Weeknotes 27 March, 2026

This week felt like a balance between stepping in and stepping back.

I’ve been covering for a peer, which meant starting new 1:1s and getting closer to work that isn’t usually mine to hold. There’s something subtle about that kind of responsibility. You’re not there to change direction or make a mark. You’re there to provide continuity, context. And just enough guidance that things keep moving without friction.

I’ve been quite intentional about using this as a chance to practise leadership more deliberately. Not in a big, visible way, but in the small structures around it. Thinking more carefully about how I show up to 1:1s, how I prepare, and how I make sure they’re genuinely useful for the other person. Less about adding process. More about creating the right conditions. Where it feels like their space (not mine), and where support is consistent rather than reactive.

It made me realise how much leadership lives in those quiet decisions. The prep no one sees. The questions you choose to ask.

Alongside that, I’ve been spending time on how we scale quality without centralising control. A lot of conversations around content ops, single sources of truth, and where guidance should live. None of it is particularly new, but it feels like we’re getting closer to something more coherent. Less about documenting everything, more about making the right things obvious and easy to use.

I’ve also been experimenting with AI in a more applied way. Building out what is a “mother prompt” to review help content against design principles. It’s early, and somewhat held up by other priorities, but it’s interesting to see where it works well and where it falls short. The real value isn’t in replacing judgement. It’s in creating a consistent baseline. That can then can catch the obvious gaps so people can focus on the harder decisions.

Moving on to other things, I shared some quick feedback on a piece of live content that had gone out in an older form. It wasn’t quite aligned with where we’ve since landed. The tone in particular felt off. A bit negative, a touch flippant, and missing the sense of guidance and encouragement we’re aiming for.

Rather than reopening the whole thing, I suggested a lightweight fix – removing the most problematic wording. As well as, offering a few alternatives that better reflected our tone. The intent was simple: improve what users are seeing now, quickly, without slowing anything down.

What followed was a bit of pushback, which at first felt like a contradiction. Stepping back, it was more likely a case of missing context on both sides. Different threads, different assumptions. Both trying to do the right thing from slightly different starting points.

It was a useful reminder that even small changes can surface bigger questions. About ownership, about trust, and about how we stay aligned as more teams are empowered to shape content. There’s a balance to strike between moving quickly and bringing people with you. Sometimes the right call is knowing when to push, and when to pick it up properly later.

On a more personal level, I had a helpful conversation with my manager about my development. The kind that gives you just enough clarity to start moving, without suggesting you need to know everything upfront. I’ve started putting it into place, actioning opportunities I’ve already spotted for my growth, and moving on this now, not later.

I’ve also been playing with tools like Perplexity. I want to see if they can reduce some of the background noise – summarising my inbox in this instance. It’s not perfect, but it’s a glimpse of what a more manageable flow of information might look like. Less about keeping up, more about staying focused on what actually needs attention.

Overall, it’s been a week of small adjustments rather than big shifts. Holding space for others, testing where AI can help, and being more deliberate about where I step in and where I don’t.

And to finish, I’m seeing a lot of my hard work over the last few months pay off. It’s an enormous relief. Bootcamp, as I’ve come to name it, continues and it’s worth it.