4 Traits Shared By the Best Design Program Managers
In my last post, I described the Design Program Management (DPM) team at Facebook, which I started in 2013. We ensure that our design team (including product design, research, and content strategy) within the Ads and Business Platform group can focus on doing what they do best: creating smart, engaging product solutions for our 2.1 billion users and 6 million advertisers all over the world.
Over the past five years, we’ve been in a fast-changing environment that has been growing remarkably quickly. This growth has allowed me to do a good amount of interviewing and hiring of Design Program Managers. When I started the team, I realized that job descriptions might capture the needs of the moment but would not — and probably could not — reflect the challenges that were bound to pop up. I decided to use my limited headcount to hire people who would be able to grow and flex with changes at the company. It turned out to be a good strategy, but only one important piece of the puzzle.
Since then, I’ve identified several qualities shared by most successful DPMs. Do you recognize yourselves in any of these four descriptions?
Curious generalists
Curious generalists love to learn new things and understand relationships between teams, people, and customers. They aren’t daunted by taking on challenges in which they don’t have previous experience. Don’t know the difference between a daily bid budget and a campaign spending limit? Not a problem for curious generalists. They roll up their sleeves and learn all about how things work, who are the key players, and then build their own context to apply to the job.
It may sound risky to hire people without deep industry-specific knowledge, but curious generalists always have successful track records when diving into new scenarios. In fact, the best ones orient themselves quickly and build strong relationships rapidly. That combination enables them to take swift, relevant action grounded in understanding of people, products, and industries.
In my experience, the best DPMs have the natural ability to gather and synthesize information from a variety of people, and then assess how to make improvements in communication or process. This quality is invaluable because most companies — tech companies in particular — have a wealth of specialists with deep knowledge about specific topics. But they don’t always have a person whose job it is to align processes and set guidelines to best connect talent and expertise at the right times.
We’re lucky to work side-by-side with so many subject-matter experts, but the ability to tie together that expertise is what’s special about the DPM role. Connecting across silos is not only satisfying to the curious generalist, but it also leverages all the amazing talent throughout the company.
Empathic connectors
Another trait that the best DPMs possess is empathy. Empathic connectors have a strong understanding of others’ emotions and a natural ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, whether it be a designer, an executive stakeholder, or a person using our products. They can tune in to a variety of motivations — a skill that helps DPMs find communication gaps and create bridges that allow the group to work more smoothly.
The best DPMs know that behavior is communication. They inherently grasp that people behave differently under the same circumstances. When a DPM can connect people with variety of styles and needs, different perspectives can be leveraged to make stronger teams. Again and again in interviews I’ve conducted, candidates tell me some variation of, “I’m flexible in my communication style and find ways that work. I try to understand what makes the team tick.”
By having empathy, DPMs can sniff out where conversations should be taking place and which style of communication is going to be most effective. After all, someone who seems difficult to work with may just be frustrated. Or perhaps a team member who isn’t responsive or is missing deadlines is simply overloaded.
Of course, empathetic, caring folks exist in other roles as well. But DPMs are generally in the business of building relationships and genuine connection to help move teams forward.
Being predictive and proactive
DPMs frequently check in with each team member to track progress. Being close to the team puts DPMs in a great position to glean early signals when a project or team is headed off track. This is more than project management; it’s also an ability to stay aligned with the morale of the team and course-correct before small issues or frustrations become team-wide problems.
A DPM’s ability to sense early trouble brewing, raise a flag, and quickly take action is extremely valuable to team leaders who need to focus on the big picture and may not have a read on the day-to-day details.
Because of this, team members see that things go well when DPMs are involved. When team members can expect good outcomes, they relax and focus on their responsibilities, knowing that a great DPM has their back — and has the team’s overall well-being in mind.
Information and culture vectors
Finally, I find successful DPMs to be amazing transmitters of information. If a team is a wheel with many spokes, a great DPM is the hub. Strong DPMs are the go-to resource when people are looking for all types of resources. They are frequently the glue that holds many moving parts of a team together. If they can’t provide fast answers, they know exactly who can. As a DPM once told me, “I’m the human Yelp. People come to me when they need recommendations, information, or the inside scoop.”
Their particular combination of skills — empathy, relationship-building, communication, and the keen ability to suss out potential project hitches — also serves them well in the role of culture vector. When DPMs live and breathe the team’s values, and they pass that example along to all of their teammates. This quality is particularly important considering the rate at which new folks join our quickly growing team.
I feel lucky to work with talented Design Program Managers every day. I see the power of their skills to bring real change to the product teams at Facebook. I’ve had the good fortune to have filled many roles for many different programs, but it still makes me happy to hear, “If we want this to happen and go really well, let’s make sure we have a DPM on the team.”
Follow Facebook’s Design Program Director, Courtney Kaplan, on Medium and stay tuned for more DPM insights.
