Sara Wachter-Boettcher – Medium

Sara Wachter-Boettcher

Featured Book

See all (3)

Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech

Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech

A revealing look at how tech industry bias and blind spots get baked into digital products—and harm us all.

2018

Sara Wachter-Boettcher

Sara Wachter-Boettcher

Stories

Sara Wachter-Boettcher
in
Nice Work

Hey designers, they’re gaslighting you.

“Prove your value.” “Justify your presence.” “Demonstrate impact.” Too many organizations have convinced designers that they’re the…

14 min readOct 5, 2023

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149

A black and white still from the 1944 film Gaslight. Paula, played by Ingrid Bergman, stares up with a haunted expression at a flickering gaslight chandelier in her home. Just one of its light is on.

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149

Sara Wachter-Boettcher
in
Nice Work

“Maybe I’ll never feel that motivation again.”

In 2020, my goals were clear. They were also dead wrong. Here’s how I found my ambition again — and how you might reconnect with yours.

9 min readJan 11, 2023

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95

“Maybe I’ll never feel that motivation again.”

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95

Sara Wachter-Boettcher
in
Nice Work

Not here to make friends

What happens when setting work boundaries turns into shutting our colleagues out?

8 min readSep 13, 2022

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20

Photo of a red and white striped traffic barrier with blue sky in the background.

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20

Sara Wachter-Boettcher
in
Nice Work

Where do we put our ambition now?

The girlboss era is over, and that’s a good thing. But instead of rejecting ambition, what if we reoriented it?

7 min readAug 10, 2022

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15

Where do we put our ambition now?

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15

Sara Wachter-Boettcher
in
Nice Work

The rocks in your pocket

There’s a lot to feel stressed about right now. But where might you be adding extra weight to your mental load?

5 min readAug 9, 2022

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2

Photo from a hilltop in Derrynane, County Kerry, Ireland, with lush greenery in the foreground and small islands dotting the ocean in the distance. The sky is blue with puffy clouds.

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2

Sara Wachter-Boettcher
in
Nice Work

No more guessing games

We check in on projects and progress, but how often do we talk about our work relationships themselves? Not enough — and that’s a problem.

5 min readAug 9, 2022

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Jen, Sara, and Emily sit at a table in front of a teal mural wall. Jen has very short brown hair, a blue shirt and black skirt. Sara is wearing jeans and a yellow shirt. Emily is working on a laptop and wearing a black jumpsuit.

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Sara Wachter-Boettcher
in
Nice Work

“I wish he would just listen to me.”

Listening deeply is harder than most of us think. But getting better at it is essential to leadership — especially right now.

6 min readAug 9, 2022

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A table with a laptop, an ipad, and two coffee cups sitting on it.

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Sara Wachter-Boettcher
in
Nice Work

Changing the leadership defaults

Feel like you don’t have the “right” traits to be a leader? The problem’s not you — it’s how we define leadership.

4 min readAug 9, 2022

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1

A red marbled pen sits on top of a calendar with the heading “Four Day Week.”

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1

Sara Wachter-Boettcher
in
Nice Work

You’ve accomplished more than you think

Treading water works for a while. But if you could use a sense of progress right now, here’s what to do.

3 min readAug 9, 2022

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Painting by Sir John Gilbert of Cordelia in her father’s court, refusing to flatter King Lear. She is surrounded by members of the court.

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Sara Wachter-Boettcher
in
Nice Work

The power of a slow transition

Committing to a plan feels more comfortable than sitting in uncertainty. But when the path is unclear, a slow transition can pave the way.

5 min readAug 9, 2022

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A forest floor covered in orange and red leaves. There are two white birch trees in the foreground and a forest of thin, gray trees in the background.

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Sara Wachter-Boettcher

Sara Wachter-Boettcher

Book Author

I help folks in tech and design build sustainable careers and healthy teams. Author @wwnorton @abookapart @rosenfeldmedia. More at www.activevoicehq.com.

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