I like to hear feedback directly and mostly unfiltered. I'm a perfectionist at heart and want to improve. I can occasionally (something I'm working on) have an initial reaction of disagreement or aversion to a specific note, but will typically reflect and take it onboard. I'm a deep thinker and working hard on self-awareness, but I don't always get it right first time. I prefer a formalised setting for feedback, as I find it difficult to contextualise social/work contexts sometimes. I'm not a huge fan of positive feedback, and often find it quite embarrassing or unwarranted, as my expectations for perfection (in myself) can be sometimes unrealistic. Typically, I find it easier to accept positive feedback with data points and specifics as to the impact.

I'm Lawrence (call me anything but Larry!), I'm Director of OctoWorks and report to our group CTO (Ollie Whitehouse). I work remotely and live in the Scottish Highlands. I'm generally online and will respond between 8am-10pm UK time.

I'm a nerd at heart and really want to know everything about everything. I love facts and information and watching documentaries / reading stuff about things. I like getting outdoors and hiking as well as training for Athletics (although I'm trying to get back fit after a long spell off). Work is a bit of an obsession and I read a lot about leadership and Cyber security even outside of work. Sad, I know.

I tend to stretch out my days to accommodate flexibility and to prioritise the people in my team. I'm typically responsive 8am-10pm, with a 2hr chunk cut out between 13:30-15:30 for lunch and gym (on a good day). I tend to try and keep this period meeting-free to do important tasks and ensure I eat / get out the house, but typically remain responsive. I tend to schedule 'thinking' or 'doing' time on my calendar, and I don't get upset if people still ask about availability that is blocked out. I normally work 'some' of one day at the weekend, normally prepping for the week on a Sunday or catching up with admin. I have a strict 'zero unread' email policy and will always respond to messages, if not immediately, within a couple of hours max. People come first, and I typically push tasks into the evening to prioritise interactions. I prefer chat on Teams over meetings and that's the quickest way to get hold of me.

When stressed, I can feel a need to be in control or that others should be more in control of their remit, and can go into 'fixer mode'. This will typically manifest as being more critical than usual or raising the requirement for intervention proactively. I can also misinterpret smaller disruptions as being of greater concern and over-rotate in terms of proactivity in fixing.

After years of working remote, I generally need absolute silence to do anything more taxing than the most basic tasks. I really enjoy seeing people in the office, but I structure these times on the assumption of being unproductive task-wise. I like high pressure and high expectations. I like to plan and know what's coming and I think tactically and strategically before acting.