#14 / What does relationship at work mean to you?
Hello my friend! š
Let me ask a question that relevant to every professional:Ā what does relationship at work mean to you?
Previously, I thought that work relationships revolved around how well you know your colleagues, including your willingness to socialize with them, knowledge about their lunch preferences, among other things. However, I now realize that this perception was far off the mark.
Does personality matter? Undoubtedly. But is it critical for executing work tasks, especially when it comes to understanding who is responsible for what, whom you can ask for support, and who is an expert in a particular field that can provide you with informed opinions? Perhaps not.
Work relationships, therefore, revolve around these aspects. Itās aboutĀ knowing your colleagues' professional personasĀ at the workplace,Ā understanding the tasks you can count on themĀ to perform, andĀ how you can offer support to them or vice versa.
I recall reading a case study by Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, where he introduced a āPokemon cardā(he called it baseball card, which I donāt play) system for peers at work. Everyone would have a card outlining their specialties, strengths, weaknesses, and more. By consulting these cards, you could better understand their professional abilities.
Then the question becomes:Ā how could I improve my work relationship?
I donāt know the answer as Iām exploring myself. And perhaps, bringing an honest, open, and proactive attitude could make a significant difference. Leaning in a bit and reaching out more often could help to overcome any lack of experience or other weaknesses one might have in managing work relationships.
Hereāre a few things Iād like to share with you today š
Stock Photos No More: How Designers Can Benefit from MidJourney V5
Why I donāt like LinkedIn Carousel
Things Iāve learned from reading 38 books in 2022
Face Off: Instant AI Face Swap Explained Step by Step
Boost Your Productivity: AI for project Planning(a step to step example)
Have a great one and see you soon!
Stock Photos No More: How Designers Can Benefit from MidJourney V5
Discover how MidJourney V5 revolutionizes the design process by creating customized stock photos using AI.
Why I donāt like LinkedIn Carousel
!https://i.imgur.com/fIb7XRe.png
I know the carousel on LinkedIn performs much better for reaching out to new people. As a designer, making carousels is not even a thing for me. And I want to reach out to more followers on LinkedIn.
But I decided not to do it.
Hereās why:
The performance of the carousel (it is better than other formats such as posts, articles or even videos) is decided by the LinkedIn algorithm. That means it is designed by the LinkedIn team, not because people like to use it.
On the contrary, the user experience for a creator is horrible: a creator needs to make a PDF doc as a container for those slides and upload it to LinkedIn. PDF? Thatās ridiculous! Readerās experience is not good either - itās not easy to share and save (donāt get me started on the LinkedIn Save feature).
But itās easy to scroll, which is an incentive for dopamine. That āinstant learned somethingā feeling makes you feel good. For the same reason, creators simplify things and chop out most of the hard-understandable parts, making things easy to consume. The readers donāt only consume knowledge or insights; they consume the feeling of āI learned somethingā as well. Actually, thatās the drive.
This is not what I hoped the internet would be. Things should be accessible, open and collaborative, not as a closed dopamine-driven happy pill.
So, I choose not to use a carousel to share my thoughts and posts here. Thatās a reminder for myself to focus on the value my content can add to the community, not the other way around.
By the way, I donāt have time for that either š¤£
Things Iāve learned from reading 38 books in 2022
Iāve read 38 books so far in last year! Reading is a valuable activity that can broaden our knowledge, improve our writing skills, and even reduce stress.
One thing that Iāve learned from reading is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to reading. Some people prefer to read physical books, while others prefer e-books or audiobooks. Some people like to read one book at a time, while others prefer to have multiple books going at once. The important thing is to find a reading method that works for you.
Another thing Iāve learned is that itās important to read a variety of books. Reading books from different genres, authors, and time periods can expose us to new ideas and perspectives. This can help us to become more well-rounded and empathetic individuals.
If youāre looking to read more books in 2023, here are a few suggestions:
ā Set a goal for yourself. It could be a certain number of books, a certain number of pages, or a certain amount of time spent reading each day or week. Having a specific goal can help you stay motivated and track your progress. ā Join a book club. Reading with others can be a great way to stay accountable and discuss the books youāre reading. It can also introduce you to books you might not have discovered on your own. ā Use your local library. Libraries are a fantastic resource for readers. They often have a wide selection of books, as well as e-books, audiobooks, and other resources. Plus, borrowing books from the library is free! ā Take advantage of technology. There are many apps and websites that can help you discover new books, keep track of what youāve read, and even read along with you. Some of these apps even offer personalized recommendations based on your reading preferences.
Overall, the key to reading more books is to find what works for you and make reading a regular part of your routine. Happy reading!
Face Off: Instant AI Face Swap Explained Step by Step
Ever wished for a quick and hassle-free way to swap your face to any image? Join me in this video as we explore MidJourney, an innovative AI-powered face swap service.
Boost Your Productivity: AI for project Planning(a step to step example)
Today, weāre taking a deep dive into using Notion AI and ChatGPT to enhance your podcast planning process.
Bear Academy Newsletter
Non-crap tips and thoughts on design, product and technology āØ
š»Ā Bear Who?
Hi there š, Iām Bear, a seasoned Product Designer with 15 years of overall design experience and six years in product design, transforming the user experiences for millions š
As an Apple Award-Winning Podcast Host at BearTalk and a Design Mentor at Springboard and CareerFoundry, I apply my self-taught design skills and science background to solve complicated problems and mentor budding designers š
In my downtime, youāll find me reading, drawing, podcasting, and making videos about everything from tech to design and productivity šØāšØ
š¤Ā Work
š¼Ā What I doļ¼Product Designer at Xero
šĀ I also doļ¼Design Mentor at Springboard and CareerFoundry / Founder at Bear Academy
š¤Ā Side hustleļ¼Podcast host at Award-winning podcast BearTalk
š”Ā Goodies
Bear AcademyĀ - my courses around UX Design, AI, etc
Bear Academy NewsletterĀ - my free newsletter, which you are reading now
Beartalking.comĀ - all my posts, English and Chinese
Youtube.com/@BearliuĀ - A video is worth a thousand words
š¬Ā Contact
https://twitter.com/bearbig - Majorly I post in Chinese
bear@beartalking.comĀ - The old fashion email way
LinkedIn.com/in/bearliuĀ - My professional life