Rethinking Leadership — When a career path leads not upwards, but deeper
Most career ladders show two directions: upwards (towards management) or sideways (to another domain). But what about those who don’t wish to go either up or sideways — but deeper?
That is the direction I explore in this article — when a Senior Designer chooses not to climb the management ladder, but to evolve towards Expertise, leading not people, but their craft :)
The Essence of the Expert Path
Not every senior designer aspires to manage people, organise meetings, conduct performance reviews, or calculate “design capacity.”
Some simply love designing, rather than navigating the labyrinth of project management.
They are the Experts. Whatever we call their path, the essence is the same: they provide direction for their discipline. They influence through deep knowledge, experience, and perspective — sometimes even more effectively than managers.
A new option
As I wrote in my article on burnout, it’s perfectly valid to say no here too. It’s easy to label someone who doesn’t want to lead as unambitious, afraid of responsibility, or resistant to growth.
But the expert designer is not escaping management — they are choosing a different direction, consciously. This is not a “Plan B”. It’s simply another “Plan A.”
A senior designer can be a leader — just in a different way. Somewhere along the line, companies started confusing ambition with hierarchy. In reality, not all leaders have teams in the traditional sense.
An Expert Designer doesn’t manage people; they guide thinking, direction, and decision-making.
When a Career Path Is Not a Ladder, but a Climbing Wall
A typical design career path looks like this:
Junior → Mid-level → Senior → Lead → Design Manager → Head of Design → Some title your mother can’t even pronounce
Most organisations recognise only this single trajectory. But there is another one — not upwards, but towards a broader perspective and deeper professional impact:
Junior → Mid-level → Senior → Expert
(And of course, there can be other variations — strategist, specialist, and so on.)
A ladder is one-directional. A climbing wall, however, offers many holds. Sometimes you have to move sideways or even downwards to reach higher.
And sometimes progress means not changing direction at all — but digging deeper into what you love.
So, if you’re a Senior Designer who wants to lead your discipline rather than people, don’t feel left behind in leadership. You might actually be the one leading the profession.
In this case, you don’t manage a team — you shape the way others think. And that is not less leadership, merely a different kind.
Leadership ≠ People Management
Design leadership isn’t about how many people’s work you coordinate — it’s about how many people think differently because of you.
Great experts influence complex systems, processes, and product strategy.
And honestly? They lead just as much as managers do — only with different tools. Their impact may not appear in an org chart, but it’s equally powerful.
The Advantages of the Expert Path
- Maintaining focus on the craft — You don’t have to spend your days managing calendars or 1:1s, and you have time to refine your creativity.
- Real impact — Your decisions are felt at the product or brand level, not merely within a team. And if you’re really good, they might even influence the world.
- Mentorship — Leadership without people management: inspiring, sharing knowledge, and raising the professional bar. It’s like helping your team navigate a Super Mario level — without falling into the traps yourself.
- Continuous learning — You remain in lifelong learning mode, keeping your professional mind fresh. New trends, new tools, new methods — like enrolling in a never-ending course where creativity grows instead of credits.
- Safe experimentation — You can try, fail, and learn, because that’s part of the job. It’s like assembling IKEA furniture without the manual. Chaotic at first, but deeply rewarding in the end.
- A personal sandbox — Whether it’s testing a new workshop format or experimenting with tools, you need a “creative playground” where chaos is allowed. It keeps you energised and prevents routine burnout.
Leadership Through Authority, Not Status
I truly believe that the best companies already recognise that not all leadership is hierarchical. An Expert Designer leads not through people management, but through inspiration, example, and professional credibility. You don’t have to lead everyone. It’s enough that you lead the way.
What Managers Can Do
If you’re a leader and you want your best people to stay engaged instead of burning out and leaving, do this:
- Recognise their true ambitions. Not everyone seeks status or more responsibility — some seek impact and meaning in their work.
- Create space for horizontal growth. Reward not only those who manage people, but also those who design and improve systems. Allow them to learn, grow, and attend conferences. And don’t worry if they sometimes just “drink coffee and talk to others” — that’s long-term investment.
- Enable professional leadership. Give them opportunities to mentor and influence strategic decisions. Those who can guide direction through expertise will not only be happier — they’ll be more loyal too.
If you don’t provide these things… well, they’ll move on soon enough. 😉
(Note: I’ll be following up with a detailed article on how to retain senior and expert designers — and everyone else, too.)
Final Thoughts
A career is not a fixed route but a map on which each of us draws a different direction.
So if you’re wondering whether something feels “off” because you don’t want to become a manager — you’re not doing it wrong. You might just be climbing the wrong ladder.
Having “Head of” next to your name might look impressive, and the expert path may not be very “LinkedIn compatible,” but the moment someone says, “We could only make this happen because of you” — that’s priceless. ❤️
Redefining Leadership — What might it mean today?
Leadership is not a title or a shiny line on your LinkedIn profile.
It’s when your way of thinking moves others to think differently. And perhaps, without realising it, you already are a leader — just not in the traditional sense.
I believe it’s time to rethink what “leadership” means in design. What do you think?
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