About Me
šš¼Ā Hello! First things firstā¦
- Iām really happy to be working with you and I look forward to making our projects a success together.
- My full name is āLee Weiā and Iāve always been addressed by my friends as either āLeeā or āLee Weiā. I would say either of these is fine and Iām not fussed about which you prefer.
- āHow are you?ā ā My default answer to this most of the time will be ācould be worseā. It may sound morbid but I donāt believe that thereās a binary answer to this question. Things could always be better or worse but I take stock and appreciate things as they are right now.
Operating Approach
New Teams
Whenever I join a new team, I often try to see how I can become a valuable addition rather than immediately suggesting new ideas and ways of working. I believe that successful collaboration is a mixture of give and take, and I will try not to impose my existing work methods and methodologies on the new team unless they are potentially beneficial for the majority.
On Strategies
I believe that at the core of every good strategy lies three key elements: a clear diagnosis of a problem, an appropriate guiding policy (think of it as guard rails on a road), and a set of coherent actions that can get us there. When discussing strategies, I will help identify and point out areas that are lacking these essential components. For example, one poor strategy Iāve encountered is the refusal to make tradeoffs and categorising everything as high importance.
No man is an island
Humans excel due to our ability to synthesise information and pass it on to others as stories and knowledge. I donāt believe that any single individual has a comprehensive understanding of any given subject, and I love collaborating and discussing ideas. This perspective leads us to our next point.
Introspection
I think and mull over things a lot. I like to poke holes in ideas, even my own, because I believe that every idea is a hypothesis that needs the rigor of critical analysis to withstand the scrutiny of our users and stakeholders. Iām not interested in being right; Iām only interested in finding the right answer.
Management Style
Think To Talk
I am someone who āthinks to talkā and I may sometimes need time outside of a discussion to mull over the options presented. I am happy to be part of collaborative discussions, but anything beyond basic decisions will require additional deliberation on my part. If you are someone who ātalks to thinkā, I am willing to engage in a chat with you to hash things out. However, please be aware that you may not get immediate answers out of me.
Organised
If I am leading a project, you will often find clear timelines, objectives, and stakeholders mapped out. I will frequently refer back to these timelines and objectives to ensure that everyone is on the right track. While I wonāt micromanage your individual tasks, I expect everyone to be aware of the overall objective we are all working towards and the trajectory we should all follow.
I dislike last-minute work that could have been completed ahead of time, and I get annoyed when we rush unnecessarily. I firmly believe that with proper planning, we can avoid a lot of unnecessary work and stress for everyone involved.
No Micromanaging
I am not a fan of chasing you for work as I believe that weāre all fully-formed adults. As much as possible, I will stay within the realm of āconsultedā and āinformedā.
When I give suggestions, I will inform you if itās only just for your consideration, and by which I sincerely mean so. If itās something expect you to implement, I will be sure to supplement my rationale and I expect you to challenge it vigorously.
On Meetings
I donāt believe in meetings for the sake of meetings and as much as possible, I will try to only loop you into meetings if you need to have synchronous communication with everyone present, or if there is a concrete deliverable for you as a result of the meeting.
Communication
1:1s
If there is something that you would like me to read up on ahead of time, please send it to me! Iām interested in the things that you are interested in and I want to make sure that I do it justice instead of rushing through it during our 1:1s.
Quick calls
If you need me for a quick chat, I am happy to do so but Iām not a huge fan of quick calls without a set agenda. This can get incredibly disruptive for everyoneās schedules if we donāt have an end goal in mind prior to the call.
No hi no hello
Imagine calling someone on the phone, going hello! then putting them on holdā¦
If youāre dropping me a message on chat, feel free to jump straight to the point instead of starting your sentence with āhey leeweiā and then expecting a response from me immediately. It puts me in an odd position because I donāt know if itās a simple request awaiting me or something that may require additional effort.
Also, see https://nohello.net/en/
More about working with me
Feedback
I love feedback and I may even seek it from you even outside of performance reviews. Good feedback goes both ways so I would honestly appreciate it if you let me know how I can better support you or your teams. Weāre all in this together and working towards the same goal!
Taking work seriously but not taking myself too seriously
I take work fairly seriously but outside of it, Iām honestly just someone who appreciates a good laugh. In an alternate universe Iād probably be surfing and conducting surfing classes on a chill beach somewhere.
I like dry humour and I appreciate the comedic wit of people like Sean Lock (whoāve unfortunately passed).
The immutable parts
I work for a living, but I have very little intention of overworking myself to the point of exhaustion (been there, done that). As a result, I take a structured approach to my work processes and aim to accomplish as much as possible during the workday. This allows me to spend my non-working hours not thinking about work and focusing on my family. That said, I understand that there are times when unexpected situations arise, requiring us all to put in extra effort, which is completely acceptable.