A journey into UX mentoring
How did I become a UX Mentor?
While starting-up my consulting practice and design studio at Hoppipop! , I reflected on how to offer specialist training and mentoring programs. I began to draft some initial ideas and to research the field, from competitors to hosting platforms like Udemy, Skillshare or Teachable. However, I was well aware that I had to learn about teaching and training methodologies in depth.
When Covid-19 pandemic struck, leaving most of us stuck at home during the long days of the first lock-down, I was back to study and preparing for my exams as Teacher and Trainer in the lifelong learning sector (RQF, L3).
In June 2020, I finally broke the ice and delivered my first micro-teaching session on roles and disciplines in UX! But I still had a lot to learn on teaching!
I kept studying, while building Hoppipop! Online Art, Design &Creativity Bootcamp school on Teachable, where I could learn more about the commercial space I was getting into — not to mention the marketing aspects of the venture! But that is another story…
I started refining my courses plans, curriculum and lessons, and only after several months I understood how I could combine traditional learning, through literature and references, with practice.
UX teaching: where is the experience component?
Assigning UX tasks, new design projects or suggesting activities to develop UX skills are not always effective methodologies if applied alone. To help growing self-awareness and a critical thinking approach, the mentoring and feedback components are essential to foster change.
Developing, reiterating and testing the What About UX? mini-course has taken me on a complex learning journey, not only as a UX professional but also as a mentor and start-up founder. I realized that I needed to practice within a specific time and framework, in order to build confidence and learn in depth about the mentees needs.
Who are my perspective mentees? Students and professionals of all ages and at different stages of their career.
Which are the mentees’ common issues, individual strengths and weaknesses? Often time, issues are related to communication, collaboration, self-esteem and commitment to grow.
A key rule of mentoring is active listening.
Volunteering for the UXPA UK and the LMF network associations allowed me to dig deeper into those needs and expectations. I could reinforce my idea of combining mentoring with traditional e-learning and finding ways of implementing that idea.
While most mentees live similar issues around career growth and development, I realized that, as a mentor, it is key to find ways of making the mentees understanding the problems, researching and practicing potential solutions. Teaching and learning how to develop a design project, to facilitate workshops with stakeholders or to overcome procrastination or low-self esteem issues, can’t be achieved only by providing or ingesting information from academic lectures.
The power of feedback and active listening can be incredibly helpful for mentees, in order to identify the key-issues, search and find possible solutions.
Practice, failing and reiterating, self-critique and reflection are all essential aspects to achieve personal and professional growth.
In a company or organization, taking responsibility for these actions is key to drive innovation.
On the other hand, each mentee is a different individual and mentors should understand a bit about applied psychology and human behavior to better empathize with their mentees and guide them in finding solutions or new learning paths. Some students might seek more practical advice on developing their design portfolios but, as said, it is not only about providing design critique. A mentor should understand about the person ability to commit to new processes and identify the personality traits that might obstacle the mentee’s personal and professional development.
Reading, talking to specialists and following life-coaching programs such as Kain Ramsay’s and the Achology Academy, has helped me to better support mentees in taking responsibility and action toward their own growth.
Similarly, the experience of being a mentor and an active listener is helping me to improve day after day.
I wish students and professionals in any field, not only in UX, to be open to continuously learn about their disciplines as a daily practice, but also to learn about themselves in order to empathize with others, whether is with users, co-workers, family and friends. An open-mind and non-judgmental approach that can foster collaboration and innovation in any environment.
Resilience is admirable but Growth takes courage
While younger students are more comfortable in looking for mentorship, as Universities often implement mentoring as part of their programs, older professionals might be intimated in seeking guidance or in asking for external feedback. However, I noticed that during the pandemic, more and more professionals who wished to grow, could do so through the extensive offer of webinars or specialist communities that started to crowd the internet. This new habit has facilitated breaking existing bias or emotional barriers between professionals and fostered a renewed supportive attitude.
The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting. — Plutarch
While the word “resilience” has been very popular during the past Covid-19 months, I prefer to use the word “growth” to stimulate a long-term vision. Resilience often pushes individuals to hold on, to stay still, to return to or defend their current status or position. It implies flexibility and adaptation but it doesn’t include the concept of seeing beyond and growing bigger than the current obstacles. The more each individual can learn, experience and reflect on their own goals and actions, the more they can grow.
Laying brick after brick, people can make their future happen in the present. Mentoring can facilitate this process by stimulating the mentee’s life or career long-term vision.
Mentoring is a development-driven relationship and you must be open to change and self-growth.
Where to find a UX mentor and what to ask
Mentoring is a development-driven relationship and you must be open to change and self-growth. You can find mentoring programs from many organizations, like the Interaction Design Foundation and the UXPA UK , you can find out more about Hoppipop! Mentoring program and inquire by filling this form. Before committing to any mentoring journey, however, it is important that you ask yourself some key questions:
· Why are you looking for mentoring?
· What do you need guidance on?
· Which goals would you like to achieve?
· How much time and effort are you willing to commit?
· Are you ready to take responsibility on your journey?
You can start reflecting on your goals, expectations and current skills, by completing your SWOT Analysis.
Be prepared to learn and research all the time, be humble and ambitious at the same time.
Design can help shaping a better society.
Following the work of gurus in the UX field, such as Don Norman and Jakob Nielsen (NNg), or the Design Sprints creators and facilitators like Jake Knapp and John Zeraski (AJ&Smart) or professionals like Frank Spiller (IDF), greatly inspired me in continuing my journey as a mentor.
I feel that part of my contribution in designing a better society can be through mentoring and this is what drives me in the first place.
In particular, I wish to recommend reading Don Norman’s article on how education could and should prepare designers to shape the society of the future at Design can help creating a better society and the UX Podcast 263
Finally, mentoring — and being mentored — can also help growing ethically stronger professionals and I hope that UX ethics will become one of my mentees key-values. In this regard, I recommend Frank Spiller’s webinar on Ethics in UX: Crash Course- Share & Present to your Team.
I think we all should start making some changes from now, as the future is not but the one we build everyday.
Enjoy your journey!
