UX leader interview: Sebastian Toomey at Google
I had the pleasure of chatting with longtime friend and fellow surfer Sebastian Toomey, who’s currently at Google working on cyber security. Although we’ve known each other coming on 20 years (!), we’ve rarely talked shop, so it was refreshing to hear about his career, and get his take on what leadership in design means.
Pick your battles
Designers can often be the ones to raise the red or orange flag when they see things going off the rails, or not staying true to user’s needs.
“Being candid and direct, people can take it or leave it — I consider that leadership. [But] You have to be judicious with it, which is why you have to pick your battles — otherwise you’re a curmudgeon!”
Sometimes it’s OK to let things go in service of preserving social capital, not everything is a 5-alarm design fire, so be careful with how much you put your foot down.
The tools ≠ the craft
With younger designers, it can be easy to get lost in the fancy aspects of tooling, over-polishing complicated prototypes rather than making sure the underlying UX thinking is solid.
“I see a fair number of people forgetting that Figma, crazy prototypes, etc…it’s not the actual product! Finding that sweet spot, just the right amount to get the job done; this allows you to stay sane and fast and nimble.”
Making sure that the fundamentals are covered, that you’ve validated your assumptions, tested designs with users, got cross functional buy-in; this is the craft of UX.
Keep an eye out for opportunities
If you’re in a comfortable role at a company, it can be easy to get complacent and miss out on opportunities that might otherwise be good for your career progression, or give you the chance to learn something new.
“It’s easy to lose track of things when you’re super busy!”
Keeping a little energy in reserve to look for the next thing is always a good reminder to prevent stagnation.
Find out what drives you
A big part of what can help a designer stay engaged, or find the next thing, is having an awareness and understanding about what keeps your cup full. For Sebastian, a big part of what drives him is making sure his work is mission-driven.
“Finding the things that keep you engaged, always checking in about what’s important in your life.”
Crucially, sometimes this can mean prioritizing your non-work life over your career — and that’s totally OK.
Find a good mentor
Sebastian has been fortunate to attend great conferences and workshops over the years — like Adaptive Path’s (RIP) — but notes that there can be no substitute for learning from other people in positions of leadership, even peers.
This resonates with me deeply; even though I haven’t had any official “mentors” as such, in almost every role I’ve singled out the key people I can learn from and done my best to be a sponge. Mentors don’t have to be older folks with 30 years under their belts, they come in all shapes and sizes — and might not even be designers (gasp!).
Are you a designer and curious about design leadership or have an opinion to share? Let me interview you as part of my upcoming book, Leading UX: a no B.S. handbook for leaders in design.
