Clarion Coughlan, Jayne Paterson O’Connell, Justin Blass & Kelsey White
Justin's been wrapping up the year by having quarterly check-in conversations with his people. He's been reflecting on how to help people build a career where they move into positions where they get to do more of what they love (not less). Otherwise, he's been facilitating a leadership upskill on communication strategies and ran a community of practice deep-diving on the principles of user stories. He's ended the year with a couple of thought-provoking podcasts: a refresh on radical candor and framing failure.
Clarion has been reflecting on a year filled with unexpected turns. Initially set to contract as a product manager in government, she instead found a product ops role in a SaaS startup. This unforeseen shift has proven to be an incredible journey, and she's thoroughly enjoying her current position. Clarion is especially thankful for the supportive community at THEIA Colab, which has played a key role in her professional development this year, enriched by shared experiences and valuable insights. With such an unpredictable year behind her, Clarion is excited and curious about what the next year might hold!
As Jayne marks her 6th month in Ireland, she takes a moment to reflect on this big life change. The journey hasn't been without its challenges. Jayne is missing the usual summer festivities back home with friends and family but is excited for a winter Christmas! On the work front, after four months, she feels she's finally hitting her stride. An invaluable lesson learned is the time it takes to truly settle in and grasp the essence of a place before making meaningful change—a tidbit for future endeavour's. Looking into the next year, Jayne envisions more travels and contemplates whether to ramp up her career ambitions. Gratitude fills her for the supportive team at THEIA, reinforcing the often-overlooked importance of a team, as Patrick Lencioni aptly describes as the true advantage.
Kelsey has been spending much of the last two weeks preparing her group's OKRs for the first half of 2024. She's found these examples to be particularly helpful to frame her thinking. One of the problems her group hopes to solve is to reduce latency and wait times. A coworker shared a lecture by Grace Hopper that has challenged her thinking about complacently accepting latency in software.