Leading with…Elizabeth McGuane
We spoke to Lead with Tempo speaker and design leader, Elizabeth, to find out what inspires her.
What book have you read that’s really changed how you approach work or life?
Can I have two? There’s a pair that come to mind — Marion Milner’s On Not Being Able to Paint, written three quarters of a century ago, about the creative act as a yell of joy; and Vivian Gornick’s The Situation and the Story, written far more recently, about the role of the author’s distinctive voice in their work. Two good ones in a world that seems to want to flatten everything into raw material.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
A manager of mine once told me to ignore swim lanes, and I did — swimming around in all kinds of jobs and situations in my career.
And the worst?
This doesn’t make that advice ‘the worst’ — but I am now trying to swim toward a scope of work that I can define for myself, rather than letting outside definitions of work shape me.
Do you have any of your own advice for someone new to leadership?
- Listen.
- Creativity and competition are not the same thing.
- Pay attention to your discomfort — the design details that bother you the most can lead you to your best ideas.
How do you relax outside of work?
When the weather is good I go swimming in a lake near my home every day. When the weather is bad I read the internet (which is usually not relaxing).
What recent developments in tech and design most excite you about the future?
Excitement is premature and hard to predict, but it’s clear things are going through a shake up — not so much because of AI itself, but because design cultures within the dominant platforms are so monomaniacally obsessed with it. The silver lining for me is that those who are not so overwhelmingly focused on AI might find some free space for solving real human problems.
Why do you think events like Lead with Tempo are important for the content design community?
Anything that puts bolder and braver leadership at the forefront of the conversation is important, especially now. Plus, I am just one of many content designers who has gone on to lead a wider design team, and it’s always helpful to see that there are many paths forward in a career, not just one. The title doesn’t have to be the territory.
Can you give us a sneaky teaser about something your talk will cover?
I’ll be reflecting on nearly 20 years of my life in 20 minutes, and it’s been a wild ride to synthesise some of the things I’ve learned along the way. I hope it’ll be a look back that will help others (and myself!) look forward.
Join us to see Elizabeth’s talk on June 12th online or in London. Tickets are on sale now.
