Retain & Develop
Kick-Ass Designers
Part 3: Environment & Culture
This is the third article in a 10-part series for design managers and directors called How to Retain and Develop Kick-ass Designers. You can find the overview of all 10 parts here in the Introduction.
“To make customers happy, we have to make sure our employees are happy first.”
- Tony Hsieh
The conversation about culture is big. Really big. If you only read one thing about culture, make it Chapter 7 of Chip Conely’s book Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow. It’s the best practical and heartfelt piece on culture in the workplace I’ve read. You’ll see how culture is the foundation to building an enthusiastic staff, which leads to customer loyalty, which leads to a profitable and sustainable business.
So, what is culture? Here’s Chip:
“Culture is defined as ‘the standards and values that define how people in an organization are expected to behave, especially in their relationships with each other’ or, in other words, ‘it’s the way things are done around here.’”
It’s Not About You
The right culture is different for every design team, and while leadership has a strong impact on culture, it’s important to remind yourself that you are not the center of your team’s culture.
Years ago, we were working on a gnarly project for a client going through a massive reorganization. For lots of reasons, it was challenging my ability to stay positive and optimistic. Our project manager and I rolled up our sleeves, gritted our teeth, and buckled down to sort out every detail — no matter what. We were in the trenches. We were getting serious. We were handling it.
Our design director and lead UX designer, on the other hand, didn’t want to be so serious. In one of our internal prep meetings, they kept making jokes, getting “off topic,” and cracking up. My project manager was getting frustrated. I was getting frustrated.
I had a talk with my design director after the meeting. The solution was clear to me: they needed to take things more seriously. They needed to stop joking around. They needed to stay focused in important meetings. They needed to cut it out.
A couple days later, the two of us went for a walk around the SOMA neighborhood near our office. She told me that we needed to talk about our priorities and reminded me that ultimately there are two things we need to do on every project:
- Create amazing designs that meet our high standards
- Deliver on time
Everything else is secondary.
And, she went on, she knows what it takes to inspire and motivate a team to make great designs come together. We were in an energetic slump on this project. The team needed an outlet. If we try to clamp down on jokes and laughter at the office, we’re doomed. And she wasn’t having it.
Of course, she was right. It’s embarrassing that I had to be reminded that laughter is good for design, but stress and pressure clouded my perspective. She was reminding me how important it is to maintain a positive culture, environment, and vibe — especially in the tough times.
Two Questions
Just because a joking atmosphere is right for one group, it’s not what every group needs. Take a look at the culture of your team, and thoughtfully list the adjectives you could use to describe your work dynamic. Maybe your team is edgy. Or, maybe it’s safe. Fun. Serious. Casual. Formal.
There are other things to observe. Look at the way your team members relate to each other. Maybe they’re strongly individualistic. Maybe they’re tribal. Friendly. Soloists. Supportive.
Or, how about the work ethic? Maybe there’s a strong work-life balance that gets people out the door at five or six. Or, maybe designers are regularly staying late into the evening.
None of these descriptions are inherently right or wrong. It depends on the group. Ask yourself two questions:
#1: Is this the culture that you and your team want?
If your designers are staying late on a frequent basis, is it because they love the work, and you practically have to force them to go home? Or, are they working late because they’re under pressure and burning out?
If your designers are quiet and keep to themselves, is that because they’re individualistic, independent designers who like their personal space? Or, would they actually like to connect more with each other? Maybe they’re feeling isolated, but your team’s culture — for whatever reason — has grown to discourage ongoing collaboration?
Look at everything. Are they able to disagree with each other? When they do, what’s their tone and word choice? Do challenges get resolved? How? How often do your designers talk about things outside of work? Do they laugh at work? And so on.
#2: Is this culture good for the creative process? Is it good for design?
While you assess your team’s culture, look at which parts are good for design.
I’ve seen cultures develop where everyone is super nice to each other. On the surface, that’s great. It’s better to be nice than to be mean. Sure. Of course.
But, it can go too far. You don’t want designers being so nice that they’re afraid of challenging conversations (and, when they do challenge each other, you want it to be about the work, not the person). You want them to hold each other accountable. You want diversity of ideas. You want debates about the merits of design directions.
If your design team has a culture they enjoy, it’s probably the case that there’s a lot going on that’s good for design. But not always. Sometimes a culture gets a mind of its own that veers from the intended purpose of why you’re all there together: to solve problems, design, and create.
Change Happens
One of the more surprising realizations for design managers is that you can deliberately change culture.
Have conversations with your managers and team members about the team’s environment and culture. Guide them through an honest assessment of the way the team relates to each other. From there, determine what — if anything—needs to be addressed. Maybe your team wants to rearrange the physical space to empower creative collaboration. Maybe they want to discuss the pros and cons of playing music in the office. Maybe there’s a need for conflict-resolution training. Your team’s needs will be unique.
Developing and supporting the right culture for your team is time well spent — it creates a foundation for everything else.
Of course, culture doesn’t take place in a vacuum; the team has actual work to do. In the next article, Part 4, we’ll get into how important it is to have variety for your team and the right fit for the designer.
