Leaders Unscripted

Conversations with leaders about the challenges they’ve faced and what they’ve learned.

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18: Finding Balance in the Midst of Constant Change with Engineering Leader, Ashley Hunsberger

Episode cover image

The only certainty in business is uncertainty; the only constant is change.

As leaders, we’re tasked with the impossible in navigating that change and to bring our teams with us.

While in her role at Blackboard, Ashley Hunsberger held several Director roles throughout her 17 year tenure, and has found some fantastic ways to guide your team through the choppy waters of change.

Ashley joins me on Leaders Unscripted to share her ‘structures for reflection’, an ideal approach to feedback, and finding your balance as a leader.

This Episode Covers:

  • Developing consistent feedback loops
  • Finding your balance as a leader
  • Navigating constant change
  • The power of collective goal-setting
  • Time management & being protective of your space

Episode Highlights:

“There's a lot of different schools of thought. I'm not so hung up on a title, so much as I am on whether I have the right position for what I do, and the tasks that I take on, and the things that are in my abilities?” - 3:45 - Ashley Hunsberger
“A lot of what I have been doing is focusing on teams and humans in the workplace. My whole mission for my team is how do we understand and discover, how do we amplify and improve the way in which we work, and our well being in engineering?” - 14:10 - Ashley Hunsberger
“While my boss didn't mention the four day work week specifically, he said ‘How can we support you in any way? How can we help with this time transition and let's get creative in the ways that we can do that’.” - 19:45 - Ashley Hunsberger
“You have to have that trust in them. Otherwise, you are going to be completely overburdened if you don't trust that your team can handle this.” - 26:50 - Ashley Hunsberger
“You don't have to be a manager to be a leader. That is something that a lot of people think is just their next step. I did so much leadership as a test lead, as a team lead, and as an architect.” - 29:00 - Ashley Hunsberger
“For me, navigating that change and getting used to it, I always quickly reflect on what is that emotion I'm feeling? How am I feeling about it? Have I encountered a similar change in the past and how did I navigate it? What did I learn from that if I didn’t handle it so well?” - 33:35 - Ashley Hunsberger
“I think that a lot of leaders carry around a lot of mental friction. It just eats away at their brains, and they can't think as clearly, and they don't have as much time for strategic thinking.” - 39:35 - Suzan Bond
“I don't wait for the annual review to give feedback. I'm constantly giving that to them. I always tell myself if your review is a surprise, I'm not doing my job well.” - 43:55 - Ashley Hunsberger

Links & References:

Constellary: https://www.constellaryhq.com/

Suzan Bond: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanbond/

Ashley Hunsberger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyhunsberger/