Stephen Harris

“Stephen will always stand out to me as a genuinely dedicated leader. I was lucky enough to work with Stephen for 6 years. Technically, the projects Stephen worked on with me were "side projects," in addition to his client work. He never made me feel like that, he was always 100% in for reaching our goals together. I'm a marketer. Stephen is a dev. These relationships can be....tenuous. And we disagreed. All. The. Time. But our relationship was far from weak. It's one of the strongest I think I've had in my career. I attribute a lot of that to Stephen's communication style and willingness to learn the language of other's and speak to them in their own language. My non-technical brain was not a challenge for him, he found ways to connect what he needed me to understand to what was important to me. He heard my concerns, countered them, mitigated them, and sometimes even conceded :). We were always in it together and he was there to make the tough choices with me. The biggest probably being a platform migration from WordPress to HubSpot alongside a rebrand. That one was a doozey! Stephen also taught me a great deal about how to manage the workload of an in-demand skillset. He set up automated intake systems, scoring prioritization, and efficiently working through issues like a machine. I copied his model as I also worked cross-functionally with many teams at Seer and it was a big help in being able to better serve my colleagues. I was looking back at a "praise" I gave Stephen in our feedback system, and I think it's a nice summation of his dedication to bringing teams together, his communication style, and leading from any seat he sits in: Giving Tough Feedback w/ Project Success as the Focus Giving tough feedback, especially to a group, especially when you're the first to jump in after other folks have given positive feedback, is a really really tough place to be in. I love that you stood your ground, explained where you think we needed to shift to move forward, and stuck to your guns. Because of that, we had a great conversation with our agency and are able to make the shifts recommended by y'all. The agency agreed it was the best way to move forward to ensure project success. Keep on challenging where you see opportunity. Thank you for always having my back and my blind spots.”

“I was fortunate to work with Stephen for almost 10 years, and I’d do so again in a second. We worked together as design and development counterparts on a variety of client and in-house projects. When Stephen started at Seer, there was no infrastructure for our development team. Not only did he have the robust technical skills to start contributing immediately, but he also built the team — establishing processes and procedures to set up others for success. When approaching new challenges, Stephen is thoughtful and methodical, leaving no stone unturned. Having him on a project is like hitting the jackpot. You get his expertise in technical analytics and front/backend development along with a detailed eye for UX. I always felt at peace when Stephen was working on one of my designs. I knew that his commitment to quality would shine through. He would often think of things that I didn’t, bolstering the strategy and resulting in the best possible experience. While Stephen advocates tirelessly for the highest quality solution to a given challenge, he also considers business and time constraints—negotiating with stakeholders across teams to find a solution that works for all. I’ve been impressed on countless occasions seeing him explain complex technical concepts in a way that is accessible to those in different disciplines. He is a calm, kind, expert communicator and an empathetic leader. If you have the chance to work with Stephen, don’t walk—run!”