr ., over 7 years ago

      Hey there - As a first time manager myself I had some questions:

      • How many people are you leading? I imagine with 2-3 people this is unnecessary, and with 10 + it becomes too hands on.

      • Does DO do something like OKRs? This sounds like OKRs on a micro scale, yeah?

      • You say that Goalfest is a tool for getting shit done , but this seems like an exercise in futility. Wouldn't hiring people who can self manage and present their goals as they see fit, not during a meeting on a Friday, make the team more efficient?

      • ...They don’t care about this because of me. They care because it’s their team. - They should care because it's purportedly improving product design, which in theory should improve usability. This piece rarely has direct ties to the user and I feel like such a method of leadership leaves much to be desired.

      Having said all that, I appreciate the effort and putting yourself out there. I think goal oriented leadership can work, I'm just skeptical that it's in the form of spreadsheets and meetings (regardless of how they are being used).

      1 point
      • Joel CalifaJoel Califa, over 7 years ago

        Hey, thanks for reading! To answer your questions :)

        • I'm leading 3 people, which is likely to double by the end of the year. I think Goalfest can scale to about 6, at which point we'll need to split the teams up anyway because 6+ direct reports isn't a sustainable situation. We're doing it in about 30 minutes flat right now, so an hour once a week wouldn't be awful.
        • We do indeed use OKRs. Like you said, these are at a larger scale—per quarter or annually. They're just a specific format for goals and ways to measure success. The key results for the goals in Goalfest are usually just having done them, so I wouldn't say they're that similar. But yeah, same gist.
        • Regarding hiring the right people, I think we already do, and that doing this is not enough. Goalfest isn't a perfect system, but most people do benefit from having some kind of system in place, especially if it affords the freedom of working in whichever way suits you. Goalfest has two aspects that I believe can help even the most self-driven designer. First, it's a space for a group introspection on process, a place to share ideas. Second, it's a place to share information around what's happening and build alignment. I'm not a big fan of meetings in general and I do whatever I can to get out of the ones that are wasting my time, but some meetings are good meetings :P
        • They should care because it's purportedly improving product design. Usability and experience are top of mind for us. This helps in shipping the best possible product, but it doesn't necessarily help with shipping it fast. That's what Goalfest is for. The feeling of belonging and sharing momentum towards a shared goal is a powerful one, and I've found it's helpful in reframing the work and making it more enjoyable.

        Glad you enjoyed it! :)

        1 point