I started a new job almost two years ago and besides designing screens I felt that I could do something more, first I thought to go into product management, but I had the opportunity to join a new team, which gave me the opportunity to build our team from the ground up.

I didn’t see myself as a team leader at first, but I took the opportunity because I knew someone would have to lead the team at some point. Apart from the fact that I could make more impact, my drive came from the fact that I want to build and work in a great and motivating environment and I know that by taking the opportunity I will be able to achieve it. During this time, I studied some things, which I will share below.

What is the difference between the team design leader and the senior designer?

I believe that neither of these positions is superior since both can live close to each other. It is about what each of these positions does on a daily basis that differentiates them. While the team leaders focus on management stuff like organizing the team, searching for new designers, writing templates, and building methods for the team, the senior designers focus on solving complex design problems that need high skills and experience.

Leaders are curious and willing to grow.

As a leader, you must always learn new things. You cannot permit yourself to be out of date. You should always study the latest techniques and improve your design knowledge consistently. It will enable you to push the team forward and understand your team members. Let`s take for example designing tokens. How does it look when your team members or another team leader ask you to build a “Design Tokens” system, and you have no idea what they are. it is a concept that many designers talking about for a long time so I believe this situation is not acceptable.

Design leaders build bridges cross-functionally.

A design leader is responsible for working both inside and outside the team. It is your responsibility to build a bridge between different departments to facilitate communication and cooperation. For example, you can speak with the leaders of the development team and collaborate with him or them to improve the design handoff process.

Design leaders make mistakes and show it

We all commit mistakes, but not all of us admit to them. When you make a mistake, tell your design team, “I made a mistake,” not “we made a mistake,” but “I made a mistake.” By that, you show that you took responsibility for the mistake.

It shows your team that mistakes are okay. Having the understanding that it is okay to make mistakes among team members will give them the freedom to try things and fail. Furthermore, it will encourage members to take responsibility for their work, enabling them to resolve problems independently rather than asking for assistance every time they face a problem.

Let the creative people do the work

In general, design leaders tend to think that they should be the ones guiding their designers for each small detail, which is not the most effective approach. The designers in your team will not be able to specialize in their job, and will not be able to take full ownership of their work if you be involved in every small detail they need to take.

Your job is to help people make the right decisions when they are at work. By creating a clear method for how to work, prioritize things, make decisions, and push for a clear design system, you will be able to watch how your team functions without having to ask. When the people in your team solve problems without asking you for every detail, they will do a better job and you will be able to focus more on management tasks and not on small details.

Design leadership is about empowering the people

When it comes to your team, show them that they are talented and can achieve anything they want. The key to this point is to say “Yes you can do it”. If you have a designer in your team who wants to make things better but doesn’t have experience, just explain to them how you think they can do it. So you show them that they aren’t alone and someone cares about them. Remember that they’re liable to make mistakes. However, the best thing you can do is encourage them to take full ownership and explain that making mistakes is a step on the way to success.

Another simple example could be. A designer that has a goal to learn new skills but finds it difficult to learn. You can push them to do so by sending them to a course, watching with them tutorials, and maybe studying with them the topic.

Trust the people

A key way to empower people is to trust them. They must feel that you trust them when you give them a task. This encourages them to take ownership because they will not want to disappoint you. On the other hand, you know what they do but do not take a look at every small detail to show your knowledge. Remember, if you trust them it means that they know to make the job.

Ask “WHY”

Whenever you work with designers in your team, ask “WHY”. That way, you can understand how your team member takes some decisions and how they think about solving problems. For example, if you see that a teammate is building a flow but not solving some edge cases, try to find out why they didn’t do so. In many cases, you will find that they are aware of the points you mention and have a great answer. In some cases, you can see their responses and help them if needed.

The culture of the team is important

We can define culture by the beliefs and behaviors of the members. Who’s on your team and who you hire makes a huge difference. That will affect how people in the team work together, and how they react to challenges. For example, there can be two different teams, one where people don’t support each other, and one where people do. A team that doesn’t support each other won’t help one of the members when there’s a challenge. However, if the team helps each other, they’ll be able to support each other and find a solution together.

Come with ideas

A leader needs a vision of where he or she wants to take the team. Leadership is about thinking about the future, creating a vision, building plans, and pushing them forward. This requires the leader to involve and convince the team.

Create workflows and templates.

There are many tasks you need to repeat. For these cases, you should build clear workflows and templates, which will save you time and energy. For instance: In order to onboard new employees, it is best to build a clear onboarding process and repeat it for each new member.

Build Empathy to your team members

Empathy refers to the ability to share or understand someone else’s feelings or emotions, and it is crucial for building relationships. To build a productive and healthy team, it is essential to develop empathy for your team members. Empathizing with your team members allows you to relate to them and understand them better. As a result, you will be more open to new ideas and suggestions, and be more willing to accept feedback.

Give good words

All of us want to feel valuable. Positive feedback shows your team members that you care about them, their work, their wellbeing, and their overall growth in the team. This will motivate them to do better and create a positive working environment.

Ask for feedback

It is quite funny that in many places managers give direct feedback to employees but managers receive anonymous feedback. For me, this is not fair. I believe that design leaders should receive feedback directly from their team members. In this situation, problems can be solved more quickly since no wall separates the two parties. Furthermore, strong leaders are not afraid to ask for feedback from their team members due to their confidence in their abilities and skills.

Improve your listening skills

Listening to your team members is an essential skill for a design leader. Listening to your people will increase their willingness to follow you, build trust between your team and you, making them feel valued since you take the time to listen to them. On the other side when you listen to them, you will understand their perspective, the challenges they face, and thus, be able to better understand them.

Inspire the people

Inspiring people and helping them to grow is key. You can do this by encouraging people to try new things, teaching them essential skills, providing honest feedback (positive or negative), and, of course, leading by example. All of these things will motivate them, and your design team will become stronger and more productive.

Have a clear vision

A design leader must communicate a clear vision. The vision is the overarching goal that his team will work to accomplish. He or she must imagine where the team will be in the future and work toward it. It makes the work more interesting and gives you the energy to do it every day.

Organize the work

Design leaders should organize tasks to ensure members are more efficient and prevent time from being wasted. Team members will feel that everything is under control and that they have someone that takes care of them so that they can work more efficiently and effectively.

Thanks for reading the article. I hope this article will help you as a design leader. Please feel free to share it with your friends or members of your team, and if you have any questions, please let me know.

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