After joining a new team this year, I noticed a lot of dysfunctional behaviors within the Design team. Trust was lacking, processes were unclear, and roles were not well-defined. The team rarely operated as a cohesive unit, and self-awareness was minimal. To address these issues, I organized an 8-hour workshop that covered various crucial topics (drawing inspiration from the book: Liftoff!).

During the workshop, we focused on defining our team's purpose, establishing commitments for behaviors and expectations, identifying key areas of focus within the business, and discussing ways to improve and grow. It was an all-analog session, utilizing methods that quickly aligned us and fostered a shared understanding of the team we aspired to be. To wrap up the workshop, we had a fun team event and dinner, allowing us to connect on a personal level.

Afterward, I worked on consolidating our thoughts and turning them into a presentation format (below). This would serve as a reference point for us moving forward. I also shared this presentation with our business and engineering leaders, ensuring they were aware of the work we had done and could hold us accountable for becoming the design team we aimed to