I think there are two sides to the imposter syndrome coin. First is an overwhelming fear that we're n
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June 13 · Issue #14 · View online
A batch of thoughts, resources, and motivation from a friendly digital agency owner delivered every Monday at 6am ET.
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I think there are two sides to the imposter syndrome coin. First is an overwhelming fear that we’re not capable of doing our jobs, and second is a worry that if we share our work we’ll suddenly become obsolete. Being open and transparent can be difficult, often because it shows our own flaws and opens us up to criticism, but is important. Not only do we learn from feedback (both positive and negative), but we also get back what we put out there. It helps us grow not only as people, but professionally in our craft. Early days in Phuse’s history, I was terrified of sharing. I remember being nervous that I had built a house of cards that could easily topple. Over time, I began talking to people who began asking tough questions and challenging me and the work we were doing. These were clients and partners, friends and team members. They pushed to ask critical questions and give advice because they wanted to see Phuse succeed. I couldn’t imagine being where we are today without them. The success of such relationships (and my constantly asking for more feedback to get some sense of validation) led me to find groups like the Entrepreneur’s Organization, and ultimately to starting the Toronto Agency Owner meet-up (which, admittedly, I’m behind on planning a meet-up for). These groups pushed me farther, creating a network by which I could ask tough questions and get support. It’s amazing how many people who are a part of these groups talk about how liberating it is to share and how they feel more confident through engaging and being real, and how they wish they had done it sooner. We need to stop lying about how things are going and call it like it is. We’ve learned over time by societal norm to always respond “good” (or “nm, u?” for those of us who used MSN) to questions asking how we’re doing, instead of telling people how we feel. (And, for what it’s worth, I’m not saying you need to respond to that question with your life’s story - but we all have bad days, and we need to be able to identify those days.) Instead of closing up when our business isn’t doing well, talking about the problems with others can often help (both mentally through having support and with breaking down the problem at hand). When sales got tough at Phuse, I remember approaching clients and telling them honestly where we were at and what we were looking for. It was terrifying (because we always want to look perfect to our clients, right?), but the response was always incredibly overwhelming and led to a lot of our transparent practices both internally and externally. Deeper than that, sharing our tools and processes allows us to not only give back, but to also learn. I look at incredible examples in the community like nGen Works who share their process publicly, as well as the growing knowledgebase online for other agency owners through communities like the Digital Bureau, and realize how lucky we are to be at the point that we are as a community. We’re making open source not only about a particular framework or snippet of code, but also about how we build our businesses, and that’s pretty damn exciting. Overall, this mentorship we’re able to give each other when we’re open to it is one of the most effective ways I’ve found to overcome that same imposter syndrome that scared us to share in the first place. Like any idea for a startup, success is based on execution and people. Let’s make this week count by allowing others to learn from us, and taking the opportunity to learn from those around us. P.S.: If you enjoyed this week’s issue, I’d really appreciate your support sharing this newsletter. Whether it’s a forward, a Twitter post, or making sticky note artwork with a quote from this week’s article, it would mean the world to me.
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Getting less done
Getting things done is overrated. We focus so hard on keeping busy, that it doesn’t allow us the ability to have perspective. By taking it easy and getting out of the monotony, DHH believes we can be more effective. I find separating work and play (either by time, physical space, or otherwise) helps, especially in allowing ourselves to be unproductive for a (little) while.
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The Weight of Words
With the amount of communication we have over emails, through project management systems, and using tools like Slack, the words we use have become evermore important. Without context, facial, or body cues, we have to stay cognizant of the words we choose on a daily basis, and how they may be perceived by others.
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9 Facts Every Creative Needs to Know About Collaborative Teams
I’m usually not a fan of list posts, but this is a great one to think through as we manage creative teams. In particular, thinking about the make-up of your team and how that can impact team success is crucial (as anyone who follows sports can attest).
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Do you really need that meeting?
We all know to keep tabs on our meetings, but to take it one step further: for those stand-ups and weekly meetings we have, we should make sure they’re properly structured, and executed in as productive a fashion as possible. Keeping time limits and encouraging a focus on getting down to business ensures that people come with purpose.
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Building remote-first teams
I get a lot of questions about how to run a remote team, and this is an incredibly exhaustive article on just that. It breaks down some of the most important things you need to think of when starting and running a remote team. I wish we had this when we started Phuse!
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“Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.” — His Holiness the Dalai Lama
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This past week I went to a 21 Pilots show and I’m pretty sure I was one of the oldest people there, and someone behind me kept yelling “oh my god, he’s so pretty!”. Walking out of the concert afterwards, there was a massive line of dads waiting for their kids. That being said, it was a damn awesome concert. Just… thought you should know? If you have any questions or I can help you in any way, all you have to do is respond to this email. 🖖
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