1. 1. The Accidental Design Leader
2. 2. A few years ago I spotted a trend
3. 3. Designers now had a seat at the table
4. 4. But
5. 5. Rather than being happy Many were stressed
6. 6. New problems to deal with
7. 7. Theyd fallen for the myth of leadership
8. 8. All you need is power to make change
9. 9. All you need is power to make change
10. 10. Power gives you more opportunity to influence
11. 11. You need to develop a new set of skills
12. 12. over tea and cake The pattern became clear
13. 13. Finding talent #1
14. 14. Retaining talent #2
15. 15. Executing at pace #3
16. 16. Managing up #4
17. 17. Managing down #5
18. 18. wasn't for them? Maybe design management
19. 19. Mount Stupid Stuck in the Trough of disillusionment Plateaux of productivity Trough of disillusionment
20. 20. Design Leadership is still relatively new
21. 21. Accidental Leader for the past 12 years
22. 22. I helped found a new design Leadership Community
23. 23. leadingdesignconf.com leadingdesign.slack.com &
24. 24. I never set out to lead design teams
25. 25. The living embodiment of the Peter Principal
26. 26. I hated ego-driven savant leadership
27. 27. servant leadership I preferred ego-less
28. 28. Hire people better than you and give them the space to excel
29. 29. Good leaders try to make themselves redundant
30. 30. Bad leaders dictate Good leaders delegate
31. 31. Processes dont make great products, people do
32. 32. Hire people with a calling Not a great looking resume
33. 33. Finding talent #1
34. 34. people want to be on Build the team
35. 35. first mover advantage Reputation, outreach and
36. 36. The best designers want growth Money is just table stakes
37. 37. Invests in people Signal that your company
38. 38. to do great work Create the best environment
39. 39. brilliant arseholes Hire slow, and avoid
40. 40. than an arsehole Its better to have a hole
41. 41. Retaining talent #2
42. 42. on your interview promises Make sure you follow through
43. 43. keep people focussed Clear values and mission
44. 44. they won't want to leave Foster a collaborative culture
45. 45. people leave You are the main reason
46. 46. or theyll burn out Give the team space
47. 47. experiment and innovate Schedule time to
48. 48. Now Next Future 6wks 6mths 6yrs Design for now, next, & future
49. 49. Great designers deliver Good designers design
50. 50. Executing at pace #3
51. 51. remove organisational barriers Great design leaders
52. 52. so your team don't have to Pick up the trash
53. 53. between design and development Break down the silos
54. 54. are a huge productivity boon Design Systems
55. 55. has a vital role to play Design Operations
56. 56. on creating high performance teams Lessons from Aristotle
57. 57. Impact
58. 58. Meaning Impact
59. 59. Structure & Clarity Meaning Impact
60. 60. Dependability Structure & Clarity Meaning Impact
61. 61. Psychological Safety Dependability Structure & Clarity Meaning Impact
62. 62. Managing up #4
63. 63. the value of design Your job is to promote
64. 64. the language of business You need to speak
65. 65. not battle lines Create partnerships
66. 66. governance layer Weave design into the
67. 67. not a shit funnel Be a shit umbrella
68. 68. Get a leadership coach Leaders need support
69. 69. Managing down #5
70. 70. managing upwards Dont spend all your time
71. 71. look after their teams Great Design Leaders
72. 72. regular one-on-ones Make sure you have
73. 73. and connect to people Take time to walk the floor
74. 74. feedback Provide actionable
75. 75. Care personally Challenge Directly Ruinous Empathy Radical Candor Manipulative Insincerity Obnoxious Agression
76. 76. Supporting Coaching DirectingDelegating INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCY DIRECTIVE BEHAVIOUR INDIVIDUALMOTIVATION SUPPORTIVEBEHAVIOUR
77. 77. and critique privately Make sure you praise publicly
78. 78. individual growth Support your teams
79. 79. Lead Principal Director VP A leading performer who prefers to manage projects over managing people. Indispensable individual contributor. Dynamic leader, focused on strategic vision, growing talent and execution Articulate a compelling vision; help run the company Depth, expertise, innovation, persuasion, strategic, condence; programs not projects Breadth, mentorship, evangelism, thought leadership, visionary, storytelling Mentorship, new value creation, organization-wide leadership, planning; operations Recruiting and hiring; establishing culture; accountability; vision, evangelism Leads the delivery of shipped products; Delivered successful work at the scope of product areas Leads teams in framing and solving hard problems; has driven innovative efforts that uncovered new value with new kinds of experiences; presents company as an industry leader in design Signicant management experience (teams up to 10 people); recruited and hired teams Successfully run design organizations (of around 10-15 or fewer); Demonstrated ability to engage executive leadership across the company
80. 80. accountability Provide autonomy with
81. 81. Unaware Blame others Excuses Wait and hope Acknowledge reality Own it Find solutions Get on with it Accountability Ladder
82. 82. Tell me what to do I think I recommend I would like to I intent to Ive done Ive been doing Leadership Ladder
83. 83. I see repeating themselves Those were the 5 key concerns
84. 84. Finding talent#1 Retaining talent#2 Executing at pace#3 Managing up#4 Managing down#5
85. 85. my personal experiences Ive tried to share
86. 86. approach to leadership There's no one-size-fits-all
87. 87. common wisdom and tactics Instead its a mix of
88. 88. but its still not being done A lot of this is obvious
89. 89. but its still not being done A lot of this is obvious bleeding
90. 90. Good Leaders Servetheirteams Hire people better than them selves Make themselves redundant Invest in their teams Create space to do great work Setcompelling visions Foster collaboration Create a thriving work culture Empower teams Remove barriers Provide air cover Operationalise design Em bed design in the governance layer Supportindividual growth Promotethe valueofdesign
91. 91. Is EASY to understand Good design leadership
92. 92. to execute well Its bloody HARD
93. 93. Thank You Follow me @andybudd