Creative (design) leadership
The Brazilian Design market is on fire! At least, that is my feeling. And why is that? Is quite common to have some positions exchanges and new hires at the beginning of each year but, this year looks pretty intense to me.
I don’t have a precise number to support my statement. However, I will share what I am experiencing since middle January to base my assumption. Until today (March 13th), 08 companies (from electronics to education) with approximately 20 open positions, contacted me asking for recommendations. And, came on! I am not a headhunter.
What really caught my attention wasn’t the numbers but, the demanded profiles and requirements. At least, 1/3 of those new positions are for leadership roles.
Different from past years, those companies are looking for designers that can build teams, create a culture and influence the organization. In other words, those companies are not just looking for the designer's creative skills to create stunning projects. They are looking for designer's leadership skills, that can empower others to create an incredible culture and lead the change. They are looking for Creative Leaders. Current or potential leaders.
And that is great! Why? Because it shows me that designers are starting to be seeing as "grown ups that can sit on adult's table."
Meaning, they are starting to look on designers as professionals capable of discussing company’s future and strategy. As executives who can really make a difference. People who can navigate on the organizational complexity and understanding which buttons should be pressed to make the difference. So, yeah! It is an exciting moment. My only concern is: Are we, designers, grown enough to seat on that table? I have my doubts.
A quick research on my Linkedin showed me a huge number of amazing professionals with tremendous experience as "creative designers" but a lack of profiles with corporate or leadership experience. Just a few people (here in Brazil, especially) have a "proven" experience on how to deal with a business agenda and connecting design on it. And, based on that, I can guess we still living a disconnection between design (creativity) and business (organization).
Maybe that is why we still see, on the other hand, companies shutting down entire local design areas and or cutting its headcount by 30%, or more.
So, my fellow design candidate, I am writing this humble text just to ask you: when you start this new position (fingers crossed), please add on your daily reading, subjects such as leadership, business strategy, marketing, teamwork, and any other organizational related subject.
Forget a little bit the “my way and the right way of doing something” to focus more on "our best (possible) way to do something, now." Please, never lose your vision (if you don't have one yet, find it quickly). Different from designing a project, culture change takes much more time to be perceived (by you, your peers, team, and the organization), so don't give up when you face your first barrier (you are going to face a lot them). And for the last but not less important, don't talk like a designer, just act like one!
Don't throw design words and high-level concepts only, show results and tangible impact. Find an efficient way to present a glimpse of your vision that will make a difference quickly. Conquer them by delivering!
Ask yourself what you will need to learn to connect with the organization. I’m not saying to become a “corp guy.” Never lose your design and creative soul, that is why they hired you. But, you need to learn new things. Find out how to connect a perfect execution with business grow (Apple used to master that). Respect your vision and soul. Always understand the point of view of other, because everybody can be right and wrong at the same time (like the "Blind men and an elephant" story).
I don’t know what your design background (at this point, I am assuming someone is reading this text :P) is, but I will illustrate my opinion based on my previous experience as Industrial Designer. When I used to design plastic products, I always liked to have enough knowledge on material and processes to be able to discuss with engineers about molding or propose a product innovation. So, I never studied engineering or I became an engineer, but I gathered enough knowledge to be able to understand and hack the system.
What I am trying to say here is not a final sentence, but I would like to raise some questions. Which are the “plastic engineers” that you have to connect in your organization? Which knowledge will you have to master in order to hack the system and be able to seat on the grown up’s table?
Because as we discussed before, they are looking for leaders. Creative Leaders that can change the status quo and connect their vision with meaningful results. Results that will be perceived in the whole organization (not just by the design area) and will make the difference for severals company's stakeholders (especially the users and consumers). In other words, they are not just looking for someone who can design the future. But, primarily, someone who can help them to be ready for that future and start to deliver it today.
This article is a fragment of severals that I am writing about Design, Designers (innovators, creators, disruptors) and their processes (or those who uses those methods) on how to create anything, such as bytes, atoms, rituals, ideas and any other innovative human expression. So, let see where it will lead, and I hope you enjoy it.
