Notes

If an employee comes to me with feedback about another employee, we first unpack it together. We then discuss how to address it directly with the other person. There was a time when I would act as a middleman, taking the feedback to the person or their manager. While this approach may feel like progress at the time, it rarely leads to long-term growth.

The employees need to find common ground on their own. A candid feedback conversation is a start to doing just that. It is an opportunity to get everything out in the air. Both sides can dig deeper, understanding each other's context to improve future collaboration.

In some situations, I will mediate the conversation. I offer to do this if the feedback is particularly challenging, or I sense that there is some level of discomfort between the employees (rarely work together, junior <> director relationship). With trust from both sides, a third-party can be powerful in addressing the elephant in the room and making sure that all truths are brought to the surface. 

Understanding Feedback

When an outcome does not meet our expectations, it is not uncommon to generalize what went wrong, blending feedback on people with feedback on the process.

I like to look at feedback as a deck of cards. As the giver of feedback, we are the dealer. It is our job to address our feedback deck one card at a time, sorthing them out on the table.

• Card 1: Is this feedback on the performance of an employee?
• Card 2: Is this feedback the result of a past decision?
• Card 3: Is this feedback on the presentation?
• Card 4: Is this feedback for me? Could I have done a better job providing direction?

By unloading the deck, we can get to the core of what went wrong and better understand how to address each of our cards. With all the cards arranged on the table, the next step is to deal them, to deliver the feedback to the right people.

Finding Clarity

In tense situations, we often make the mistake of dealing all of our feedback cards to one person. When we do so, that person may come off as defensive. From our perspective, it feels like they're not listening to what we have to say or making excuses.

Maybe this person is not good at taking feedback, but maybe it's on us. We haven't sorted through the deck before dealing out the cards.

This exercise helps bring calm to what can feel like chaos. It creates clarity. Without it, we risk our feedback getting lost on the receiver, overshadowed by cards that weren't meant for them.

Ad·vice: guidance or recommendations offered with regard to prudent future action.

Some people ask for advice because they think they're supposed to.

Some people don't ask for advice because they don't think they can.

Some people ask for advice without ever planning to take it.

Some people need advice but are afraid to ask.

Some people need advice but don’t know where to go.

Some people get advice they don’t need.

Some people don’t think they have advice to give so they stay quiet.

Some people have advice to give but are afraid to give it.

Some people have advice to give but no one to give it to.

Some people take advice they shouldn’t take.

Some people are afraid of the advice they know they should take.

Some people interpret information as advice.

Some people interpret advice as information.

We all know some people.

We're all some people at some point.

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Note: I wrote this after a conversation with a friend who told me about a workshop they attended. The purpose of the workshop was to share and learn from the experiences of like-minded individuals. One attendee seemed to come with no intention of taking advice, dismissing any feedback from their peers. Why were they there?

With every passing year, I see my relationships with friends and family evolve. We're all dealing with different challenges. Love. Finance. Career. Etc. Life will always have its ups and downs. I wish we were more forward with asking for and offering advice. Sometimes, I think pride gets in the way. I know, in the past, it has for me. In these situations, pride will not get us very far. These days, I'm making more of a deliberate effort to break down these walls and be mindful not to put up my own.

Note-taking is known to improve writing skills, subject matter comprehension, and recall of core concepts.

Note-taking is beneficial when we read.

Note-taking is beneficial when we listen.

Note-taking is beneficial when we think.

While working in a group setting, it is key to take your own notes. It doesn't matter if the presenter will be sharing their deck or if there is a designated note-taker. We all process information differently. Thoughts are constantly racing through our heads. If we don't capture them, they are lost.

Shared notes is a recent initiative to build more of a culture around writing and note-taking at Barrel.

We centralize shared notes in Notion. We have a dashboard for the agency and every discipline. Each dashboard includes resources, references, and shared notes. Shared notes are written collaboratively or autonomously. Anyone can contribute through edits or comments.

Initially, shared notes was an effort among the partners to promote deeper thinking, share ideas, and make our "in-person" (aka Zoom) interactions more productive.

After moving the team to Notion, we started experimenting with shared notes beyond the partners. It has been just over a month and has already proven to be invaluable.

Here are some of the benefits we've experienced so far:

• Aligning teams: When there is a single source of truth for an idea, it is much easier to get everyone on the same page.
• Looking back on our decisions: Conversations no longer get lost in the abyss. Shared notes make it easy to reflect on past conversations and better understand how they've informed our current position.
• Making ideas accessible: It can be hard to find the right time to share ideas that aren't a high priority. Shared notes are a valuable channel for sharing ideas asynchronously. They also help make ideas more accessible to the larger team.
• Cutting through the noise: The challenge with chat tools like Slack is how quickly ideas can get lost as a conversation unfolds. Shared notes create a space to unpack topics easy future reference.
• Creating space for deeper thinking: Shared notes have been helpful in our efforts to reduce the number of meetings. It's amazing how often a shared note can replace a meeting. If not, they provide a place to share information for pre-review, making discussions more productive.

If you're interested in giving shared notes a try, I've created a Notion template here to get started. Enjoy.

We have all heard some version of:

“Treat others the way you want to be treated.”

I don’t agree.

The phrase suggests that we act on our assumptions, making no effort to understand each other or gain a new perspective. This is not the way for kindness or collaboration.

I'd like to propose a rewrite:

“Treat others the way they want to be treated. Ask, listen, learn, understand.”

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Related: BL&T No. 025: Practicing Vulnerability

Ray Lamontagne's songwriting has inspired me for years now. There's a specificity in every song that draws you in and leaves you searching for meaning.

Over the weekend, I was pleased to discover that Ray released a new album called Monovision last summer. This one is particularly special. Ray wrote, produced, and performed every song at his home studio. Moved by this new batch of songs, I went searching for more background and was surprised to find a rare interview with the notably low-profile songwriter.

Listening to Ray speak is as soothing as hearing him sing. In the interview, Ray likens his process to catching fireflies.

"I don't like to think about music all the time. I wait til it comes to me and asks for my attention. The other side of that is that when it does ask for your attention, you have to give it. I could be in the middle of the grocery store and a melody will come knocking ... [these melodies are] like fireflies, you see them for a second then they're gone. If you don't catch it, you won't give another chance."

When asked how Ray develops a song, he replies "I try to just get out of the way." He speaks as though the songs are in control, guiding him where to go.

As a songwriter, I cherish those moments where I sit down with a guitar and the words flow through me. Lately, as a writer, I find myself struggling to find my flow. I've had a hard time letting an idea come to life, too focused on writing and re-writing "to get it right."

Ray goes on to share his past struggles with songwriting, almost leaving it all behind years ago.

"In life in general, I was driving myself with a negative, self-critical voice. ... At a certain point, it became clear that it was not healthy. It was taking all the joy out of everything. It took me a couple of years to figure that out. No music, just being home trying to figure out what was going on. ... [It's the playfulness] that I was really quashing in the early years of songwriting. I would just crush any playfulness out of tunes because of my self-criticism."

Sometimes we look at our idols as gods. We forget that they, too, are human. I find comfort in Ray's story and a renewed energy to find the playfulness in my writing.

For more insight into Ray and his process, I highly recommend listening to the entire interview here. Also be sure to check out his new album "Monovision." Currently on repeat.

I curate a song, playlist, podcast, or... vibe for just about every moment of my life.

When I brush my teeth, go for a drive, step out for a walk, cook, exercise, play a board game, write... I always seek out the perfect soundtrack. Am I in the mood to relax? Am I in need of a lift? Am I in the mood to learn? Am I in the mood to think?

What I've noticed is that I'm not always aware of my mood. I've enjoyed using this as an opportunity to pause and acknowledge how I'm feeling.  If Dana is with me, I do my best to capture her vibe as well. It's a fun challenge.

I hadn't thought much about this tendency until I noticed how I've subconsciously applied it to reading.

For some time, I carried the belief that I could only read one book at a time. I don't know where I got this idea from... I guess I couldn't imagine following more than one storyline and enjoying it.

After buying a Kindle Paperwhite (big fan of the easy highlights and waterproof body) at the suggestion of my friend, Max, my view changed entirely. I purchased a few eBooks to get started, and suddenly, I was reading three at once.

What happened?

To make a better habit of reading, I started reading every morning for 30 minutes after waking up. Since the act of reading was non-negotiable, I found myself tapping into my mood. What story do I feel like getting into this morning? Am I in the mood to think about my role as a manager? Would I prefer to join a father and son for a ride on their motorcycle?

Looking back, I was reading less because if I wasn't in the mood to read the ONE book I had chosen, I wouldn't read. Now, I'm leveraging my DJ tendencies and loving every minute of it. Books are just another part of my soundtrack.

Today I ran our Monthly Team Meeting with the Barrel team. Each month, we use this meeting to share team changes, celebrate wins, discuss recent launches, and catch up on important announcements.

Since going remote, it's been a challenge to replicate the energy of being in-person but I've come to realize that's the wrong mindset. It's not about once was, it's about what can be.

With this mindset, I started experimenting with a few adjustments (read here for more insight on the driver of these changes). Today it paid off. Engagement was at all time high and the Zoom chat was on fire.

Below are some of the recent updates:

• Moving from Google Slides to Pitch: From the Giphy / YouTube / Vimeo integration to the overall user experience, Pitch has helped amplify the interactivity and look of the deck.
• Co-creation & delegation: Instead of one meeting host, sections are delegated across the team. For example, our Director of Business Development, Dan, leads the "BD Report" sharing new wins, clients in talks, and account activity. This has turned what used to be more like a keynote presentation into a festival of speakers. Not only is it nice to hear from different team members but it gives people an opportunity to present in front of the group.
• Pre-recorded site walkthroughs & details: To showcase recent launches, team members used to scroll through the website and provide background. The transition between the deck and the browser was always distracting and the presentations were often inconsistent. Now, each launch has a slide in the deck with pre-recorded video walkthroughs. The slide also includes the project name, services, team, a fun fact, and platform. Much smoother and insightful.
• Project kickoff highlights: This was a suggestion from a team member after our last meeting. The intent was to celebrate the projects kicking off each month. After doing it today, I realized that it actually addresses another topic that we've always struggled with: how teams are tackling similar challenges. In addition to celebrating the kickoff, this is a great way to talk about how each team is approaching the project and what new steps that might be trying out.
• Barrel Trivia: Every presentation now ends with one trivia question about a client and another about the team. This has been a fun way to educate the team on Barrel history while making the meeting more interactive.
• Background music: We recently had a guest speaker who had music on while people were entering the Zoom meeting. This reminded me of how I used to play music during weekly design meetings at the office. In today's meeting, I had music playing as everyone joined and kept it going the entire meeting. Not only did people dig the playlist but it was a nice touch during any quiet transitions. If you're looking for some upbeat background music, I highlight recommend Spotify's Lo-Fi Beats playlist.

Here's to getting 1% better every step of the way!

Powerful excerpt from a favorite, “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. Thanks to Peter for resurfacing it for me today.

"Often the only way to make a hard decision is to come back to the purpose of what you’re doing."

This concept been on my mind a lot lately. The past year has brought on a number of changes to the way we operate as a team. As we solicit feedback from the team, this is a good reminder to take a step back. It is easy to react and quickly implement changes that feel good in the moment but may not have the intended impact down the line.

I've recently found writing to help provide clarity. This means making the time to capture the purpose of every initiative in writing from the start. What do we hope to accomplish? Why are we doing it?

Later, when faced with feedback, the writing acts as a guide. Instead of acting impulsively, we can recalibrate and decide how to address next steps. Have we lost sight of our original purpose? Has that purpose changed? What will get us closer to where we want to go?