When you grow from 2 people to 200+, there are many things you learn on the way in. The usual way of doing things change. As a small group, you tend to have your finger in each pie. However, with the change in size, the decision making process, the entrepreneurial spirit and the can-do attitude can no longer from one or two individuals but has to emit from the entire organization.
I recently noticed that there are many young bright people who are joining WS (will take some time for me to get used to calling ourselves WS ) and the seniors are taking on new roles and challenges. With this, we also need to bring in a balanced way of thinking and decision making which will all of us grow in our individual roles and gain confidence in what we do.
For example, when you are designing something ( I say this as I interact with most of the designers) put your best foot forward. It is good design in pitches that help us win new work. You are important in the pre-sales procedure and good design gives legs to the onsite personnel to be confident in a meeting. The point I am trying to make is that do not give something which is half-hearted. It will show.
For folks in documentation and pre-sales (another group that I am work with closely), every time you repeat mistakes, it reduces your opportunity to grow. Trust me, I have learnt this by sitting across the table with multiple clients. The day you go the extra mile and do a near-perfect pitch, you have already won the prize in self-development. Ultimately, being a better version of ourselves is what it is all about.
The strange thing is that we all have it in us. I have seen amazing designs come out of the team when a previous one has been trashed. I have seen pre-sales team put in all nighters without a whimper and delivering good stuff. Now the call is to just do it right the first time.
It’s easy to get comfortable and not push oneself. However, I feel comfort zone is something that relates to mattresses and not real life. If you are ambitious there is no way you can be complacent.
As team leads and seniors, it is our job to expand the horizon of the team, demand more from them collectively so that we can all move a few steps further individually.
As management it has become virtually impossible for a few of us to go through every fine details of the decision making process with a fine comb and there should be no need to do so either. Think in process terms, give ideas, take good decisions as that is what is going to help you grow your confidence as well as the organization.
