Asking the Right Questions: Life, Hope and Moving Forward During the Pandemic
Summary
Details to come.
Key Insights
-
•
Starting meetings or classes with a simple warm-up increases attentiveness and presence.
-
•
Remote teaching often results in students keeping cameras off, impacting engagement, but this can be navigated with inclusive strategies.
-
•
Peloton taught the speaker practical leadership lessons including compassion, collaboration, and community support.
-
•
Consistency is critical in leadership and personal growth, exemplified by the speaker's 73-week exercise streak.
-
•
Inclusive leadership requires acknowledging where people are physically and emotionally, offering alternatives accordingly.
-
•
Organizations must consistently provide education and enforce policies addressing discrimination, considering intersectional identities.
-
•
Leadership must listen actively and avoid placing the burden of diversity work solely on marginalized groups.
-
•
Recognizing external stressors such as global events is essential to empathetic leadership and inclusive workplaces.
-
•
Language matters; everyday expressions can unintentionally exclude or offend marginalized communities.
-
•
Inclusion and accessibility should be embedded into every designer's responsibilities, not isolated to specialists.
Notable Quotes
"I had you all do a warm-up before we started to help everyone be present and calm."
"Sometimes working with a bunch of boxes and letters on Zoom was the reality of remote classes."
"Be compassionate with yourself and others. Not everyone likes high fives, and that's okay."
"Collaboration is key. I'm never alone in a Peloton class, even at 4:30 in the morning."
"Consistency is key. I'm on a 73-week streak right now, and that's pretty badass."
"Identity is not monolithic; policies should address layered experiences."
"It is not the responsibility of marginalized groups to do all the educating about their experiences."
"Listen is a skill that is not emphasized enough in leadership."
"Watch your language; terms like 'that's so lame' can be exclusionary or offensive."
"Inclusion and accessibility need to be part of every designer's role, even if today it is one person's job."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If you need to cross a dangerous river, you don’t paddle straight into it; you use the opposing force of the river to move forward."
John CutlerOxbows, Rivers, and Estuaries: How to navigate the currents of change (without burning out)
December 3, 2024
"We have to make good data-informed decisions before plowing ahead with something just because it’s exciting."
World Usability Day Panel Discussion
November 10, 2022
"Not all climate jobs have digital outputs, so don’t waste your time chasing digital roles in fields like green concrete."
Max Gadney Andrea Petrucci Joshua Stehr Hannah WickesAssessing UX jobs for impact in climate
August 14, 2024
"Conversation is 21st century design; it's how we share values, align intentions, and coordinate action."
Paul Pangaro, PhDSystems Disciplines: Table Stakes for 21st Century Organizations
June 6, 2023
"The biggest challenge of a project is building a solution that’s going to be adopted company-wide."
Sol MeszHands or Brains? How to Hire for Strategy, Strategically
January 8, 2024
"Language itself can be a powerful design object, shaping social roles and organizational interactions."
Jorge ArangoDesign as an Antidote to VUCA
May 9, 2019
"If rapid research findings create more questions but you don’t have time to address them, it’s probably not the right method."
Feleesha SterlingBuilding a Rapid Research Program
May 18, 2023
"The problem with the bike rental app wasn’t UX design; it was the enterprise’s inability to distribute bikes to meet user demand."
Milan GuentherA Shared Language for Co-Creating Ambitious Endeavours
June 6, 2023
"The digital frontline workers in retail became critical almost overnight during the pandemic."
Lada GorlenkoTheme 2 Intro
June 9, 2022
