Designers as Leaders
Note: A draft of this article has been submitted for publication to UX Booth.
Estimated Reading time: 6 minutes. Readability: Grade 4 (Source: HemingwayApp.com)
I have spent more than a decade in design. First, leaders helped me grow. Now I create leaders. Here are some tips I heard, tried, tested and created through my journey. May they serve you well.
1. Do what makes sense at the time
Designers often consider the path or role they want. Should I be a specialist or a generalist? Should I work for a large corporation, start-up or non-profit? Should I take the visual or interaction design role?
It is natural to consider long term implications of a role or assignment. Yet, an indulgence in this stream of thought can be counter productive. It can create anxiety and complicate decision making. Rather than consider long term implications of a role, keep it simple. Do what makes sense at the time.
Steve Jobs learned Calligraphy because it made sense for him at the time. He liked it. Years later, it helped him design computers inspired and informed by art. He could only connect the dots looking back.
2. No matter what you do, commit your full attention to the task ahead
Designers are passionate about our work. While we love design, the current opportunity we have may not always feel like the "right one." Junior designers may find it challenging to land their first design job. Senior designers may yearn to find that "seat at the table."
No matter the phase in your journey, give the task ahead your full attention. If you are not able to do that, find what is stopping you from doing so. Or, find something else to do.
As a graduate student, I had the opportunity to teach a course in Human Factors. I had the option to teach a legacy course as is. Or improve it. I chose to improve it.
I asked my friend—a graduate student in a Human Computer Interaction (HCI) program—to serve as a course consultant. My friend stressed the importance of design research, iterative testing, rough and ready prototyping and so on. I learned from him and transferred the knowledge to my students. It brought me joy and satisfaction in the moment. My students learned cutting edge techniques and appreciated the course content.
Years later, the effort paid off in another way. I had my first interview for a design job with a company called MAYA Design (MAYA). In the interview, I talked about the structure of my Human Factors course. The interviewer said, “That is exactly what we practice here at MAYA.”
I learned later that the overlap between my course structure and the practice at MAYA was no coincidence. My friend was a graduate student at the HCI program at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). MAYA shared close ties with the HCI program at CMU.
I did not know this connection when I asked my friend to serve as my course consultant. At the time, I wanted to do a good job teaching the course. The effort helped my students. Years later, that same effort helped me land my first design job.
The attention you give the task in front of you determines the quality of the outcome in the moment. It also determines what transpires later.
3. Control what you can
In any situation, there is a limited set of things you can control and a limited set of actions you can perform.
Identify what you can control and act on it. The rest is noise.
4. Redefine success
“Act but not for the fruit of action”
Success is often defined by the outcome of our actions. Yet, if we commit our full attention to the task ahead, there is joy in the act itself. Therein lies our success. If we redefine success this way, we can take on any challenge. Because we will act. And not concern ourselves with the outcome of our work.
5. Who you work for is more important than what you do
When we choose a role, designers often consider the job description, title and company. What we see as less important, is who we work for. Yet, that is the most important factor of all.
Work for someone who elevates. Someone who sees value in you that you did not see in yourself.
There was a point in my career, when I wanted to broaden my expertise and move away from design research. It was ironic that at the same time I met a leader who wanted to grow a research team. She had a clear vision for her team. Her philosophy of research resonated with me. She invested in people.
I decided to choose her as my leader. I chose her leadership over the role I wanted. It was one of the best career decisions I made. She grew me as a leader. She saw qualities in me I never knew I had. My experience working for her is a gift that keeps on giving.
6. Develop business savvy
In a 1973 lecture at University of Pennsylvania, Thomas J. Watson declared, “Good design is good business.” The overlap between Design and Business is clear. Yet, there is a gap in the extent to which designers embrace business concepts.
To bridge that gap, I read books recommended at business schools. This helps me speak the language of business.
An understanding of the nature of business has other benefits. You may better understand, predict and inform business decisions.
The list below is a good place for designers to start:
1. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, Eliyahu M. Goldratt, 1984
2. Management Challenges for the 21st Century, Peter F. Drucker, 1999
3. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't, Jim Collins, 2001
7. Call out the chatter in your mind
“All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness.”
The most important work comes from a place of no thought. Yet, we fill our minds with chatter. Chatter stifles creativity. Be it delusions of grandeur or imposter syndrome. Chatter in your mind is just that. Chatter. It is not real.
Address delusion of grandeur with the knowledge that anything we create is not ours. Anything we create that is of value is what the universe creates through us. There is no good that comes from attachment to our designs. Attachment hinders creativity.
Address imposter syndrome with the knowledge that you are no better or no less than anyone else. If you are in a position to influence, it is because the world put you there. Own it.
8. Rethink purpose
Purpose driven work is the call of the hour. How do we define purpose? A common way to think about purpose is to ask, "What must I create for the world?"
There is another way. It is to ask, "What does the universe want to create through me?" This way needs a developed sense of intuition and a surrender of ego. But it is empowering and rewarding.
9. Challenge assumptions
Designers challenge assumptions about products. We can also challenge assumptions made by people across an organization. Designers back our statements with data and research. We assume other people do the same. Often, that is not the case.
Challenge assumptions. Progress is possible if you challenge from a place of empathy.
10. Embrace leadership over titles
Designers embody values of empathy, humility, curiosity, collaboration, iteration, and imagination, among others. These are values of leaders.
Yet, designers confine ourselves by definitions of our role. These role definitions appear to be almost the same across all job boards.
How is it possible that the needs of your job are about the same regardless of the organization you work for? How is it possible that the needs of your job do not change over time? The truth is, the needs of your job change across organizations and time.
To make matters worse, we limit ourselves based on these definitions. The implicit limits of these definitions are not real. But we think they are. So, we assume we need a seat at the table to lead. We ask for permission. Instead, we can influence or lead those who sit at the table. We can create the table.
Whatever the problem, we can define the solution. Unhappy with the current state of the world? Unhappy with the poor state of Privacy? Equity? Inclusion? We can solve all these problems and more.
We can do that because of the values we hold dear. Empathy, humility, curiosity, collaboration, iteration, imagination. These values position us for leadership and influence. Values. Not titles or rank.
People do not take power. Society gives people power and influence. If we see them as working toward the greater good. [1]
Designers can work in the interest of the greater good. We have the skills to define the world we inhabit. We can work beyond the confines of our job descriptions.
We can lead and not ask for permission. Our world needs our leadership. Embrace the opportunity.
References:
[1] The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence, by Dacher Keltner, 2017