In this episode of Transform Your Workplace, Chris Deaver, a leader at Roblox and co-author of Brave Together, shares his unique journey working with highly creative teams. He highlights how collaboration and co-creation are essential to tackling challenging projects and emphasizes the role of humility, creativity, and empathy in effective leadership. Listen in for valuable insights on shaping your company’s future by fostering a culture that ignites innovation and meaningful connections.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Chris Deaver is the co-author of Brave Together: Lead by Design, Spark Creativity, and Shape the Future with the Power of Co-Creation. He has worked in leadership roles in several notable companies, including Apple, Roblox, and Disney.
A MISSION “IMPOSSIBLE”
Chris Deaver shared his experience supporting product teams at Apple. He explained that while these teams were composed of brilliant engineers, including PhDs tackling “impossible” tasks, there was significant friction between them, particularly regarding a seemingly impossible idea: AirPods. While trying to “make it happen,” Deaver noted that working in silos and traditional meeting structures led to burnout, with six to eight-hour daily meetings before launch. “We realized there’s gotta be a better way to do this,” he recalled.
Drawing from his time at Disney, where he saw the success of Pixar’s “brain trust,” Deaver introduced a similar cross-functional collaboration model for AirPods. He explained, “It’s egos off the table, building blocks on the table, and it’s all about best ideas winning.” By implementing this co-creation strategy, friction between teams diminished, collaboration improved, and AirPods became a $24 billion product line. Ultimately, the impossible became reality.
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
The Mirror Test
“We can all look in the mirror, right? But it’s more than that. It’s the depth of asking ourselves essentially the question, ‘What do I need to do differently?’ And it’s a question of humility. And we’re all leaders, right? When we really think about it, we all have the opportunity to lead, and we all are leading. So who are we leading and how are we leading? Whether it’s family, friends, team, organization. […] It goes deep because if we wrestle with it properly, there’s this reality we’re facing, which is our current existence. And there’s also this ideal version. If we go too far over the index on either one, it’s problematic.”
The Mandalorian: A Case for Humility
“You have one guy on YouTube doing what probably 30-40 people are trying to do at the best studio for Star Wars in the world. But I think that’s an exercise in […] humility. ‘Well, hey, let’s bring them in. Let’s partner with them.’ And they started to co-create. The best answer is to ride the wave of co-creation. And what it did for them was they created a much better product, and it had to be integrated. […] But the new world is, ‘Hey, what if we build that together? What if you co-create together?”
A Different Approach
“Why are meetings sometimes so frustrating, or boring, or disengaging? Well, somebody has an agenda, and they’re pushing through, and they have answers.
And that does not engage us, right? Especially Gen Y and Z — I mean, everybody else too, but we don’t always admit it, right? […] But what if we reimagine meetings as a different experience that’s co-creative? And how hard is that? Well, it’s as simple as just leading with questions. What if we plant a question a week in advance and let people just marinate on that?”
Getting Creative
“Most leaders, as a starting point, may not be thinking about creativity right now. We talk about innovation, and most companies know the value of innovation or unlocking that in the market. But I think what we don’t always talk about is what you just asked, which is that the input leads to the output. So the question of having a lens to see creativity as important first, right? Because most of what business has become is an exercise in metrics, performance results, and it’s what it feels like oftentimes. But the best companies, the best cultures, the best brands, the ones we admire — they’re actually deeply into building things together. […] They see themselves as builders.”
Turning Pain into Power
“I went through […] a divorce, and there were some other things that happened financially. And just autobiographically, that was a moment for me where I realized it was a valley. […] It was a moment where I thought, ‘Wow, I don’t know how I’m gonna get through this. This is so brutal.’ And what I found was they’ve done longitudinal studies — Harvard has — over the course of 80 years. And [they] ask this question: what is happiness? Happiness is relationships full-stop and relationships [are] I’d say what got me out of that, and that continues to be true. Now, it could start with the relationship with yourself and a higher power if you believe in one or the people you love. All of these things combine into the force to power you forward, and that’s what happened for me, and the pain that I experienced felt so deep. I realized that, well, the valley, when it’s inverted, turns into a mountain, and that’s absolutely true in our lives.”
Fostering Empathy and Connection
“The sharky behaviors… it’s about ego, right? It’s about ‘what’s in it for them’ — very transactional, all about money. And these aren’t motivators. And they’re not sustainable motivators, right? […] Guys like Steve Jobs, what did they talk about? Changing people’s lives, changing the world, right? And in those meetings behind closed doors, even in those companies, they talk about it that way. It’s like, ‘Well, we want to reach people’s hearts. We want their hearts to sing with our products and our services. […] And then if you build a culture that’s centered around that approach, that makes all the difference.”
LEARN MORE
Find out more about Brave Together and other valuable resources on co-creation by heading over bravecore.co.