How to Build a Resilient UX Organization
When there is an earthquake and the building shifts from side to side, the fiber rods stretch and pull it back to prevent it from shaking. (Photo Source)
In Japan, earthquakes are a fact of life. They will happen, so the best thing to do is be prepared. That doesn’t just mean having a quake kit near to hand; preparation is something you can make part of your system — your infrastructure. Architects and engineers design buildings in Japan to withstand seismic activity by using flexible and shock-absorbing materials combined with innovative techniques for engineering and construction.
In three years at Cisco, my team has gone through leadership changes, mergers with other groups, geographic expansions, re-structures, hiring freezes, and significant changes in business direction. These events are part of life in large organizations, just like earthquakes are part of life in Japan.
As the architect of the user experience organization for Cisco Cloud Security, I’ve had to design the team to withstand the seismic changes that come with a corporate environment. Here are some of the techniques and principles I have learned to apply in order to prepare the team to bear up in the face of massive change.
Strong foundation
Hiring resilient professionals is at the very base of building a team that can cope with change. Part nature and part nurture, resilience is a critical skill that often gets overlooked in interviews. A team that panics at every organizational change announcement will fall apart quickly.
Another important part of a strong foundation is the bond among members of the team. A team that is united will be in much better shape to weather a storm than one where there are mistrust and lack of strong bonds.
Flexibility
Organizational designs should be flexible and adapt to the context of each team. There is not one single formula that always works. There have been a couple of times where I have had to redesign my organization based on environmental changes. The first time, I feared it would affect my credibility as a leader — I had pushed so hard for a model and I was considering making changes just six months after– but I learned that being quick to react and adapt is not only a strength but also a necessity.
Contingency
Despite the best preparations, damage can –and likely will– happen. Good people might leave, projects might get killed, funding might end. Having a contingency plan helps. For example, you can identify potential successors for critical roles or do the groundwork to have backup sources of funding available. But even good contingency planning isn’t the whole answer. In my experience, framing and communication are the most important. Every time there’s a crisis — a change — that’s also an opportunity. A resilient building does not fight the earthquake — it moves with it.
