Reflections
Leadership truly is a balancing act
I’ve always excelled in product design, ops, and strategy. Over time I’ve also become really good at mentoring and leadership. What I WASN'T good at was balancing leadership with IC work. I’d been doing it for years, but always within the safe space of an agency where I could lean on others for support. Here, there was no safety net or support system for me when I was close to burnout. I’m going to be honest, I really struggled the first couple of months.
I wanted to give my full attention to these things, but I was also supposed to be directly contributing to the redesign.
Hiring was harder than it had been for me in the past due to a super slim budget. The team lacked process across the US and UK making it hard to keep design consistent. The more junior talent needed a lot of handholding. I wanted to give my full attention to these things, but I was also supposed to be directly contributing to the redesign. F*ck.
After working overtime for a while to try to meet all these demands, I realized that was not going to work long-term. I made a plan to make the team more self-sufficient so that I could focus on the most important parts of my job:
- I implemented an iteration of a buddy system that worked well at one of my previous agencies, partnering senior talent with juniors and new hires to answer questions and help them learn the ropes, while I remained available for more in-depth mentoring.
- I delegated work more freely and made design critiques fun. I empowered my team to take ownership of their work by building regular peer review sessions into our workflow. It was really rewarding to see them start to reach out to each other more frequently for feedback.
- I did one of the things I’m an expert at and built out processes. I created an automated intake process using Slack’s workflow builder that made it easy for our designers to pick up work based on business priority without having to get too involved. I built a design system and spearheaded design documentation, creating great self-led reference material for the team.
What I've learned here has significantly enhanced my ability to lead and manage design teams in demanding environments.
This experience forced me to confront a critical leadership gap, but by delegating effectively, fostering a collaborative culture, and implementing efficient processes, I successfully transformed my team into a more self-sufficient unit. What I've learned here has significantly enhanced my ability to lead and manage design teams in demanding environments.
