‘I didn’t want to be a manager for the sake of being a manager’ — Lead User Researcher at Accurx, Hazel Ho
It seems like becoming a manager is a necessary milestone to pass in one’s career. But how do you know when to be a manager or if you want to be one in the first place? Hazel walked us through her learning experience to become the manager she aspires to be. Because it is rare to hear the behind-the-scene story like this, I hope you find her story and experience empowering and inspiring like I did ☺️
1. Could you tell us about your career history briefly?
Before I stumbled into user research, I felt like I experienced every other career in the world! I was in account management, PR, project management and marketing. It was during my time working in marketing at a startup company that I discovered the world of web design and UX. Coming from a psychology degree and always having found the human mind so fascinating, it seemed like a perfect next step to mix two things I find so interesting — psychology and technology — together, which is how I got into user experience and specifically focused on the user research aspect.
2. What made you want to be a research manager rather than an individual contributor?
I’d been an individual contributor (IC) for my entire user research career — over 5 years. I actually had no intention of moving into a managerial role and was very happy and fulfilled working in embedded product teams and seeing the direct impact my work would have on a product. But as circumstances change, people change and you realize that nothing is set in stone. I started to re-evaluate things after I had a very bad experience at a company. The experience made me realize how important it is to have a great manager and how fundamental they are to helping direct reports flourish, and some kind of protective mama bear trait started to emerge out of me!
That’s when I started to think about the good managerial traits I could bring to the table. But it never went beyond just thoughts. I still continued to go for individual contributor roles.
And then I started my role at accuRx as a Senior User Researcher. I loved my role and the company, and within three months the mama bear trait grew stronger. I started off by managing one person and after seven months I stepped out of my IC role completely and embraced the management life. I suppose it took being in the right environment for me to seriously consider making a move into a more managerial role — I didn’t want to be a manager for the sake of being a manager.
I know myself well enough that in order to make that move and flourish in the role I would need some boxes ticked off:
✅ a supportive manager
✅ an environment that will allow me to be my authentic self
✅ working at a company whose values I support and that I would want to help grow
✅ no company political bullshit
→ I’m not about rubbing shoulders with the ‘right’ people and taking the ‘whatever it takes’ approach to progress in my career (ie doing something that would go against my values of being a decent human being)
It’s funny to see how much I’ve changed over the past decade. I took a look at Myers-Briggs score from 2014 and it’s completely different from my personality type today!
It’s funny to see how much I’ve changed over the past decade.
Back then I was an ENTP (Debater):
‘Debaters are known for their rebellious streak. As Debaters see it, most people are too ready to do as they’re told and blindly conform to social norms, pressures, and standards. Debaters enjoy the mental exercise of questioning the prevailing mode of thought, and they take a certain pleasure in uncovering the value of underdogs and outliers. Their active minds can’t help but rethink the things that everyone else takes for granted and push them in clever new directions.’
Now I’m an ISFJ (Defender):
‘For Defenders, “good enough” is rarely good enough. They take their responsibilities personally, consistently going above and beyond and doing everything that they can to exceed others’ expectations. Defenders tend to feel most energized and effective when they’re showing up for someone who needs their help. Dedicated and thoughtful, Defenders find great joy in helping those around them build stable, secure, and happy lives.’
3. How have you been finding the career shift so far?
So far so good! I’m definitely outside of my comfort zone and I’m being challenged in ways I haven’t been challenged before. Who knows, maybe I’ll want to go back into an IC role in a few years or switch careers completely (again!) but for now I’m happy with how things are going and am continuously working towards being the kind of manager that I’d want for myself.
4. What is your management style?
Well, I’m figuring that out and how I manage now can change over time. I’m someone who’s very solutions oriented. I like to solve problems. But as a manager, you can’t do that anymore. I see my role as helping my direct reports solve their own problems. When someone comes to me with a problem, I need to slow down and understand what they are looking for. Is it mentoring? Coaching? Or a shoulder to cry on?
You have to know how much information to give and how to deliver it. It can be very different depending on their personality or their level of experience.
I think that a manager won’t succeed at being a good manager if they’re not able to listen if they’re not able to read a situation. So that’s where the different skill sets come into the picture.
I think that a manager won’t succeed at being a good manager if they’re not able to listen if they’re not able to read a situation. So that’s where the different skill sets come into the picture.
5. Why do you think doing research in areas like healthcare is important?
Although there are so many topics that I care about, healthcare is particularly interesting as a research area because it’s something that affects every single one of us and there’s still SO much that can be done to improve patient care. I feel fortunate to live in a country where healthcare is a basic right so being in an industry where our work can have such a profound effect on the general population is something I’m really proud to be a part of.
Interviewed by Misato Ehara
Edited by Misato Ehara
Illustrations by Andrea Méndez
Edited with Google docs
Published on 1 August 2022
Interviewee:
Hazel is a user researcher who’s now based in London, UK after having graduated with a Bachelors in Psychology and Masters in Marketing & International Business. She has been working in UX for 6 years and has tried it all, from working agency to in-house, and startups to big corporates, to civil service.
Hazel is currently a Lead User Researcher at Accurx.
Interviewer:
Misato is the founder of The UX Review and a User Resarcher based in London. She obtained a Bachelors in Design Research and Masters in Curating Contemporary Design. She has years of experience in conducting qualitative research for a range of clients from non-profits to multi-national conglomerates.
