Management experience
UX Design Team Lead @ Visma (e-conomic)
Copenhagen
2023 – Present
Product Design Manager @ Meta (Kustomer)
New York
2021 – 2023
Summary
I have had the privilige to learn and grow as a new manager at Meta in New York City and Visma in Copenhagen, Denmark. I'm currently overseeing the design work for the e-conomic SaaS product including our core accounting functionality as well as our Mobile, Integrations, and Purchase-flow features.
- Managing a team of 10 UX designers that are delivering on-time, high-quality work.
- Overseeing recruiting and have grown the design team with three UX Designers.
- Championing and advocating for strong UX presence in a Product Trio setup.
- Defining and driving a strategy for maturing the UX Design practice.
- Advising direct reports in day-to-day design work and coaching for long-term career growth.
- Conducting hiring and yearly performance reviews.
My 5 Manager Behaviors
To me, being a successful manager means being able to adapt your behavior and actions to the situation and person you are working with. I do not believe in cookie-cutter management styles – but I do believe in the value of consistently behaving in certain ways to reach success. These are the 5 manager behaviors I strive to deliver on every single day as a manager.
1. Show Care
I believe that when you model deep care and put what matters most to people front-and-center, it helps them feel connected, committed, open to feedback and safe enough to take risks. Care builds the trust that is foundational to productive relationships and this is why I value this behavior the most.
How I do it
- I take time to get to know everyone on the team.
- Model a culture of caring by being open about what matters to me.
- Strive to run effective 1:1s that focus on my reports' growth.
2. Build for Inclusion
I believe that when people feel valued, they are motivated to show up and thrive as themselves without having to adjust to look, sound, or act like others.
How I do it
- Manage my biases and always make sure to listen to different perspectives.
- Build trusting relationships with my team and help them feel safe.
- Model humility and courage by admitting mistakes and sharing what I'm learning.
- Communicate context when I am able to.
3. Give & Seek Feedback
I strive to set the tone for a healthy feedback culture by asking for feedback openly, and sharing specific, timely, actionable and respectful feedback with my team.
How I do it
- Ask for feedback, act on it, and stay accountable.
- Encourage my team to give and share feedback.
- Schedule debriefs for sharing feedback.
4. Set Clear Expectations
Clear expectations help people know where they stand and how to move forward together. They also let the team know when and how to readjust priorities accordingly.
How I do it
- Craft a clear and compelling team mission and vision that is shared openly with my partners.
- Collaborate with each person to set goals and milestones.
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Track progress regularly and share feedback.
5. Foster Productive & Collaborative Relationships
We can accomplish far more together than what we can accomplish alone. Design should never be done in isolation, but rather as a collaboration and for this we need strong relationships.
How I do it
- Connect people by helping them get to know each other, on their team and outside their team.
- Evangelize the design process to cross-functional peers to ensure alignment on work being done.