“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Most people have no business managing others because they have no idea how to positively motivate others. In this void of motivation, managers think the best idea is to have update meetings with their team members so the team can offer up detailed lists of what they’re working on to account for their time.
How many of these meetings have you been in? And how many of those meetings left you inspired? I find meetings like this useless. If you’re an adult and you have a job that you care about, you just do whatever it takes to get the job done in the time that you have to do it. You go to your manager when you need help or want to talk through an idea. Why waste time accounting for the hours you worked by preparing a detailed list of tasks for your boss? That sounds unbelievably inefficient to me and it communicates a true lack of trust and respect between managers and their team members.
Here’s a better idea for managers: build a team that actually cares deeply and passionately about the work. Motivate them by caring about who they are as people and being vested in their success. My former boss, Bob G., had one simple belief about teams. When he hired me he said, “Christa, I hope you are really successful at this company. But more importantly, I support you personally. I want to see you as a person be happy and successful and I’ll do anything I need to do to make that happen.”
I was more motivated to work for Bob than any other boss I’ve ever had. This belief in how to manage also presented another unintended consequence: because I was so self-directed working for Bob, I became entirely self-directed in all of the work that followed. That sense of self-direction in a job made entrepreneurship much less scary for me down the line.
Unfortunately, Bob spoiled me with this attitude. He set the bar too high. I have expected every boss after him to be this wise and supportive. The fact that I now work as a freelancer should tell you that every boss I’ve had after him failed to rise to his level. Once you get used to working for someone like Bob who has an enlightened view of management, you can’t go back to the dark days of micromanagement.
Bob’s outlook is all too rare these days. But it doesn’t have to be rare. Anyone could take this point-of-view. Anyone could decide at any moment to give their team members freedom to grow, experiment, and shape their work. What have you got to lose? Try it in small steps with small projects and see how it goes. You’ll be surprised by how high your team can soar when you give them the opportunity fly.
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
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