Stella Treas's README

Stella’s README

Stella Treas, Chief of Staff to the CEO

This page is intended to help others understand what it might be like to work with me, especially people who haven’t worked with me before.

It’s also a well-intentioned effort at building some trust by being intentionally vulnerable, and to share my ideas of a good working relationship to reduce the anxiety of people who might be on my team.

Please feel free to contribute to this page by opening a merge request.

About me

I’m from Southern California, but I left home when I was 18. I’ve since lived in New Hampshire, Barcelona, New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., London, Rwanda, and San Francisco.
Before having children, my passion was travel. I’ve been to over 70 countries and aggressively checked off most of the items that had been on a bucket list that I created when I was 18 (swam with dolphins, lived abroad, jumped from a plane, visited mountain gorillas, went on a tiger safari, etc.).
I care about about a number of social causes. Before getting into technology, I worked for a number of nonprofits in various roles.
My husband and I met on a trip to climb Half Dome in Yosemite.
I have 2 young children who are the center of my world outside of work. While I look forward to the day when I can get an uninterrupted night of sleep, they are pretty awesome.
Starting the day with hot coffee brings me great happiness. I grow increasingly articulate as I work my way through the first cup.

How you can help me

Reach out when you see opportunities for me to do something better and drive greater results. I appreciate any and all feedback. I’ve been in meetings in which team members have reached out through Slack immediately after to share their impressions–positive or constructive. In all cases, I see it as a gift. I don’t want feedback to wait until a 360.

My working style

I work largely within Slack and issues. If it is a busy day, I may not get to email until the evening.
Since I work with folks in China and have young kids, I sometimes don’t get online until after 8:30am. I often read GC notes instead of attending synchronously.
When inviting me to a meeting, please make it clear in the invite or meeting agenda why my participation is important. This helps me manage my time appropriately among competing priorities.
Please try to send meeting invites 2+ days ahead of when you’d like to meet, unless we’ve agreed to otherwise. It helps me better plan my work and schedule ahead of time.
My job has a broad scope, so I’m constantly prioritizing a long list of work and context switching. I do my own prioritization, so it may not align with yours. If something is time sensitive, please clearly let me know.
In Slack, I am emoji happy, because they are efficient to post, and I believe that an emoji can be superior to 100 words.

What I assume about others

They also care about their work and are committed to operating in a way that reflects GitLab values.

What I want to learn

How to effectively scale a company with strong and unique values

Strengths/Weaknesses

I care about my work to the degree that I can push myself to the point of running on fumes. I’m better at pushing my team toward work life balance, but I’m not always a great role model.
I am a problem solver–especially when the problem is within my domain. Depending on the situation, this can be a blessing or a curse. If you have a problem and you want a listener or aren’t looking for new ideas, proactively let me know, so I can engage you with you in the right way.
I try to adjust my leadership and management style for each person, but I am not a micromanager. If you need more coaching, let me know.