Summary
How do we build genuine relationships with our cross-functional partners? How does that improve decision-making and build honest collaboration? We do it by building our trust muscle! Start by assuming good intentions, and then truly involve everyone in the design process. Working together builds trust and fosters strong relationships. And the more trust we build, the more we are able to have healthy debates, prompting us to better and better solutions. Because we trust that we all want the same results, we can be clear and direct with each other, and finally, we can be brutal prioritizers because we’ve spent a lot of time building our relationships. Trust is magic!
Key Insights
-
•
Building genuine relationships at work improves collaboration, decision making, and product outcomes.
-
•
Trust is cultivated through knowing coworkers personally, like their families and hobbies.
-
•
The 'three in a box' approach aligns product, design, and engineering for cohesive solutions.
-
•
Assuming good intent makes disagreements less personal and encourages open communication.
-
•
Bringing your whole self to work, including quirks and emotions, fosters authenticity and workplace happiness.
-
•
Tailoring communication styles to different audience types (analytical, amiable, expressive, driver) improves understanding and buy-in.
-
•
People outside design also make design decisions; expanding the definition of your design team leads to better products.
-
•
Feedback should focus on problem solving, not personal preference, and requires emotional control.
-
•
Debate is essential for pushing ideas forward if it stays respectful and issue-focused.
-
•
Introverts can excel by leveraging listening skills and building strong one-on-one relationships.
Notable Quotes
"The key is of course trust, but in my house the magic word is please."
"Just because they have a different opinion doesn’t mean they’re bad people."
"Work is your real life. Friendships make the office a safe, happy, fun place to be."
"Bring people along on a journey. Lead people towards your side by focusing on the future state."
"People outside of your design organization are making design decisions; they are also designers."
"Feedback isn’t about liking. Helpful feedback needs to be, is this solving your problem or not."
"Debate isn’t a bad thing. Challenging each other’s thinking helps you find a better approach."
"Most introverts are really good about cultivating personal relationships and listening."
"Kill them with kindness. Be professional no matter how you’re feeling."
"When we have genuine relationships and we trust each other, it leads to so much goodness."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
More Videos
"Uber bus drivers in Cairo end up working longer than their scheduled shift because they still receive requests 20 to 30 minutes before their shift ends."
Etienne FangPower of Insights: Why sharing is better than silos with Uber’s Insights Platform
December 16, 2019
"Learning as you go is necessary; you won’t complete all your learning before completing a project."
Victor M. GonzalezPracticing Learners and Learning Practitioners
March 10, 2021
"Stakeholders might say no to research involvement if the context and relevance aren’t clear, or the ask seems overwhelming."
Roberta Dombrowski Sam Duong WoloszynskiMaking Research a Team Sport
March 11, 2022
"If the phone dies, Bigfoot’s insulin pump continues working independently, but without new data input."
Daniel J. RosenbergDigital Medicine Design
September 26, 2019
"Use the latest version starring feature so your team only gets updates when they’re ready, avoiding constant notifications."
Jaime CreixemsBest Practices when Creating and Maintaining a Design System
June 7, 2023
"Our job is to fight context loss as data moves up layers of abstraction in AI outputs."
Tricia WangFrom Users to Shapers of AI: The Future of Research
March 25, 2024
"Proving the value of design is a fool's errand. What matters is your value."
Shahrzad SamadzadehWhat Is My Value? Two Takes and Some Mistakes
January 8, 2024
"Designers set out to resolve ill-defined problems using abductive thinking — making things that we know are kind of wrong to test solutions."
Jorge ArangoDesign as an Antidote to VUCA
May 9, 2019
"Imagine a world where research bots at IBM talk to the Rosen bot to give you better guidance on interpreting research."
Louis RosenfeldThe Rosenbot and the Rosenverse: An AMA with Lou Rosenfeld
June 5, 2024
