My user
Manual

A little guide to understanding me

I am someone who likes to understand how things connect, what those connections mean, and what we can do with that understanding.

Before You
Get to Know Me

I am probably not the person who will walk into a room full of new people and immediately start talking to everyone.

I tend to be a little reserved when I first meet people. I like to observe, listen and get a feel for the person and the environment before I open up.

That can sometimes make me seem quieter than I actually am.

But there is another side to me.

Give me something that genuinely interests me and the situation changes quite quickly. A good idea, an interesting problem, a piece of technology, a question I have never thought about before and suddenly I am asking questions, sharing ideas and starting the conversation myself.

So, if you meet me for the first time and I seem quiet, don't assume I have nothing to say.

I am probably still figuring out what I want to say.

The Thread I Keep Following

I have always been interested in how things connect.

I like taking something that looks complicated and trying to understand what is underneath it.

Why does this happen?
What is connected to it?
What happens if we change this part?
Who is affected?

And perhaps most importantly:

What can we do about it?

That curiosity is at the heart of my purpose:

“To explore how things are connected, understand how those connections shape the world and apply that understanding to real-world systems.”

For me, understanding is not the final destination. I want to do something with it.

That is why I enjoy technology, building things, solving problems and working with other people. I like the moment when an idea moves from something we are discussing to something that actually works in the real world.

What I Am Like at Work

I am naturally a builder.

I like taking an idea and figuring out how to make it real. I enjoy difficult problems, learning how things work and finding better ways of doing things.

My technical background has shaped a lot of how I think. I tend to look beneath the surface rather than accepting the first explanation.

If something is broken, I want to know why.
If something works, I want to understand how.
And if something seems unnecessarily complicated, I will probably wonder whether there is a better way.

That curiosity is one of my strengths. It can also be one of my traps.

Sometimes I can go deeper into a problem than necessary because I genuinely want to understand it. I am learning that there is a difference between understanding something deeply and needing to understand every detail before moving forward.

How I Communicate

I generally prefer people to be straightforward with me.

You do not have to make everything sound perfect before bringing it to me.

Tell me what is happening.
Tell me what you think.
Tell me what you need.

If something is complicated, give me the context. I like understanding the bigger picture.

And if you don't know something, say so.

I am much more comfortable with:

“I don't know yet.”

than with an answer that sounds confident but is not grounded in reality.

How I Like Feedback

Please tell me what I can do better. Seriously.

I would rather hear something uncomfortable that helps me grow than something nice that leaves me exactly where I am.

The most useful feedback for me is specific. Not just:

“You could communicate better.”

But:

“When you did this, I experienced it this way. Next time, you could try this.”

I especially appreciate feedback about things I cannot easily see for myself particularly how I communicate, how I lead and how my actions affect other people.

That kind of feedback is valuable because we all have blind spots.

Important Note

One Thing You Should Know About Me

Because I am quite analytical, I can sometimes focus intensely on the problem in front of me.

When that happens, I may ask a lot of questions. It can sound like I am challenging you.

Most of the time, I am actually trying to understand.

I am challenging the idea,
not the person.

Of course, intention is only half of the story. The way something lands matters too. That is something I continue to work on as I grow as a leader.

Leadership Changed the Way I See People

I have had opportunities to take on leadership responsibilities, and that experience changed something important for me.

Earlier in my career, being useful often meant being the person who could solve the problem.

Leadership taught me that sometimes being useful means helping someone else solve it.

That is a very different skill. I am still learning it.

I want to be the kind of leader who makes the people around me stronger, more confident and more capable not people who always have to come back to me for the answer.

What I Value in People

I am drawn to people who are:

The most important thing

People who care.

People who care about their work, the people they work with and the impact they are creating.

Curious

They want to understand rather than simply assume.

Honest

They can say what is really happening, even when it is uncomfortable.

Thoughtful

They consider the consequences of their decisions.

Independent

They can take ownership instead of waiting for instructions.

Open-minded

They can change their perspective when new information appears.

Kind

Being ambitious and being considerate are not mutually exclusive.

The most important thing

People who care.

People who care about their work, the people they work with and the impact they are creating.

What Gives Me Energy

I get excited by things that make me curious.

+ A difficult problem.
+ A good conversation.
+ A new technology.
+ A surprising idea.
+ Someone showing me a perspective I had never considered.
+ Taking something from an idea to something real.

And especially when I can see that something I helped build is genuinely making someone's life, work or organisation better.

My Favourite Progress

Understanding → Building → Impact

What Can Frustrate Me

I struggle with situations where we keep talking about a problem without moving toward doing something about it.

I also find it difficult when people hide problems because they are afraid of how those problems will be received.

I would much rather hear:

than discover it much later when it has become much harder to fix.

I also get frustrated when technology becomes the solution simply because technology is available, rather than because it solves the right problem.

What are we actually trying to improve?

If Something Goes Wrong

My first instinct is usually to understand what happened.

What did we think would happen? ?
What actually happened? ?
What did we miss? ?
What can we learn? ?

I do not believe mistakes should automatically become blame.

A mistake can be expensive, frustrating or painful, but it can also teach us something that we could not have learned any other way.

I care more about whether we learn and improve than whether we pretend we never make mistakes.

How to Get the Best From Me

You don't need to impress me.
You don't need to have all the answers.

Bring curiosity
Bring honesty
Bring your perspective

Tell me when you disagree.
Tell me when something is not working.
And if you have an idea that excites you, tell me about it.

There is a good chance I will start asking questions.

And Finally...

I am still figuring myself out.

This manual is not meant to say:

“Here are the rules for dealing with me.”

It is more like:

“Here is what I currently understand about myself.”

I expect that to change.

There are things I am confident about and things I am still learning.

I know that I am curious.
I know that I enjoy building.
I know that I care about making things useful.
I know that I am naturally reserved with new people, but that genuine curiosity can quickly change that.
I know that I value people who challenge me.
And I know that my work means more to me when it creates impact beyond myself.

The person I am trying to become is someone who can combine technical depth, curiosity, leadership and empathy to build things that matter.

That is the direction I am heading.

And I am still figuring out the route.

Before YouGet to Know Me