The Challenge
In Q2 of 2021, I was managing a high-performing Design Manager at Dropbox—let’s call her Maya. She excelled across the board—design process, strategy, craft, and communication. She led a team of four ICs and was respected by her peers.
During a career conversation, Maya shared her desire for a promotion. Promotions can be motivating, but they’re not always in a manager’s control. My job was to ensure she felt supported, that her strengths were maximized, and that we aligned her day-to-day work with what truly motivated her.
My Coaching Approach
When coaching high performers, I focus on three things:
- Understand their core motivation
- Give them choices that align with that motivation
- Connect their work to visible progress toward it
With Maya, it quickly became clear that her motivation was about scope. She wanted to scale her impact in strategy and process—those were the areas that energized her. We agreed that demonstrating those skills at scale would also improve her chances of promotion, even if the timing of that outcome wasn’t fully in our control.
Finding the Right Opportunities
Maya and I set aside time for a working session to brainstorm ways she could stretch her scope. We both brought ideas, and ultimately we chose two:
- She would own a cross-group process project focused on feature validation and experimentation.
- She would delegate craft quality responsibilities to a senior IC, which gave that person greater influence while freeing Maya to focus on strategy.
We checked with cross-functional partners to ensure alignment and adjusted Maya’s goals to reflect these new responsibilities. From there, we set up monthly check-ins to track her progress.
What Happened Next
Maya ran with the opportunity. She took ownership of the experimentation process, brought in two other leads, and rolled it out thoughtfully. It quickly sped up decision-making, killed projects that weren’t worth pursuing, and saved us from over-investment. Within months, the process scaled to the entire Group and was being considered for adoption across the org.
At the same time, she deepened her strategic impact. She defined the solution space for users on multiple teams, and she led the strategy for bringing Dropbox into business chat apps. Delegating craft quality gave her the headroom to operate at this higher level.
The Outcome
Maya was motivated, happy, and visibly increasing her impact. She was leading process improvements that changed how the organization worked, while contributing strategy on high-priority projects. And as a cherry on top, she was promoted to Senior Design Manager.
“High performers don’t just need praise—they need scope that matches their ambition.”