The growing field making the world better for humans, and providing great careers for women

Reprinted from a partner content piece on Women’s Agenda, Feb 2017

Leadership alone is not enough for great problem solving and innovation.

But leadership that incorporates design thinking into crafting new solutions for products and services, and even across some of the biggest challenges of our time (think climate change, the ageing population and childcare), can be transformative.

That’s why more and more corporates, agencies, not-for-profits and governments are catching on to design thinking. It’s also why the field is currently producing an excellent range of great female practitioners, and creating more brilliant career opportunities for women in the process.

As strategic designer Dr Zaana Howard explains, using practices of design thinking, like strategic design or service design, can transform anything. “It’s about being in the business of making our lives as easy as possible, improving the experience for customers, clients, patients, employees.”

She’s built a successful career in the field. Having recently returned from four months of travelling, she’s also just started a full-time role with a major consulting firm to help it determine strategic design solutions. Her goal in the field is ultimately to make “every day life better for humans.”

It’s a big ambition, and one that requires practitioners like Howard to not only be across the design practices involved, but to also embrace a form of leadership that’s mindful, critical and vulnerable.

Kate Storey is completing the Master of Design Futures online at RMIT University, to help firm up her understanding of the field, and develop the leadership skills necessary to build a design thinking practice.

Studying the degree online while working fulltime and raising a child, Storey saw the Masters as an investment in herself, and an opportunity to choose how she’d work in the future.

Having originally studied art history, Storey’s worked across a number of fields including marketing, advertising and technology, before she found a niche in online customer experience, including as head of digital with Aesop.

That’s when she embraced and got obsessed with service design, a practice of design thinking that she describes as putting the customer at the heart of the conversation. She initially completed a short course in the field at RMIT, before being encouraged to complete the entire masters program. She studies while working full-time, devoting a full day on her weekends to completing the course online and making use of RMIT’s online platform, enabling students to connect with their classmates across the world and use their own virtual studio.

“I was told I would enjoy it and so I just went with it. It was a chance to embrace ambiguity,” she says. “It’s been the best thing I’ve done for myself, since having my son, or going to Europe and seeing bigger things. A huge investment in myself.”

She says that as a mother, it’s also been an opportunity to use her previous work experience and study to transform into a new career — one that offers flexibility, and the chance to build an in-demand consulting practice. “I really think this field is a huge opportunity for women who’re looking to draw from their previous experience and then equip themselves with new skills to be able to lead these major projects.”

“I have the freedom to consult for good money in roles where I’m learning. In terms of asking myself, ‘how do I design a solution to my priorities at home’ well this is it! I believe it’s been a bridge into something so much more flexible, which is particularly important for women in digital.”

She adds that the work involved in service design is a great fit for women. “Being a service designer is a blend of many things and the observational, reflective capability of women, is a great asset. Being able to read thing intuitively, and being a little more comfortable with those sensory capabilities is an advantage.” Storey adds that it’s by no means a “women only” field, but rather that a diverse mix of people are needed to see it further develop successfully.

Howard, who completed a PhD called Design Thinking in Practice in Large Organisations and now teaches with RMIT, says she secured her new job while she was still traveling, which demonstrates just how in-demand such expertise currently are.

“If you become senior in this industry, there is just so much work available,” she says. “I never thought I’d end up in an area where I’m valued enough to be so in demand, to have people approaching me.”

Storey agrees. “Getting the first gig can be tough, like anywhere, but this market is hot and once you’ve got experience people are hitting you up for work,” she says. ‘If you’re looking to get a foot in the door, it’s a huge advantage to have completed the RMIT course or to even just have it in progress.”

So what makes a good candidate for a design thinking-based career? Howard believes it’s for people who’re at a mature stage in their own growth and development: those who can be truly authentic, and who care enough about humanity and the human experience to be able to observe without their own bias getting in the way.

“It really is about getting to the heart of people: to understand them, empathise with them and walk in their shoes, and not just do that at a skill level, but also at a mindset level, to see the world from that perspective.”

Still, Howard believes learning is essential, particularly for those who want to be leaders in the field. “It’s still buzzy wordy,” she says. “Call it ‘design thinking’, ‘human centred design’, ‘customer user experience’ there are many terms. We’re finding people are calling themselves practitioners in this area without completely knowing what it’s really about.”

Keen to learn more? The Master of Design Futures at RMIT is an excellent alternative leadership pathway to the conventional MBA, especially for designers or similar professionals looking to apply their skills to strategic and leadership roles.

You can get a taste of the discourses and practices covered in the Masters in this free MOOC on Futurelearn: Designing the Future [https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/designing-futures], which opened on 6 Feb.