:wave: Hello there! I'm Tre (short for my [Government First Name], but ask me about that later). I bring genuine enthusiasm to everything I do (apologies in advance), both professionally and personally. My pronouns are HE/HIM/HIS, and my name is pronounced like "TRAY." :sparkles: I believe in approaching work with both purpose and JOY, finding a decent balance between getting things done and enjoying the journey along the way. :performing_arts: As someone passionate about the ART and SCIENCE of real life experiences, I love creating meaningful growth moments with real world results (informed with data, and aimed for impact). :mag: I value authentic connections and strive to create positive experiences in all my interactions. While I maintain a lighthearted approach to most things, I'm serious about investing in people and aligning human-first PEOPLE STRATEGY to BUSINESS STRATEGY and helping people AND organization THIVE. :seedling:
Hello Hello! :wave: I'm **Tre** (short for [Government First Name] - pronouced like "Tray"). I'm genuinely enthusiastic and it can get annoying, but I am facinated by people, places, projects, and food. I believe in approaching work with both purpose and JOY, finding a decent enough balance between getting things done and enjoying the journey along the way. As someone passionate about the art & science of real life experiences, I love creating meaningful growth moments with real world results (informed with data, and aimed for impact). I value authentic connections and strive to create positive experiences in all my interactions. While I maintain a lighthearted approach to most things, I'm serious about investing in people and aligning human-first people strategy to business strategy and helping people AND organizations THRIVE.
## “You Betta Work!” (My Job)
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At GitLab, I lead our Talent Management & Development function within the People Group Division. Thi
### My Job
(Additional unnecessary context) My work spans a lot of different disciplines, but when it comes to organization development I have deep experience in learning & development (“L&D”), talent management, organizational development, knowledge management, library sciences, experience design, curriculum development, content development, and learning technologies.
At GitLab, I lead our Talent Management & Development function within the People Group division. This role focuses on creating an environment where our team members can thrive professionally while also driving business outcomes. I'm passionate about designing systems and experiences that help people grow while strengthening our organization.
Talent Management: Strategic People Practices and the "Team Member Life Cycle"
Talent Management encompasses the strategic practices that help us identify, assess, and optimize our talent:
## “Location, Location, Location”
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#### Talent Management: Strategic People Practices
Talent Management encompasses the strategic practices that help us identify, assess, and optimize our talent:
| Talent Management Examples | Description |
|------------|-------------|
| **Performance Management** | Creating frameworks that clarify expectations, provide meaningful feedback, and recognize achievement |
| **Succession Planning** | Identifying and preparing future leaders to ensure business continuity |
| **Talent Assessment** | Facilitating structured discussions about our team members' strengths, growth areas, and potential |
| **Retention Strategies** | Developing approaches to keep our top performers engaged, challenged, and committed |
| **Talent Analytics** | Using data to make informed decisions about our people practices |
| **Coaching** | Transforming potential into performance through personalized development experiences |
#### Talent Development: Growing Our People
Talent Development ("L&D - Learning & Development) focuses on creating growth opportunities and learning experiences for our team members:
| Talent Development Examples | Description |
|------------|-------------|
| **Learning Experiences** | Designing and delivering effective learning experiences that build critical skills |
| **Leadership Development** | Nurturing leadership capabilities at all levels of the organization |
| **Career Frameworks** | Providing guidance on growth paths and progression opportunities |
| **Knowledge Management** | Building systems that enable information sharing and collective learning |
#### The Powerful Intersection
The true power of my role emerges at the intersection of **Talent Management and Talent Development**. When these disciplines work in harmony, we create a continuous cycle of growth and performance that benefits both our team members and GitLab as a whole.
Some of the most impactful work happens in these blended spaces:
| Integrated Approach Examples | How It Works |
|---------------------|--------------|
| **Performance & Development Planning** | Using performance insights to create targeted growth opportunities that help team members advance |
| **Leadership Assessment & Development** | Identifying leadership potential and creating customized development paths for future leaders |
| **Career Experience Design** | Creating meaningful work experiences that simultaneously deliver business results and provide growth opportunities |
| **Mobility** | Enabling internal growth that addresses organizational needs while supporting individual career aspirations |
| **Skills-Based Workforce Planning** | Aligning our future capability needs with strategic development investments |
This integrated approach helps us avoid the common pitfall of treating performance management and development as separate activities. Instead, we create a holistic talent ecosystem where assessment informs development, and development drives performance—creating a virtuous cycle of growth.
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Sorry, I went off trail a bit. I am passionate about type work, so I get carried away at times. To get back on track, I'll pivot back to more about working with me.
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### Location, Location, Location
I live in San Francisco, California. 🌉
Since joining GitLab, I’ve been able to travel much more, so over the past year, I haven’t been in the same place for longer than three weeks. I’ve been able to spend more time in Mobile (Saraland) Alabama, where I am from originally.
Since joining GitLab, I’ve been able to travel home (Saraland, AL) more often. I may be in San Francisco, Saraland, or on some plane depending on the day; but I always make it work no matter the timezone.
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## Availability
#### Availability
I pride myself on my flexibility and balanced boundaries. Every day is different! Every week is different! I am generally up very early and wind down in the late afternoon and evenings. I prefer to get my critical thinking work done earlier in the day. I love GitLab’s philosophy on the nonlinear work day and I think it is the way to make global team operations a success. I live by my calendar and keep it up to date (mostly).
I pride myself on my flexibility and balanced boundaries. Every day is different! Every week is different! I am generally up very early and wind down in the late afternoon and evenings. I prefer to get my critical thinking work done earlier in the day. I love GitLab’s philosophy on the nonlinear work day and I think it is the way to make global team operations a success. I live by my calendar and keep it up to date (*mostly*).
## Communication Situation
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GitLab: I manage my work and my team’s work in GitLab. Still getting the hang of things, but I’m generally responsive when the conversation is directly related to a work stream, project, or program.
Slack: quick/Instant messaging and brief discussions are for Slack. I’m flexible on this. There are times where longer form comms via Slack are appropriate as well. Note: While I try to organize Slack as best I can, messages do get lost in the shuffle. I’m typically very responsive, so if a lot of time has elapsed it’s not because I don’t love you, it’s likely I missed it. Nudges are welcomed!
Long Slack Messages: (My Pref) Organize it! Subheaders, Bullets, Tables. If it’s more than 1500 characters or multiple paragraphs, give a little TL;DR and highlight ACTIONS if there are any. Use the rest for additional context and share in sections. If it’s related to an active project, be sure to link the GitLab work item.
Slack Huddle: I mean, sure. If that works best for you.
ZOOM: I am always up to connect live. I do believe in having an agenda for every live work discussion. Coffee Chat agendas are optional, but totally welcomed if that works well for you. I’ve also been leaning into “Coffee Chat+” where we do a bit of connecting and learning more about each other, AND maybe some quick discussion on active work.
Email: I check this as much as I check Slack, and while we use Slack internally, there is a lot of external communication happening in my world as well.
Phone/Text: No. Unless you let me know you want to do a walking meeting or something like that, or if there’s any kind of emergency.
Smoke Signals and Pigeons: Look, whatever works for you, I’m typically pretty accommodating by default so I’ll figure it out.
### Communication Situation
## Meeting Mantra
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I value clear, organized communication and am generally responsive across multiple channels. If you haven't heard back from me, a gentle nudge is always welcome!
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| Channel |Preferences (No Strict Rules) |
|-----------------|:-------------|
| GitLab |I manage my work and my team's work in GitLab. Still getting the hang of things, but I'm generally responsive when the conversation is directly related to a work stream, project, or program. |
| Slack |Quick/instant messaging and brief discussions are for Slack. I'm flexible on this. There are times where longer form comms via Slack are appropriate as well. Note: While I try to organize Slack as best I can, messages do get lost in the shuffle. I'm typically very responsive, so if a lot of time has elapsed it's not because I don't love you, it's likely I missed it. Nudges are welcomed! |
| Email | All day every day, and I check email almost as often as Slack. Long form communication and communication with external folks. |
| ZOOM | I am always good to connect live. I do believe in having an agenda for live connections/meetings. Coffee Chat agendas are optional, but totally welcomed if that works well for you. I've also been leaning into "Coffee Chat+" where we do a bit of connecting and learning more about each other, AND maybe some quick discussion on active work. |
| Text or Calls | Only in urgent cases - Unless you let me know you want to do a walking meeting or something like that. I typically keep my phone in a separate room from where I'm working. |
| Smoke Signals and Pigeons | Look, whatever works for you, I'm typically pretty accommodating by default so I'll figure it out. |
Just my two cents! > Organize it! Subheaders, Bullets, Tables. If it's more than 1500 characters or multiple paragraphs, give a little TL;DR and highlight ACTIONS if there are any. Use the rest for additional context and share in sections. If it's related to an active project, be sure to link the GitLab work item. If we need to collab on wording, put it in a Google Doc. Still flexible; it's all circumstantial.
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### Meeting Mantra
Recurring meetings must be continuously optimized and frequently evaluated if they need to be recurring.
Ad-hoc is great and I’m always open to ad-hoc connections. Have that agenda in the invite.
## My Values
### My Values
...more to come
### Work in Progress
Inclusion & Belonging: I believe in fostering a work environment where everyone feels valued and included. This is a core part of my role and a personal passion.
Continuous Learning: I'm always looking to expand my knowledge and skills, both professionally and personally. Whether it's diving into a new book, taking an online course, or experimenting with a new workout routine, I'm all about growth.
Collaboration: I thrive in collaborative environments where ideas can flow freely and teams work together to achieve great things.
Honesty
Feedback
Innovation
**Coming Soon:** My Values, My Leadership Style, More on Meetings, "Stronger, Better, Faster, Sleepy", My Dream Team, Cross-FUNctional Collabs, What I'm working on professionally, and My Soundtrack!
