Summary
The speaker opens by emphasizing that the team prioritizes 'human beings' over titles like designers or managers, highlighting how personal aspirations and anxieties shape work and collaboration. Lana shares her deep respect for her BBE (Best Boss Ever), who inspires and supports her through empathy and encouragement over the past five years. A memorable story about a customer conference reveals how the BBE empowered non-designers like engineers to engage directly with customers, creating a transformative experience that united diverse roles around genuine customer feedback. Lana describes her challenging journey as the only woman in a strategic product planning meeting, underscoring the importance of inclusion and the need to invite others to the table, illustrated by her boss’s lesson on offering invitation rather than seeking validation. The talk ultimately calls for leaders and teammates to simply be good human beings, fostering authentic connection and support within their teams, exemplified through lived stories of vulnerability, advocacy, and shared growth.
Key Insights
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Prioritizing people as human beings, not just roles, transforms team dynamics and culture.
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Empathy and genuine support from leaders inspires employees to strive for their best.
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Cross-functional collaboration with customers can empower engineers and non-designers to create impactful solutions.
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Customer conversations can be more effective and enlightening than extended internal debates.
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Being the only woman in leadership settings remains challenging but can be overcome by deliberate inclusion and allyship.
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Offering space and invitation to others often matters more than seeking validation at leadership tables.
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Human stories and openness about struggles foster psychological safety in teams.
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Leadership is less about authority and more about being a supportive human presence.
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Small ideas can turn into transformative experiences when nurtured by caring leaders.
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Authentic connection fuels engagement and drives broader organizational success.
Notable Quotes
"Our aspirations and anxieties are our users and messages, our passions and pet peeves."
"She’s been my best boss ever for five years and she earned that title by being a darn good human being."
"Brian Collins once said B2B is b*******. It’s really just people that make up businesses."
"We didn’t have a booth at the conference, we had an entire hallway filled with stations to hear customer stories."
"One hour of conversations between an engineer and customers was more impactful than weeks of debate."
"It can be very uncomfortable to be the only woman in that room."
"In our desire to see the big table, we often forget it’s more important to offer invitation to someone else."
"All it takes to be a good boss and a good teammate is being a darn good human being."
"Her belief in me makes me strive to be the best boss ever."
"This event wasn’t facilitated by designers or researchers, it empowered many roles to talk with customers themselves."
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