My User Manual

Inspired by UXR leader Paula Desmond, I wrote my answers to the following questions earlier this year to help my new colleagues get to know me and make it easier to build trust with one another. I'm making my responses public as an extension of the values I discuss on my homepage. I hope that this post will inspire you to reflect on your own experiences, what matters to you when working with others, and how you'd like to be treated in the process.

What are the best ways to communicate with you? What are the worst ways?

I value authenticity & concision. Check-in with me often so we can build rapport. Don’t try to sugar-coat the bad news. Be honest and open with your feedback, so I know how to improve! I can be quite a private person, but that doesn’t mean I won’t work hard to strengthen our relationship.

What time of day do you work best?

Late morning after my second cup of tea is my jam.

Is there a time you prefer to be contacted?

Respect core hours. My goal is to set clearer boundaries for life outside of work. I am still recovering from my academic life and I need constant reminders that I work to live and not vice versa.

What are some honest, unfiltered things about you?

I try to make decisions with logic and compassion. I will live and die by Hanlon’s Razor; when in doubt, assume positive intent. You might ask me, what would I do if someone betrays my trust? I would much rather accept and account for the fact that I could be cheated once in a blue moon and move on with my life. That's a small price to pay for the luxury of a lifetime of trusting others.

I sincerely avoid wasting energy on antipathy and grudges. The theologist Lewis B. Smedes wrote that "to forgive is to set a prisoner free, and realize that the prisoner was you". I believe everybody on this planet is hard-wired for kindness, but I’m not a pushover. I fight for what I believe in.

What is the best way to convince you to do something?

Show me the raw & unabridged data. I'm empathetic but not a mind reader.

How do you like to give feedback? How do you like to get feedback?

Leading with positive affirmation (Yes, we can). I prefer to reframe problems as opportunities. We can do so much more when we set aside our differences and address the issues together.

What drives you nuts or irritates you?

Impatience. How you conduct yourself and treat others when you are under pressure tells me everything about you, and then some.

What are some things that people might misunderstand about you that you should clarify?

There’s a common misconception that scientists are aloof and unapologetically precise. Of course, this is a synecdochic fallacy — the whole can’t represent all of its parts. However precise or objective, David Quammen writes in The Tangled Tree that science is the art of dealing with things we don’t know enough about. Like high-performance sport, poetry, or grandmaster chess, science is a distinctly human activity. The smudgy fingerprints of our humanness are all over it. As a scientist, I pledge to continuously refine and work within my strengths and weaknesses with integrity and candor. I am humble about what I know today but confident about what I can learn tomorrow. Please know that I am always willing to level with you if you give me the chance.

How can people earn an extra gold star with you?

Paying it forward impresses me. Always give others credit where credit is due. Be humble. Good work and credibility speaks for itself.

What are three things that bring you back to your centre and make you feel good when you're stressed?

Cooking a great meal — simple is best, just like my mom used to make me. Sweating my ass off. The feeling of endorphins kicking in is surreal. Losing myself in a great book; history, science, and biography are my favourites, but I’m slowly building a habit for international fiction.