A love letter to my first associates at Riverbed Collective.

Here’s how the management process went for Decalmania, Riverbed Collective’s collaborative sticker book involving 72 artists. I’m hoping my side of the story will serve as a bit of guidance and encouragement for my staff as they themselves take on new roles.

The decision to hire

With our co-founder Izzy’s departure from Riverbed Collective, plus a new project on the way, Akko and I had two options. We could either bear the stress of powering through as a duo, with the administrative workload falling to me again, or we could take on the stress of learning to lead a team.

I chose the second. (We’d be stressed regardless. Might as well invest effort and reap dividends in the form of learning and scaling.)

The decision of who to hire

I’m pretty young, and I’ll admit that, at the time, I was too embarrassed to hire anyone older. I struggled to find an intern until my mentor Mei Mei Ng knocked some sense into me.

Her words were kind, but, let’s be real, who was I to think that my subordinates wouldn’t teach me? People I hire aren’t just extra sets of hands. They’re extra minds, voices, and perspectives to support me, to call me out, and to help Riverbed grow into an organisation that can serve our community.

So I swallowed my pride (a recurring theme, apparently) and brought Loup and Kayla onto the team. Loup, a friend of Akko, started off as a project artist for Mint Condition. Kayla’s been a friend of mine for half a decade.

Then, Akko was approached by Elke, who wanted to learn from us. I interviewed and hired him.

Everyone’s older than me, by the way.

It went well, for the most part

I think it was obvious to our artists that we were fairly cohesive, despite being a global, remote team. Here’s what I said on LinkedIn:

I’ve always known that if you want to go fast, you go alone, but I didn’t truly realise that if you want to go far, go together. Akko Donà, Kayla Soon, Elke Tran, Loup Perrin, Herman Pang, and Alisha Lin, you’ve shown me that and so much more.

Me on LinkedIn, October 2025

I tried to take the time to get to know them all individually, for instance, by giving them access to book appointments on my calendar. I tried to ensure they felt seen and supported to do their best work.

In terms of team culture, I think we did well. We were supportive and flexible, clearly communicating what each person needed and what was feasible. Additionally, I successfully balanced an explicit welcome of dissent during the decision-making process with a shared, united vision, and trusted my staff to execute on new ideas.

(Loup, for instance, injected new ideas into our workflow, creating a place where artists could share their progress check-ins with each other, instead of only sharing them with the core team. I was hesitant at first, but this turned out to be a really great idea.)

What being a manager means to me

There’s so many corporate ways to say it—Chief Operating Officer, Human Resources Officer—but it all boils down to making sure we have the right people for the right tasks. This first involves a deep understanding of each person’s motivations, strengths, and ambitions to make sure we’re in alignment. Then, using this understanding, I help develop their self-awareness, supporting them in taking ownership of their own growth.

(Tangentially, how we learn, how we gain mastery, and the changes we can implement on a structural level to help people develop are interests of mine. How can I give my people the tools to guide their own growth? I’ve been having an ongoing, incredibly valuable conversation with Michael Tsai of iCanStudy about this.)

Speaking directly to my associates now, past and present—I suppose I never expected just how much responsibility I’d feel for you. I had to understand what drew you to Riverbed, your aspirations, your work style—and as such grew to celebrate your wins and mourn your losses, both professionally and personally. I don’t know if that’s standard, but that’s how it was for me.

One thing that I didn’t quite succeed at

When I was struck with a health issue mid-way through the art creation phase of Decalmania, the supportive, flexible culture I’d built worked in my favour.

However, I hadn’t realised the importance of making sure my team could support each other independently, without my involvement.

The perils of a global, remote team (scattered across four timezones and five cities) only added to this. Akko and Loup had met in person, I obviously had a friendship with Kayla, and I was building a bond with Elke, but our individual team members didn’t actually have opportunities to connect with each other.

I’d become the only thing gluing us together, which, obviously, increased my burden.

What I’m trying

Since then, I’ve tried a couple of things to build team cohesion, and have attempted to define proxy metrics to indicate progress. Quite frankly, it’s a bit too early to tell whether things are working, but I’ll still list what I’ve done.

• A weekly digest summarising what we’ve worked on and each team member’s life updates
• A ‘water cooler’ chat thread to mimic real-life, casual conversations in an office

Inspired by Frances Hesselbein’s leadership principles, I’m also creating more opportunities for lateral and multi-directional communication, such as our Monday Notes initiative, following in the footsteps of Wernher von Braun at NASA.

(Each member of the team, myself included, will submit a page summarising what we’ve been doing, what we’ve been struggling with, and we’ll give each other feedback. These will be circulated as open documents to facilitate openness and intellectual exchange.)

As usual, I’ll let you know how this all goes.

Takeaways

General guidance on communication

• Establish a baseline. Figure out what both parties know about the subject and what they’re capable of
• Be explicit with gratitude, praise and criticism. Go out of your way to highlight what others have done well, and give specific, actionable criticism

Actionable tips

• Outline expectations for the role clearly: time commitments, the scope of the work, communication channels, frequency
• Create a cadence for how often work is assigned, with regular, scheduled check-ins. For instance, tasks released weekly on Fridays
• Leave room for mistakes and second chances: buffer time, brainstorming multiple mechanisms to catch errors early
• Balance praise and criticism like a sandwich: start by thanking your staff for their efforts, praise them, criticise if necessary, and end with actionable suggestions

Things to ask yourself if you’re preparing to become a manager

1. Why do you want managerial experience?
2. What are your own strengths and weaknesses, both in a team, and as a leader?
3. How will you prepare yourself for this new role?

Finally, to my staff: Look, it’s daunting, but I wouldn’t be here, giving you this role, if I didn’t think you were capable. I love you, trust you, and am here to support you.