Dear Future Design Leads: How to transition into a creative leadership role
What’s next for you as an individual design contributor? Are you aspiring to be a design lead? Or perhaps you’re simply interested in learning about the role?
Just over a year ago, Michael Patti and I stepped into the design lead position on IBM Cloud. We first met on a leads introduction call, where we immediately connected. It only took us a few minutes to realize that we both crossed paths during our times teaching and studying at Rhode Island School of Design. It was fascinating that our paths crossed again working at the same company in the same domain — as we were based in IBM locations half the world apart with completely different professional backgrounds and experience. Out of curiosity and in the interest to pick up new perspectives, we sat down to share our top learnings as design leads. Strangely enough, our lists were almost identical.
We wanted to share our insights for those newly stepping into this role or working towards this path to benefit from a few pieces of wisdom, learnings and insights gathered from our first full year of being design leads at IBM.
What is a design lead at IBM?
A design lead is a person who leads a team of designers as the bridge between management and individual contributors. This position varies between divisions at IBM and your business unit. In an ideal world, about half your time is set aside for strategic planning with the other half being on design projects.
It is a unique position where you have both hands-on design work and management responsibilities. A large portion of the challenge is to find the sweet spot between the two. Design leads are also responsible for having a strategy for the team to focus on the right priorities in order to produce quality output. The goal is to help the team align to larger management initiatives to deliver product experiences with business impact.
At IBM we say, “Good design is good business.” It is our job to ensure this outcome in every action that our team makes.
What were the unique challenges?
Michael, Design Lead of IBM Cloud VPC Storage
I majored in graphic design and spent over 15 years working in traditional print design and art direction. When I made the decision to transition into UX design at IBM, my main challenge was acquiring domain knowledge in cloud computing. Joining the Austin-based team at IBM felt like receiving the greatest opportunity — I was determined to live up to the trust they had placed in me. To achieve this I proactively engaged with everyone I could, which included a daily goal of introducing myself. I devised a rigorous plan to continually enhance my understanding of how our cloud customers utilize our products. While my learning journey is ongoing, I now feel much more confident than I did on my first day.
Jeeyoung, Design Lead of Carbon for Cloud
I majored in industrial design and transitioned into UX at the end of my junior year. After working on B2C products at a design agency, I joined IBM Cloud as a junior individual design contributor (IC). During my first 3 years at IBM, I helped shape a strategic Cloud offering from the ground up. Right when I was looking for my next challenge, I was offered this position. Before getting to indulge in excitement about the new opportunity, there were some foreseeable challenges — two predecessors had left in back-to-back years and the team morale was in a difficult place. These circumstances put invisible pressure on my shoulders to learn fast, support the team in the right direction, and not let them down. One year into the role, while there is much more to learn and improve on, I feel more certain about what I need to do and where I need to be for my team.
Despite our different professional experiences and background, we both had the same goal in the end: craft outstanding products and continuously challenge ourselves to improve.
Key learnings
1. Be a thermostat, not a thermometer
The two of us stepped into our design lead role in a team that previously had established leadership culture and style. With the shift in roles, there was a time we had to decide between the things that should remain as-is vs. what should change.
It was all about starting off as a thermometer to absorb the current temperature of the team, then gradually setting a fresh tone for the team as a thermostat.
Observe and learn
What are the strengths of this team? What are some things that can change and why? Make sure to attend all the team-wide interactions ranging from 1:1s, leadership, and stakeholder meetings to accumulate learnings and observations. If you’re stepping into the role with previous leadership or experience working with the team, you may immediately know many things you want to change and improve. However, major revolution cannot happen short-term — slow but steady, progressive evolution is the way to go.
“When I first started with my team at IBM, I had ideas about team practices I wanted to change, but I first met with everyone individually to simply discuss their day-to-day pain points. Following this, I proposed adjustments to the team’s standard practices. It was much easier to gain buy-in for these changes after conducting this listening tour.” — Michael
Always explain the “why” behind changes
Once you have gathered enough data about the team, its time to start making your own decisions. It is time to step in to adjust existing processes, culture, and methodologies with your own spin. It is important that these decisions are supported with logical reasonings from your observation. For instance, “I noticed that our daily stand-up meetings were taking much longer than needed. Can we try Slack check-ins for next week?”
Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo and continue to be flexible with an agile mindset. This is when you slowly become the thermostat of the team as the new lead, projecting your perspectives to where the team should be headed.
“What went well, and what can be better? I documented my answers to this question at the end of each week to capture my learnings and think through realistic, digestible solutions. Sometimes I think new leads are expected to make radical changes but the real power comes from looking down and concentrating on each step you take to make progressive impact.” — Jeeyoung
2. Cultivate trust with transparency
Transparency in communication and feedback is powerful in every situation. The key idea is to consistently lead by example to set the tone so your team can respond with that energy.
Mutual transparency can be one of the most powerful tools to a team’s success.
It will make conflict resolution and exchange of feedback (including kudos and shoutouts) much more effective and sincere. Here are 3 things you can try to get started:
Set up regular one-on-one meetings with team members.
Especially in the age of remote and hybrid workplaces, setting aside regular, recurring, one-on-one meetings can be key to building personal connections with your teammates.
“I noticed that even if we didn’t talk about work during a one-on-one meeting, the pace break and comfort of knowing that someone is there thinking about you can be really great, and goes both ways.” — Michael
Debrief as a team after important leadership meetings.
Creating a space for your team to discuss as a design lead (even if it’s just opening an ad-hoc conversation) can help everyone digest and share their thoughts about new decisions or latest changes.
“I ping my teammates, “Want to chat?” right after we finish larger team discussions for everyone to speak up. It also helps me understand how I can be the bridge between leadership and individual contributors if there are differing perspectives.” — Jeeyoung
Get feedback through team surveys.
Taking the team’s pulse is critical to pivot quickly and keeping everyone happy, including yourself! You might think something is working or something is completely failing but you won’t know the truth until you find out from your team. Treat your teammates as your users.
“I ran a design lead survey that was anonymous and ranked the team on collaboration, communication, learning, and other areas. There were team practices that I could change almost immediately with the suggestions from the team. It can be difficult to judge success in this role and this helped me see what could be improved in a measurable way.” — Michael
“Inspired by Michael, I also ran an anonymous team survey at my one-year mark. The results helped me get a deeper understanding of what I did well and what I could improve on, both in moments I was really not aware of myself!” — Jeeyoung
3. Provide honest and specific feedback, rain or shine
A significant part of our role is to provide clear and factual feedback. Direct communication is key, such as saying, “I think using a 1:1 ratio for cards will create a more consistent and unified look” rather than vague requests like, “Can you tweak the card sizes a bit?”. Clear feedback can help get the message across without involving personal feelings. Establishing this transparency helps build a level of trust that is essential in the design feedback loop.
Furthermore, transparent feedback works best when it’s a two-way street.
As design leads, we should also be open to receiving feedback from the team. Initiating this process by openly sharing what we want to learn and improve on can make it easier for the team to do the same in the long run, fostering collaboration during challenging times.
Sharing compliments with your team is equally, if not more, important than providing feedback. Delivering fact-based praise is impactful. Be specific about what an individual did well, like saying, “You really told a compelling story today, it was very clear that the audience had a lasting impression” rather than a generic “Great presentation today!”.
As a lead, foster a culture of sharing compliments within the team. Some examples include having a shoutouts and celebrations section in team retrospectives and monthly rewards (e.g. ice cream but the prize can be anything of your team’s choice) for outstanding contributions.
Conclusion
As you embark on your own journey as a design lead or consider this role for yourself, know that you can do it! People will offer you a slew of advice, with each perspective adding another idea on a possible way to prepare. Don’t get overwhelmed by this and remember to listen to your own instincts as well. There is never a black and white answer— it is important to be yourself and add your perspectives on the mission you have set off to take.
Your role as a design lead may be radically different depending on your division, setting, and team but it’s a significant opportunity for growth and impact. We encourage you to share your insights and experiences, just as we have done here, because we believe in the power of learning from one another. So, whether you’re already a design lead or contemplating to becoming one, embrace the challenge and continue to learn and grow for this exciting next step in your career.
Acknowledgments
Written by: Michael Patti and Jeeyoung Yang
Illustrations by: Vera Wei
Special shoutout to the reviewers Kevin Camelo, Lisa Kaiser, and Alissa Chan.
The above article is personal and does not necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies, or opinions.
