the accidental design leader
TRANSCRIPT
- 1. The Accidental Design Leader
- 2. A few years ago I spotted a trend
- 3. Designers now had a seat at the table
- 4. But
- 5. Rather than being happy Many were stressed
- 6. New problems to deal with
- 7. Theyd fallen for the myth of leadership
- 8. All you need is power to make change
- 9. All you need is power to make change
- 10. Power gives you more opportunity to influence
- 11. You need to develop a new set of skills
- 12. over tea and cake The pattern became clear
- 13. Finding talent #1
- 14. Retaining talent #2
- 15. Executing at pace #3
- 16. Managing up #4
- 17. Managing down #5
- 18. wasn't for them? Maybe design management
- 19. Mount Stupid Stuck in the Trough of disillusionment Plateaux of productivity Trough of disillusionment
- 20. Design Leadership is still relatively new
- 21. Accidental Leader for the past 12 years
- 22. I helped found a new design Leadership Community
- 23. leadingdesignconf.com leadingdesign.slack.com &
- 24. I never set out to lead design teams
- 25. The living embodiment of the Peter Principal
- 26. I hated ego-driven savant leadership
- 27. servant leadership I preferred ego-less
- 28. Hire people better than you and give them the space to excel
- 29. Good leaders try to make themselves redundant
- 30. Bad leaders dictate Good leaders delegate
- 31. Processes dont make great products, people do
- 32. Hire people with a calling Not a great looking resume
- 33. Finding talent #1
- 34. people want to be on Build the team
- 35. first mover advantage Reputation, outreach and
- 36. The best designers want growth Money is just table stakes
- 37. Invests in people Signal that your company
- 38. to do great work Create the best environment
- 39. brilliant arseholes Hire slow, and avoid
- 40. than an arsehole Its better to have a hole
- 41. Retaining talent #2
- 42. on your interview promises Make sure you follow through
- 43. keep people focussed Clear values and mission
- 44. they won't want to leave Foster a collaborative culture
- 45. people leave You are the main reason
- 46. or theyll burn out Give the team space
- 47. experiment and innovate Schedule time to
- 48. Now Next Future 6wks 6mths 6yrs Design for now, next, & future
- 49. Great designers deliver Good designers design
- 50. Executing at pace #3
- 51. remove organisational barriers Great design leaders
- 52. so your team don't have to Pick up the trash
- 53. between design and development Break down the silos
- 54. are a huge productivity boon Design Systems
- 55. has a vital role to play Design Operations
- 56. on creating high performance teams Lessons from Aristotle
- 57. Impact
- 58. Meaning Impact
- 59. Structure & Clarity Meaning Impact
- 60. Dependability Structure & Clarity Meaning Impact
- 61. Psychological Safety Dependability Structure & Clarity Meaning Impact
- 62. Managing up #4
- 63. the value of design Your job is to promote
- 64. the language of business You need to speak
- 65. not battle lines Create partnerships
- 66. governance layer Weave design into the
- 67. not a shit funnel Be a shit umbrella
- 68. Get a leadership coach Leaders need support
- 69. Managing down #5
- 70. managing upwards Dont spend all your time
- 71. look after their teams Great Design Leaders
- 72. regular one-on-ones Make sure you have
- 73. and connect to people Take time to walk the floor
- 74. feedback Provide actionable
- 75. Care personally Challenge Directly Ruinous Empathy Radical Candor Manipulative Insincerity Obnoxious Agression
- 76. Supporting Coaching DirectingDelegating INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCY DIRECTIVE BEHAVIOUR INDIVIDUALMOTIVATION SUPPORTIVEBEHAVIOUR
- 77. and critique privately Make sure you praise publicly
- 78. individual growth Support your teams
- 79. Lead Principal Director VP A leading performer who prefers to manage projects over managing people. Indispensable individual contributor. Dynamic leader, focused on strategic vision, growing talent and execution Articulate a compelling vision; help run the company Depth, expertise, innovation, persuasion, strategic, condence; programs not projects Breadth, mentorship, evangelism, thought leadership, visionary, storytelling Mentorship, new value creation, organization-wide leadership, planning; operations Recruiting and hiring; establishing culture; accountability; vision, evangelism Leads the delivery of shipped products; Delivered successful work at the scope of product areas Leads teams in framing and solving hard problems; has driven innovative efforts that uncovered new value with new kinds of experiences; presents company as an industry leader in design Signicant management experience (teams up to 10 people); recruited and hired teams Successfully run design organizations (of around 10-15 or fewer); Demonstrated ability to engage executive leadership across the company
- 80. accountability Provide autonomy with
- 81. Unaware Blame others Excuses Wait and hope Acknowledge reality Own it Find solutions Get on with it Accountability Ladder
- 82. Tell me what to do I think I recommend I would like to I intent to Ive done Ive been doing Leadership Ladder
- 83. I see repeating themselves Those were the 5 key concerns
- 84. Finding talent#1 Retaining talent#2 Executing at pace#3 Managing up#4 Managing down#5
- 85. my personal experiences Ive tried to share
- 86. approach to leadership There's no one-size-fits-all
- 87. common wisdom and tactics Instead its a mix of
- 88. but its still not being done A lot of this is obvious
- 89. but its still not being done A lot of this is obvious bleeding
- 90. Good Leaders Servetheirteams Hire people better than them selves Make themselves redundant Invest in their teams Create space to do great work Setcompelling visions Foster collaboration Create a thriving work culture Empower teams Remove barriers Provide air cover Operationalise design Em bed design in the governance layer Supportindividual growth Promotethe valueofdesign
- 91. Is EASY to understand Good design leadership
- 92. to execute well Its bloody HARD
- 93. Thank You Follow me @andybudd