Practical Guide
Are you a design leader?
Top 5 attributes you can use to find out now!
Every design team has its own set of attributes for what it takes to be a product designer or a leader in their company. Think Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google, or VMware — we all have different bars and attributes for designers at our companies. But no matter how different our perspectives are, we all swear-by-them because we know it has created value for us. However, I’ve noticed that no matter how elaborate, different or even divergent these attributes are, there is a lack of practical guidelines on exactly what to look for in a candidate depending on the seniority of the role. As such, a designer on my team wasn’t sure how to evaluate design leaders and reached out for help. What you are about to read is a result of that conversation — here are five attributes you can use to screen for design leaders.
1. Are you inspired by their body of work?
Leadership is the art of getting things done — it is a craft. To be an effective leader, amongst other things, you must be able to inspire and influence your team to elevate their creative delivery to the next level. As such, it is critical that we are inspired by the candidate’s portfolio presentation. You want to come out feeling that you learned something new and be inspired to try something new and push your own boundaries. Does this person have a point-of-view or vision for the future of design? Is it so exciting that you want to be a part of it too?
2. Do you see originality/creativity?
Originality/creativity in the design portfolio is a clear signal that the candidate is a creator. Before you can be a design leader, you must first be a designer — a creator — a master of your craft. Is there anything truly original or creative in their design portfolio? If there isn’t, there’s no reason to believe they would exhibit that in a leadership role, or more problematically, even value that attribute in designers on their team.
3. Are they a visual thinker vs. a verbal thinker?
Design is very visual (regardless of fidelity). Portfolios should be very visual and not be walls of text. WYSIWYG — what you see is what you get. If you are seeing walls of text, this is a sign that they will deliver walls of text for your company! However if you are deep into design, you’ll find ways to quickly communicate your intent in a highly visual and engaging manner. You need someone who can visualize a great future and lead you to it.
4. Are they a blue-sky designer vs. a process-driven designer?
Is there a precedence in their work history of grabbing something by the horns in the midst of uncertainty and getting it done effectively in a short period of time? Do they value agility as an integral part of their work? Can this person quickly generate ideas, a vision or a hypothesis on their own? Or do they rely primarily on generative research for their ideation and a process to determine their outcome? In leadership roles, you need someone who can be a generator of ideas, craft that vision, lead in the absence of certainty and make sense of the apparent chaos in order to provide structure/clarity for their team.
5. How is their emphasis on craft vs. process?
As a designer, our craft is our core skill. Process is important but it is just a means to an end — our craft has a greater bearing on the quality of the product. An easy way to learn about the candidate’s emphasis is to search their portfolio for attributes related to design craft — craft, delightful, awesome, desirable and the like. Now compare that with the instances of attributes related to process — process, techniques, methods, activities and the like. You will not believe how accurate this is in predicting what outcomes you can expect from them. In almost every case, you will see a clear pattern emerge. The bottom-line is that there is no replacement for craft; and process no matter how important can never make up for it. So think about what is important to your team — someone who relies on craft or process to sail through the unknown?
Good luck! My best wishes to you.
