People leader · Writer · Poet

The best managers build something that lasts without them.

I'm Marissa, though at work most people call me MD. I believe a manager's job is to create an environment where people can do their best work, then build the trust, judgment, and ways of working that allow them to keep doing it.

I lead People teams and write about management, real life, and what it takes to help people succeed without making them dependent on the person in charge.

Marissa Dahlson smiling
MD.Real work. Real life.

I write about

real work+real life.

Building companies where people can do great work.

Portrait of Marissa Dahlson

I lead Talent Success and People Business Partners at Cribl. My team works across leadership and talent development, employee experience, performance, employee relations, and culture.

I've spent most of my career close to managers and the decisions they make every day. I've learned that good People work does not come from importing someone else's playbook. It comes from understanding how a company actually operates, building what fits, and being willing to change it when it does not work.

Outside of work, I'm a wife, a mom of three, a poet, a former band kid, and the person most likely to start a kitchen dance party.

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What Work Feels Like

Want to keep
reading?

Occasional notes for people who manage people and anyone trying to make work a little more human. I write when I have something useful or honest to share.

I also write
poetry.

I started writing poetry in 2018, when my wife and I were navigating infertility. Since then, I've written two collections about childhood, coming out, falling in love, becoming a parent, and trying to hold onto the moments that pass too quickly.

Marissa DahlsonSunshine
Girl
a collection of memories

Collection 01 · 2018

Sunshine Girl

A collection about growing up, falling in love with my wife, and learning to name who I was becoming.

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Marissa Dahlsonlove notes
for sunshine boy
a poetry collection

Collection 02 · 2021

love notes for sunshine boy

A collection for my son about infertility, becoming a parent, and the small moments I never wanted to forget.

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Original cover artwork coming soon.