A Skechers designer got week-long breaks when he needed them, and delivered work that won 12 product awards in a year. The speaker credits trust and autonomy for the results, and says this kind of empowerment lifts the whole team.
I managed a designer. It was like my first day there. So he comes into my office and he says, "How I work is during a design season or when I feel like I need to be at my creative best, you're not gonna see me. I'm not gonna be in the office. I might not show up for a week. I might not necessarily tell you how long I'm not gonna show up for, but I promise you that on the date that things are due, when I come into the office, it's gonna be the best work that you've ever seen." The first year that I worked with him, he won 12 product awards for one product in the outdoor industry in one year. We were able to create create that space for him, which made him feel like as a team, as a whole creative team, we trusted what he had to say. So the more that you have that healthy collaboration, that open dialogue, the more that you give the space to your teammates to really feel empowered to achieve, it creates an environment that allows for trust and respect.
