Your Career Is a Recipe: The Design of Mastery, Balance, and Growth
Growing up in India, kitchens were my classrooms, where resilience, creativity, and preparation were stirred into life lessons. Watching women transform simple ingredients into unforgettable meals taught me the power of intention. Today, as a design leader, I see parallels between cooking and crafting careers—both require vision, adaptability, and a balance of skills to create something meaningful and impactful.
Cultivating Leadership Through Key Meetings
In this post, I share three essential meetings every Design leader should prioritize: Daily Design Reviews, Skip-Level One-on-Ones, and Cross-Functional Experience Reviews. These meetings foster alignment, transparency, and leadership within design teams, empowering senior managers and ensuring continuous feedback, growth, and collaboration throughout the design process.
Lessons on Leadership I learned from my first manager
Jean Cattell, my first design manager and a legendary Director of Design at The Field Museum, profoundly shaped my journey as a designer and leader. Through her fierce advocacy, high standards, and human-centered approach to leadership, Jean taught me lessons that continue to guide me today. In this tribute, I reflect on her impact and share three timeless principles she embodied: fostering autonomy to build belonging, understanding the power of contribution to drive performance, and setting the tone for good behavior. Read on to discover how Jean's legacy can inspire design leaders and teams to thrive.