Post two of our series, Brief Interviews with Assiduous Mules. If you missed the first, catch up with Jessie Char: Client Relations, Doesn’t Have Lupus.

How does what you do shape the project/client/Mule story?

At Mule, we believe strongly in ethical design, something I’ll write a whole post on soon. In brief, the core of ethical design is understanding that you are responsible for what you put into the world. I make sure I’m not that stereotypical project manager who pushes the designers, content strategists, developers, and architects on my team to “just make the client happy” (referenced in Give the Client What They Want by Dennis Kardys for Ethics & Web Design). That’s a short term gain. As project manager, my most important role in the Mule story is to make sure that we work with the client to help them understand why we’re making the decisions that we are and, if it comes to that, why one compromise is better than another. As a bonus, I’ve found that clearly explaining the why upfront also helps clients evaluate and approve work faster and understand the implications of their decisions so there isn’t confusion later.

What did you study in school? How did that lead to or influence you in your current role?

I majored in sociology and focused on media studies. I’d taken a class in high school—Contemporary American Culture—in which we studied Umberto Eco and Neil Postman and watched True Stories and Koyaanisqatsi. The material sparked so many new ideas for me that I knew it was something I wanted to continue to explore in college. I try to pay attention to those moments when something sparks. As a result I got to study something that interested me—contemporary culture and media literacy—within the frame of a discipline. I realized I was most driven when something spoke to a personal passion of mine so I worked to make sure I could include at least an aspect of that in my career.

I had been very involved in diversity education in high school so when I started at Vassar I was most interested in the representation of South Asian women in media. But as my interests evolved my focus started to shift toward women’s active roles in talking back to and creating media, thanks to social network and online community tools that were fairly new at the time. I got to write about Buffy (torn between third wave and post-feminism) and Star Wars (female communities online) in my thesis! And the things I learned about online communities lent themselves nicely to working on building online communities as I entered the web industry.

What was your first job/title in the industry?

Intern! In 10th grade I designed the early wireframes for a charity network. It was a novel concept at the time, but it sounds so normal now. You could browse charities (each had their own profile page) and choose one or several to donate portions of your paycheck to automatically. It was a real start-up experience, with way too many of us in a tiny office in Palo Alto. In fact, the fire department even told us we couldn’t use the loft because it wasn’t safe. But it was so much fun. Everyone believed in the work we were doing.

What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to someone who wants to be a project manager?

Keep an outsider perspective. In a way you’re at your best when you’re new to project management. The questions you have then probably have the most overlap with the questions clients (or users) have.

The best help you can get is constructive criticism. Teammates aren’t criticizing you, the person. They’re criticizing you, the worker. Use it to get better at your job and don’t take it personally.

Project management seems to involve a ton of wrangling—of plans, time, and even egos. How do you strike the right approach/tone?

Empathy. You have to be able to put yourself in the other person’s shoes—whether a teammate or a client. Figure out what they need to know or how a question should be phrased for successful and efficient communication.

What’s your secret to life-work balance?

Surround yourself with others who believe in having a life. Balance personal interests (such as hobbies, friends, relationships, family, and health) with pride in doing your best work (and putting in the time that takes). That makes for a great company and a great group of friends.

It’s not easy. Personal interests can sometimes feel like a full-time job. But give yourself deadlines—including having to be out of the office by 6pm—and things by and large get done and done well. If you’re in a culture that supports work-life balance, it’ll be a rare exception that you need to stay late or work on a weekend to get the level of quality you demand from your own work.

What blogs or sites do you visit daily?

I read marketing cartoonist Tom Fishburne and naming expert Nancy Friedman (AKA Fritinancy) faithfully. I love the way they write and think. Otherwise, Twitter and the New York Times for news and Brand New for keeping up on redesigns.

As a child, which fictional character did you most identify with/want to be? Why?

I identified most with Josephine from the children’s book, Don’t Give Up, Josephine. She’s a penguin who doesn’t want to learn penguin ballet and would much rather hop around with the snow bunnies or her other non-penguin friends. But she learns that those skills can be combined with ballet and she ends up teaching all her friends (including the walrus) how to do it. Children’s books never get old. They just highlight different things in life depending on when you read them. At the time it was because I too hated ballet and needed to be taught not to give up. Now it’s because that story reminds me of childhood and is one of my comfort books.

But the general trend of characters I identified with falls into adventure. As soon as I saw Star Wars, I was captivated by the idea of Princess Leia. Not a damsel in distress, but a commander, a witty banterer. She took charge but was still a flawed and human character, which made it easy to identify with her.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Teleportation! More time to do things I want to do. I know it’s all about the journey, but sometimes you just want to get where you’re going.

What appeals to you about dance? What kinds do you do?

I started jazz dance when I was 7 and haven’t stopped, except for a brief period after college (which was a huge mistake! I’m a much happier person with dance in my life). I never would have thought I’d consider myself a modern dancer, but I think that’s much more of the style that I’m in now. Contemporary Jazz/Modern.

I love that you can check your pedestrian self at the door and get out of your head for a while. There are days when the movement brings out intense emotions. It’s a great stress release valve. Now that I’ve reached a level where we’re incorporating partnering and lifts there’s also a team dynamic that I’m not as used to, but I like it. You really have to trust someone, literally believe they’re not going to drop you.

I also love that I am always improving and always learning. It’s something you can really feel in your body—that you’re getting better, that it’s feeling more natural. In workshops you build a piece with a group of people, everybody contributing something of themselves, whether through choreography or expression. That sense of accomplishment is something I don’t think you should just have in your job.

Image from Don’t Give Up Josephine, written and illustrated by Hans Wilhelm

Tweet | Written by Tina Lee on March 31, 2011 |