What is this document?
This is a guide to Hazel – a very quick tour of my professional personality and working style. A crash course on working with me as a colleague, manager, team member.
This document is not intended to replace or override the relationship and mutual understanding we will build as we work together. Its intention is to give you an idea of how I think and how I work.
This is a new document and still a work in progress.
Caveat: Take this document with a grain of salt; I wrote it!
Also, yes, I'm fully aware of how weird this is.
What I Value
📌 Assumption: I value honesty, family, and health (mental and physical) above all and I assume the same of everyone one I interact with.
🏃♀️Taking action. There's no shortage of fantastic ideas and strategy docs in the world, but actually taking action and doing a thing is what I truly value: making moves to get things done.
🎯 Intentionality. When I was younger, I'd call this efficiency. But the way to truly be efficient is to be intentional in every action you take. The first question I'll ask any time it's missing is: what's the end goal of this action?
🧨 Humor You'll often hear me laughing too loud at my own jokes on calls. It's cringeworthy and I own it, and frankly, I just like to laugh.
💫 Pride in my work. If you've ever been on a video call with me, you've seen my "Give a Damn" poster. I take pride in the work I do and work best when I believe in what I'm doing.
🙌 Kindness. Make things better where you can, leave the world better than you found it, be better today than you were yesterday.
When do I do my best work?
- [Time] ☀️ In the morning. I generally work east coast hours on the west coast, so I'm up early and it's when I'm most productive.
- [Behavior] I'm at my best when I take breaks, sometimes I don't notice this until it's too late and a lack of breaks has ruined my mood.
What motivates me on a project?
- [Motivation] Understanding and believing in the root reason behind an action or project
- [Conditions] When I’m trying to solve a challenging problem with other people I trust and admire
My top three work superpowers
- Not being afraid to ask the questions everyone is thinking.
- I'm good at spotting the puzzle pieces that belong together.
- Finding shortcuts to done.
Known issues
- My energy levels tend to fade in the afternoon, or after a series of 3-4 meetings in a row. If you catch me at one of these times, please know I know how I'm being too. And I'm trying my damndest not to be.
- Volume setting seems to be permanently stuck slightly too high.
- I sometimes get too stuck on big picture and lack attention to detail, which means I can sometimes gloss over details or seem dismissive unintentionally.
- I get fired up from time to time, but am quick to reground myself and am known for post-meeting apology tours.
- I can be hyperbolic but it’s almost always because I am excited about the topic. I also swear sometimes. Sorry.
- I’m an addict for information, which means I share lots of works in progress. This has proven to be somewhat of a problem for folks who like things more buttoned up. If it’s overwhelming for you, please let me know - I will not be offended. Let’s find a way to communicate that works for us.
How do you know I'm stressed?
- I’m generally okay at managing stress, but if I get really stressed, evasiveness is my number one go-to. Apologies if you’ve come across this, but we’re all human here.
The best way to communicate with me?
- [Style] Be direct. I cut to the chase, sometimes to a fault, but I do truly value the same directness when you communicate with me.
- [Medium] Slack for most things, face-to-face for anything sensitive or requiring discussion or shared brainstorming. On Slack, I won't be offended if you go straight to asking me a question without any small talk or greeting. You can expect the same from me if we interact frequently.
- I get positively overwhelmed in communications sometimes, and my responsiveness slips. Please know I'm literally thinking of your message all the time (not even being sarcastic) and it makes me nauseated that I haven't gotten back to you... or I forgot. Both are equally likely, so here's what to do: follow up. I never ever ever ever mind reminder pings.
- On that note, if you’re looking for quick feedback on a thing or need to just really get me to get a thing done, grab 15-30 minutes on my calendar. That’s the real secret, sure-fire way to get me to do a thing.
Scheduling
- [Timing] I start meetings as early as 7am PST, but am rarely in meetings after 2pm PST or so. This works really well for me.
- [Logistics] I keep my work calendar public, unless a meeting is specifically personal or otherwise confidential. Generally feel free to grab an open time, I usually just prefer a quick slack message letting me know what it's about ahead of time.
The best way to give me feedback
As a questioner, it’s really essential for me to understand why something is important. There are certain weaknesses that I have which result from my perception that something may be unimportant. I love receiving feedback so that I can constantly improve, but for me to truly internalize it, I can’t just be told “you should do X.” Instead, I need to understand the rationalization behind why that particular thing is important.
What are some things that people might misunderstand about you that you should clarify?
I ask pointed questions. And I honestly never even knew that it was a "language" some people don't speak. I watched this talk about Guess vs Ask culture, and a lightbulb went off: I'm an "Ask" through and through.
- Learn more about what I mean by this
Other random things
When I'm not at work
- I'm very into Long Beach and am often out and about exploring something or volunteering on some committee.
- Generally I'm hanging out with my family, including my extended family which mostly all live within 10 miles of my home.
- Binging something on TV
- Making fancy cocktails
- Paddleboarding.