Google’s Tea Uglow on Identity and Creative Diversity

My first impression of Tea Uglow is that she is someone who knows and owns her identity. Her approach to personal development, team building, and workplace culture lie in understanding our creative differences and the value of individuality in teamwork. From making yourself redundant as a leader, to crediting each cog in the creative process, it’s clear that Tea doesn’t subscribe to hierarchical structures or concrete results. She wants her employees to enjoy what they do, learn on the job and value what makes them unique.

Her personal journey as a transgender woman and activist has also impacted her perspective on identity in and outside of work. Here’s what I learnt.

As Head of Google’s Creative Labs in Sydney, Australia, Tea and her team work on the border between culture, technology and reality.

From books that cannot be printed to an interactive, global Shakespeare performance, Tea’s work is not driven by the corporate rule book, but by developing things which can be seen to be as technologically unique as they are culturally beautiful.

Tea doesn’t care for templates or convention and when it comes to her management style, she champions learning and development over traditional ideas of corporate success… Making mistakes is part of her creative process.

According to Tea, we should take inspiration from our childhood learning experiences and accept that perfection is unrealistic.

To Tea, the creative process is not about perfection, it’s about trial and error as we remain open to imaginative ideas and learnings. Allowing employees scope for experimentation, and to an extent failure provides security during the creative process, it signals that ideas are valued above generic goals.

In her perfect world, more companies would invest in teams that are simply dedicated to exploring, playing and even failing in order to innovate and find creative solutions.

Enabling creativity also extends beyond the freedom to make mistakes, it’s about giving your people the space to create.

The person that really needs to get out of the way is almost certainly the one at the top, because that’s the direction you grow in.

Allowing your employees space to grow will inspire an environment of confidence and self-worth, where each team member feels their contribution and perspective is valued.

Deep diving into the topic of collaboration, Tea believes that creativity is a team sport, and in order to succeed a team needs a diverse range of creative perspectives.

She continues, “We have this amazing process of crediting in films that you don’t get when you’re putting together a shoot, or even when you’re making a tin of baked beans.”

What would happen if we acknowledged each part of the process and each person in the process? Maybe we’d be more aware of how much work goes into one can of beans or just one project, maybe each person involved would feel more valued.

Having a mix of people from different backgrounds or with different skills will improve creative processes. They’ll be the people who see things which you can’t.

Tea recalls one team member who described herself as a logical thinker. She found it challenging to be in a room full of creatives when she was more analytical. Tea’s response: “You’re an essential part of that process just as much as they are.” Embrace what makes you different and what makes you valuable.

Tea explains that on the football pitch – as in the workplace – each team member has a different role to play.

Championing diversity also means championing your own individuality and worth within a team.

Accepting yourself, embracing your individuality and unique perspective could help you understand that standing out is not a bad thing.

Finding strength and value in your skills and character is all about owning your identity and being open about what makes you different.

On a personal level Tea is someone who has embraced who she is. As a transgender woman, Tea is more outside of ‘the system’ than most and as a result is working to shift perspectives and negative labels into a more positive dialogue. From taking on transphobia in the UK media to speaking out on transgender rights, Tea is not one to shy away from standing up for herself and her community.

In fact, she turns the hate she receives into strength, using her pride and sense of identity to build her own self-worth. A true role model, Tea shows that embracing the things that make you different, whether it’s the way you work, your outlook or your broader identity, will help you on your way to feeling more empowered and valued at home and in your professional life.

Tea’s journey to self-acceptance and pride has not come without its challenges, especially when it comes to tackling the stigma surrounding the mental health condition she suffers from.

When it comes to the topic of mental health, Tea has used her perspective and platform to encourage discussion and better understanding for mental health issues in the workplace. Suffering from dissociative identity disorder, Tea understands the challenges that people with mental health issues face in the workplace when those around them fail to understand their perspective and struggles.

Viewed differently to a physical health condition, mental health problems are met with stigma as people seek to understand why someone is the way they are instead of understanding how the person feels and what challenges they might face.

When it comes to opening up about her mental health condition or her work as a transgender activist, it’s clear that Tea is very passionate and very ready to own her identity and take pride in her journey. That’s not to say that being so open and sharing her story is not challenging for an individual who doesn’t consider herself an extrovert.

Tea is a woman who is inspirational in many ways, from her unique understanding of workplace culture to her readiness to value both her own and others’ diverse perspectives and identities.

As someone just starting on her career path, listening to Tea and her insights was utterly reassuring. From understanding self-worth at work, to knowing that growth and creativity comes from practice and not perfection, Tea’s attitude and her approach to skills and diversity is refreshing. It is a model that more companies should integrate into their corporate cultures, not only for the sake of greater collaboration but in order to inspire creativity and confidence in all employees.