My Leadership Philosophy

I am a servant leader. I see my job as serving those I’ve been asked to manage and those in similar roles across the organization. I succeed when I help others succeed. I do this by ensuring people have the right tools, and unblocking them/escalating issues when needed.

Feedback I’ve received

Please also see my recommendations on LinkedIn

It has been a wonderful partnership with Aaron. He was instrumental in defining the vision and strategy for Payment Risk platform. The user research that he conducted with Sales and CS folks for credit risk assessment tool was critical to determine whether we should invest in this idea or not. The findings that he shared with us were very informative and directional. As part of the RBI mandate project in India, in no time, he connected with 10 employers to determine how they would perceive the changes that we were making to remain compliant in India with regards to payments. Again the results that he shared were insightful and will help us take the right course of action as we think about changing the “payments” experience for employers in India.

ANKIT SINGHAL, PRODUCT MANAGER @ INDEED

Aaron has been an excellent supervisor to me. He is open, vulnerable, direct, and approaches supervision from a strengths-based perspective. He answers my questions thoughtfully, and any time I have asked about industry skills he has gone above and beyond to support me in my learning. Huge kudos from me! In this short time, Aaron has shown me what it means to be a thoughtful, intentional leader.

Marci Taitt-Lamar, former direct report

Aaron has been a positive force multiplier at Indeed. Everything he does and says is deeply rooted in empathy, compassion, and optimism towards changing things for the better. If Aaron senses anyone needing some support and a helping hand, he is there even without being asked. He was instrumental in setting up and leading two fantastic teams of rapid researchers dedicated to support evaluative research needing quick turnarounds. In addition to the immense value the team brings to Indeed and the research team, I have been deeply inspired and touched by Aaron’s dedication to provide this opportunity to new and upcoming UXRs eager to break into the field/industry.

Neeraja Subrahmanian, former co-worker, Sr UXR

Aaron has a keen knack of understanding where each member of his team are in terms of skill level and overall professional development. He really knows how to help us discover our areas of strength by asking very guided questions and directing us to resources, always with a strong sense of empathy and encouragement.

Yasmeen Adams, former direct report

 While we do not interact that often, the times [Aaron & I] have have had an outsized impact on the project and Indeed.

A recent example, it was clear that the team was going to run into headwinds with our SLT over a couple of naming choices.  Aaron helped set up a rapid research test. He  was quick to  help define and execute the plan. In a week we had research that helped resolve Indeed’s positioning before the debate got heated.  Fantastic response time and skillful help in organizing and completing the research…

Bill Goins, Director of Messaging & Content @ Indeed

Aaron has been a fantastic UXR manager partner over the past cycle (and beyond). Some of his strengths include:

  • Is extremely organized – I come to him with many requests for help from the RRT (as I’m sure he does from others), and is always able to give me a prompt answer and timeline.
  • He runs a highly effective team – my team would absolutely not be able to get the results we see without help from the RRT to fill in gaps for important evaluative work. We also have several teams who don’t have dedicated researchers who have been able to solely rely on the RRT.
  • Growth-oriented – Aaron was willing to talk to me as I was interviewing almost his whole team for a FTE position on my team. It was clear he truly cared about his teams’ growth, and had some really useful suggestions to help with that. One suggestion I loved was me coming to a RRT team meeting to present some interviewing tips in the spirit of ensuring everyone on the team would start on the same footing.
Mary Gribbons, Fellow UXR Manager

Facts about me

  • My board game collection is well in excess of 500, see word cloud below for some of the types of games I have.
  • I find cleaning a kitchen, especially the countertops oddly satisfying.
  • Extended small talk is the worst. Let’s talk big.
  • Letting my kids make mistakes is the worst and most satisfying thing I do as a parent. Hopefully there’s lots of learning along with them. 😉
  • I usually believe the best about someone, but you can only set of my BS-ometer so many times before I stop believing you. Luckily for you I won’t treat you much differently, if at all.
  • I’d rather you interrupt me and start a discussion on a topic than you let me talk about something you already know about or don’t want to hear.
  • I’m always looking for better ways of doing things. I don’t believe I have things figured out totally, just a lot of the way.
  • My art is a by-product of me keeping busy in order to pay attention. Research shows those who doodle pay more attention and retain more than those who don’t.
    • On a related note: I love sharpies. My brand loyalty to sharpies is extremely high when it comes to markers.
  • I speak French, though I must admit my skills continue to deteriorate given how often I practice.
  • I love dogs, but I’m a cat person 😻.