When attrition and a mid-year reorg reshuffled responsibilities in 2019, I found myself with a new product lead, someone I’d never worked with before. Let’s call her Dana. Dana was known for her execution-focused approach, while I came in with a design background full of 0→1 experience. We were different, and that could have gone either way.
Setting Expectations Together
The first thing I suggested was collaborative expectation-setting. Instead of me writing a list of responsibilities and Dana doing the same, we did it together. We wrote down everything we thought we owned, then compared notes to find gaps and overlaps. That gave us not just alignment, but a shared language for how we’d work.
From there, I leaned on a simple framework I use for new partnerships: understand, achieve, grow. First, get to know each other’s motivators. Next, pick a project to knock out together. Finally, support each other’s growth.
Finding Shared Motivators
In those early strategy sessions, I learned Dana had a passion for innovation. She wanted to take bigger risks. That opened the door. I shared some of my favorite design tools—Design Sprints, Forum Traversing, Ritual Dissent—and we started to imagine what “innovation practice” could look like in our area.
Instead of me leading, we decided to experiment together. We piloted a variation on the GV Design Sprint with two teams. The results were both actionable and morale-boosting. Dana was energized, and so was I.
From Experiments to Practice
One experiment led to another. We introduced new exercises, piloted an “innovation week,” and eventually made it a quarterly ritual. Dana even codified the practice in our area, giving it permanence. Along the way, we not only shipped forward-thinking product changes—we built trust.
Strong product partnerships are built by setting expectations, understanding motivators, and creating wins together.
What started as a reorg challenge became one of the most successful collaborations of my time at Dropbox. Not because we were the same, but because we learned how to complement each other.