What I Learned After Transitioning To Design Leadership

Don’t be afraid and keep going!

Let me tell you something …

I realised that I was in a bubble for a very long time, working with or for designers or CX specialists was quite easy when it comes to discussing, constructing ideas, because you are almost always looking at from similar approach. My customers were also similar-minded people. At the end, they hired you. I was most comfortable when I saw people like myself. The end result was that I would repeat the same type of interactions over and over again.

But then, change of playing fields. Change of scales. I am no longer impacting other designers but the entire organisation. I needed to step up understanding organisation and management.

Working as a service designer in an organisation is a great way to go, but it isn’t without its challenges.

1. You’ll be working in an unfamiliar world

Service design is bursting with potential and opportunity, but it’s not for everyone. In fact, if you’re the type of person who finds comfort in systems and processes, or if you’re very results-driven, this might not be for you. Service design leaders can find themselves in situations where they have no idea how they’re going to get things done, or how they’re going to measure success. Other times they can find themselves trying to influence people’s behaviours — which can be difficult when people aren’t used to being influenced!

2. Your skills will change

In a world where everything is digital, there are no more print comps and press checks. Yet this doesn’t mean that designers won’t be using their visual communication skills — quite the opposite. That’s your strength!

3. You’ll be expected to do a lot more than design

As a service design leader, you’ll spend most of your time aligning, negotiating between different business units.

Not just learning the business language was enough, you needed to be connector within different business units

I was in a position that I need to contribute to the design “the new alternative organisation”. To make a change, you need to understand how the current managers, how they think and do.

Having designers who understand the language and tactics of business allows them to be more involved in strategic decisions, and therefore to have a bigger impact.

As a designer, I’m most confident in my work when I can anticipate user behaviour and have methods and tools to learn about patterns. I couldn’t anticipate what business leaders do or say. As a result, I felt intimidated, especially when meeting new people or going to meetings with my team. My confidence was shot.

Learning business is as much about anticipating needs and behaviours as it is learning terms and concepts. Business is an ecosystem in which knowledge, people, information and resources flow together to create something which has value.

To make decisions about what to do, where to go and how to get there, leaders need a map that shows them the interrelationships between these components and how they are changing over time.

4. Know your business partners:

To make your business impact as high as possible, you need to know where your business partners are, what they want to achieve, and what their viewpoints are. Then, you need to learn where your business is, where it will be in the near future, and how it can get there.

It’s fundamental to your design work to understand the models and strategies specific to your business and the people who use them. With your creative problem-solving processes you can:

• Visualise your business
• Anticipate the needs of your partners
• Analyse the effects of culture on decision-making
• Reflect on how you are or aren’t having an impact

Are you a design leader?

5 Capabilities Any Design Leader In An Organisation Should Focus On

We all want to create something that will stand out. Something brilliant. Something beautiful. Something that will truly make the project stand out.

The role of design within an organisation is changing but, alas, not as fast as the role of design in how organisations do business. As a result, the responsibilities of design leaders are changing faster than they may be prepared to handle.

By embracing ambiguity and exploring divergent futures, design activities can increase flexibility and decrease risk. And a design leader needs to be the front runner.

And so, to make sure the design leader has a clear and actionable understanding of how their capabilities can contribute to the success of the organisation, I am listing some capabilities they should focus on.

Getting buy-in from business partners

We’re talking about an internal design leader’s capacity to inspire and influence. Also a person who builds bridges between business and design.

In order for design to be effective it needs support from top management and other business stakeholders. The buy-in of individuals should include mission alignment: Define your organisation’s mission or vision statement. This will bring everyone on board with your company’s goals and desired outcomes.

What’s needed for success at this point in time? That question is best answered by the people who are closest to the issues and opportunities, which are usually the business partners. You need to communicate and evangelise design thinking to them. You need them to take ownership of the process, so that they champion it with their own management. You need to evaluate whether or not design is helping them achieve their objectives, whether it’s making a difference.

Calculating the ROI (return on investment) of design and presenting to management:

You’ve got a vision of what you want, but how do you present it to management? Show all the possible ROI calculations and how you can reduce costs through finding smart new ideas and developing them.

Keep track of the business value you’ve added. Show it in terms of cost savings, increased revenue, quality improvements, etc.

Connecting design objectives to business objectives:

The same way parents with children are united in wanting their children to grow up well, business and design leaders are united together in wanting every company to create value.

Design is more than just eye candy; it’s about solving user problems, generating competitive advantage and improving business results all at once. A designer may need to work with strategic planning teams or contribute to an overall marketing strategy before any designs can be considered.

Negotiating with non-designers

You may have to convince several stakeholders of your company that designers should be in charge of most aspects of the product’s development and that it is the senior management’s duty to support them. You could also negotiate with product management over a product’s aesthetics and production costs.

Communicating trade-off decision risks and benefits

There is a reciprocating relationship between decision risks and benefits. Risks are made up of the probability of happening and the scale of the impact. Benefits are made up of the value, the effect, the degree of control and the probability of deliverables against objectives.

What’s most important for your particular company is what will help move forward your business goals, as defined by your business partners. Sometimes this means focusing on cross-functional collaboration; sometimes it means considering what kind of support you can provide to help users do their jobs more efficiently or effectively; sometimes it means understanding how your product fits into the larger ecosystem and how users see it in relationship to other products in that ecosystem.

Working closely with business and technology partners requires an ongoing commitment from all sides: clear communication, open dialogue and transparency, ongoing evaluation of performance, and lots of patience. It also requires high-level cultural buy-in; everyone involved should feel like they are all part of the same team working toward the aligned goals.

Afterword:

Working as an in-house service designer was a different experience.

During my time, I have learned more about myself and my strengths and how to put them to work at this company than in any other previous experiences I had. At the end of two years, I feel like two years in an organisation like this was a great way to improve my soft skills and put me in a driver seat more than ever.

As I have gained experience in my career, I have learned that it is important to focus on certain capabilities. These capabilities will make me a more valuable employee, which will lead to opportunities for personal and professional growth.

I have begun to understand how I can put my strengths to work. I felt like, from now on my career will move forward in a meaningful way.

This job has also taught me that how I am able to work under pressure, as well as with many other departments at one time. When projects are behind schedule because of issues with one department, it is important for others to step up and get the project back on track so deadlines can still be met.

I feel like my career moved forward in a meaningful way. At the end of two years, I am beginning to understand how I can put my strengths to work. At the end of two years, I feel like every day is a chance to learn.