Leadership happens when you share ideas and others act. This simple yet powerful principle underpins my approach to leadership. It's about the influence we have every day on the people around us. I try to recognize that influence in myself to lead with intention and integrity. When I see that influence from others, I celebrate and encourage it.
A colleague brainstorms ideas at a design workshop in Wrocław, Poland.
As a design leader, I evangelize user-centered design thinking throughout the organization. I've presented case studies in design to executives and brought design workshops to teams across the company. I eagerly encourage project teams to participate in design activities, for example, by inviting colleagues to participate in user research interviews, holding group sketch charrettes and running design sprints.
Design is the process of making decisions that affect the outcome of a product, business or service. In one of my talks, I ask the audience to reflect on the decisions they make in their role and how it impacts the design of their product and the experience of using it. By encouraging teams to be intentional in their decision-making we can grow the impact of design within an organization. This is especially important for projects that don't have a dedicated designer.
A colleague shares ideas during a design sprint to reduce product accetpance risk.
Good design should also work in harmony with other functions. I'll happily use my design toolbox to explore business, market and technology risks as well as product and usability ones. In one early-stage project I introduced lean principles to the team, helping them draft a lean canvas from which we could prioritize resolving the biases, assumptions, risks and questions that arose (the BARQlog 🐶).
One of the things that inspires me most is seeing people succeed despite the barriers that stand in their way. When I was a manager, I was thrilled to see one of my reports complete his CS degree in his spare time whilst also raising a young family. He went on to become a software architect for one of our most successful products and a member of our architecture review board. As a volunteer in the non-profit leadership organization, Toastmasters International, I've seen countless people share their stories of success in the face of overwhelming odds. I've shared a few of my own, too.
Speaking at the Toastmasters Leadership Institute. Photo by Robert Tang.
Whether as a manager, team lead, scrum master, product owner, or volunteer, I work hard to help people share their ideas and become successful. When people grow, so does the team around them. I was hired as designer number two. Now we are five full-time designers and we have many advocates embedded in teams around the company. We've progressed from making UIs to defining product strategy.
Leadership happens when you share ideas and others act. What ideas do you have, and how can I help you bring them to life?