Category: Thoughts
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Tech Insight and Rapid Prototyping: The Neglected Game Changers
I’ve spent a third of my life leading tech teams in both the public and private sectors. Some teams were small (around ten people), and others were large (100s of people from many professions). Over the years, I’ve focused on building teams, setting standards, and increasing maturity. After many years of leadership, my eyes have…
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The one that didn’t get away
Backstory: It was December 2015, and I was on a flight to Montreal. A few weeks earlier, I’d begun chatting to the folks at Shopify, and they wanted to interview me. A day-long experience which didn’t feel like an interview at all. Much more chatting with people I liked. A few days later, I was…
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The first days
The first days of any new role are always a bit of a whirlwind. The change in my role within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over the last few weeks was one I needed. As I’ve mentioned, the role I started wasn’t the role that it ended up being. There is more to…
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Change and grow
5 years ago I wrote ‘It’s time for something new‘. I’d decided to leave traveljunction and join the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) under Ben Holliday’s design leadership. At the end of my interview with Ben Terrett and Ben Holliday, I made my intentions clear. Ben Terrett asked if I had any questions. I…
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The Rebuild
Over the years I’ve documented changes in my work and personal life. It helps me explore the way I think about things and motivate me forwards in to whatever is next. This, The Rebuild, is no different and whilst things may look a little different around here this piece of writing isn’t about that. That…
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Professional progression
I recently gave a talk at Camp Digital on professional progression. I took the attendees through multiple aspects of what they should be doing in their careers in order to progress. A section of the talk is dedicated to my own working theory about time, skill levels and focus. This theory depends on a few…
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Time
Time. Thinking and stressing about it took up a lot of my life. It increased panic and guilt ten-fold. “What if I’m late?” “What if this isn’t finished by X?” “People expect this of me.” “I need to not let people wait.” “You (whoever you was at the time) need to do something as quick…
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Impostor Syndrome
This article will be one of the most important you’ve read about impostor syndrome and mental health in our industry. It will cover several points; mental health support what we can do to recognise it how it plays into our personal and professional lives how to deal with it how to begin overcome it Current…
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So you want to get into web design
This article was originally written in 2010. Facts may have changed. So you’re looking to get into web design? It’s a dog-eat-dog world and below I’ll take you through what the industry is like, what kind of jobs you can do, what skills you need, how you can market yourself, how to communicate with clients…
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How to ask for feedback that may be hard to hear
Recently I’ve been giving a talk on impostor syndrome. As part of that, I discuss strengths and shortcomings. An approach to recognising shortcomings should be a good thing. Without recognising your shortcomings we will never truly recognise our strengths. When we are able to see both, the resulting growth is incredible. Failing to provide vital…
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Geek Mental Health Week Newcastle 2017
I am organising Newcastle’s first Geek Mental Help Week event. It will take place at the Mining Institute in Newcastle on 3 October 2017 at 6pm. What is Geek Mental Help Week? It is a week-long series of articles, podcasts and events about mental health issues. We’ll hear stories from those who suffer as well…
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The day that Ben left
Today, Friday, is the day that Ben Holliday leaves the Department for Work and Pensions. In one way, it’s a sad day. Ben will be a huge miss within the team, but also a miss within the wider realms of government. An influential voice with experience to match. His work and effort has had a…
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A letter from the future
Dear past me, You were right, we’re more connected than ever before. We didn’t look for calm in our lives nor did we look to take anything away. You see, connectivity and devices are still everywhere. No longer are they just in our pockets and attached to our wrists. What you had back then was…
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Hello you. Hello you, this is me.
Hello you. Hello you, this is me. That’s how we started every phone call, it was our little game, one which we’d done since I was a teenager. We both used to laugh and get confused on who had to say what. That was my Dad, my best friend. My best friend passed away on…
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Invest in yourself
A little while ago I sent out the following; Don’t forget to invest in yourself. Make time, health and learning an important investment for you. A lot of ourselves goes to other things. — Gavin Elliott (@gavinelliott) July 5, 2015 There were many thoughts behind that message and a bit of a personal story (and…
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Cleansing the soul with honest design
Back in late 2013, shortly after I joined traveljunction.com, I managed to internally recruit Tim Gale on to my team. It was a pretty bold move, Tim was sought after across the company but I was pretty determined and didn’t give up. I’d known of Tim for a while before joining the company and as…
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Understanding the why
When we were learning as children, we always asked important questions. More often than not the main question was, Why? We as adults joke about children getting to that age and how they continue to ask why after the 2nd and 3rd time. Each time a child asks why and receives an answer it generally…