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Guide: Working With Katerina

February 17, 2025

A Working With Me Guide is a personal document that provides insights into how you work, communicate, and collaborate. It helps others—whether colleagues, clients, or stakeholders—understand your style, expectations, and preferences upfront, leading to smoother interactions and more effective teamwork.

1. My Work Style

• I work a maximum of 5 focused hours per day, with additional availability for meetings.
• I’m flexible across time zones but appreciate clear alignment upfront to manage my schedule.
• I take a hands-on, pragmatic approach—I prefer action over long theoretical discussions.
• Honest and direct communication is key for me; I value discussing what works and what doesn’t.
• If I don’t know something, I’ll say so and seek knowledge from experts, research, or past experiences.
• I love constraints—they help create better solutions.
• I tend to get deep into details but also make sure to step back and see the bigger picture.

2. How I Organise My Work

• I rely on qualitative and quantitative research to inform decisions.
• I prefer starting with Version 1 based on existing knowledge rather than over-prototyping.
• I work iteratively: pilot, collect feedback, improve, then scale.
• Workshops and collaboration are key—I facilitate rather than dictate solutions.
• Building relationships and trust is a fundamental part of my work—it makes change easier.
• I document my thinking, use AI for sense-making, and seek feedback early.
• My strategy work typically involves visual mapping (e.g., whiteboards, journey maps, blueprints).

3. Communication Preferences

• Slack > Email (I use email only when necessary).
• For urgent matters, call me on the phone—I always have it with me.
• I love video/calls for the “3Ds”: Discussing, Debating, and Deciding.
• I respond to Slack within minutes to a few hours unless I’m unavailable (which I’ll indicate).
• I sometimes send messages outside work hours—no need to respond until you’re back.

4. Meetings & Collaboration

• Every meeting must have a purpose, an agenda, and clear outcomes.
• Structured meetings work best.
• Clear agenda and time management help me focus.
• Small talk is fine but should be limited to a few minutes.
• I prefer wrapping up with a summary of the next steps and responsibilities.
• For sharing Work-in-Progress, I’ll use written summaries, links, or visualisations as needed.
• For simple updates, I prefer Loom videos over long meetings.
• Live meetings are for the 3Ds—not just sharing information.

5. Decision Making & Accountability

• I believe in clear ownership—each person should have a mandate within their domain.
• For big decisions, I prefer consensus-driven approaches, with a clear leader making the final call when needed.
• Transparency is key: Bad news should travel faster than good news.
• If we make an agreement, I expect follow-through. If there’s a delay or issue, communicate it early and propose a solution.

6. Feedback & Continuous Improvement

• I give and expect direct, professional, and timely feedback.
• I separate behaviour and outcomes from personality—feedback is about actions, not people.
• I prefer feedback to be given privately and as soon as possible after an event.
• I value retrospectives at major milestones, ensuring we document learnings and assign actions.

7. Documentation & Tools

• I prefer Notion for documentation but will use whatever is standard in the organization.
• I’m flexible between Miro, FigJam, Mural, and other tools depending on complexity.
• At the start of a project, we should align on: Where things will be documented, who updates what, and generally what tools we’ll be using (so I can request access early).

8. Project Success & Signs of a Healthy Collaboration

• We should define success metrics at the start—this depends on the project.
• A good collaboration means: Clear, fast communication. Quick decision-making. Openness about problems. Consistent progress
• Red flags include: Slow or unclear communication. Hidden problems. Stalled decisions. Lack of progress or constantly shifting priorities

9. Closing Projects

• Every project should end with a summary document, agreed upon in scope.
• Retrospectives or post-mortems should result in clear, assigned action items—otherwise, they are just talking.
• After important meetings or workshops, I like quick debriefs (even just 15 minutes) to reflect and improve.

10. Quirks

Once you get to know me, please share your observations of my quirks with me. I would love to add such a section!

Any other suggestions on what to add or adjust are welcome—other people's perspectives are needed to make this guide match reality as closely as possible. Thank you! Katerina Hanzalova

Want to chat? Get in touch.

Let’s grab a coffee in Lisbon (Portugal) or Prague (Czechia). I am open to travelling in Europe. You can also message me (via LinkedIn or email). Built using Notion & Super by Katerina Hanzalova.