This topic has been sitting on my list of articles to write about for quite some time, and to be very candid, I’ve resisted addressing it for the longest time since I sincerely believe it to be a very polarizing topic. However, more recently and as part of a series of conversations with fellow Designers of different seniority levels, this was a discussion that kept on coming up, particularly in a job market as volatile as the one we currently face (as of this writing, June of 2022).

This article has some bridges to others I have written in the past, focused on Career paths in Design, which you can read here and here. As always, I’m hoping this article generates some interesting reflections and conversations between professionals in this field.

Leadership and Career Paths — When answering questions on how to get into the Design Industry or shifting career paths and becoming a Designer, I’ve always said to each one of my interlocutors, that each person is in herself, a very unique case. During my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a vast array of professionals, some of whom went through a college degree in Graphic Design, and then eventually ventured into Interactive and Product Design, others who never went to college, and actually have been self taught professionals, to others who had a lengthy career in a completely different field, and at some point decided to change paths, embraced some bootcamps and workshops, and started a career in Design (to name but a few). All this to say, everyone’s journey is very unique.

When one looks at the definition of Designer on Wikipedia, it reads something like this “A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or experiences can be referred to as a designer.” While the term was originally devised to contemplate mostly Architects, Designers these days are, and thankfully so, mostly viewed as problem solving professionals, who are capable of understanding the complexities of problems, across its multiple facets, and while applying a solidly crafted process, deliver solutions that are sensical, and aligned with market desirability, clients needs, business requirements, cost effectiveness, longevity, inclusivity and a solid return on investment. The problem that has haunted Designers for the longest time, is the constant association the term has with Artists and particularly the somewhat pernicious association that comes from that. With all due respect to Artists, for most individuals who work in the Corporate World, this category of professionals is typically someone who works on their own terms, with their own timelines, where the output of their work, is a vision solely driven by them, and as well as it should be. That’s why they’re Artists. Their work, is an expression of their point of view (even when they take on commissions). However Design is not a synonym with Art, and while there’s a principle of Design under the mantle of Aesthetics, that doesn’t make these disciplines any closer. All this preamble to say: Designers have firstly to be thinkers, to be good listeners, researchers, and consequently problem solvers. They have to be able to understand the problems they’re solving, with data and substantial information, which justifies what they’re crafting, and through an effective (and thorough) process, test the validity of those concepts. And eventually of course, release that solution to market.

Getting to Design Leadership and is that Teachable — Going back to the root of this article, many leaders in Product Design and Experience Design, aren’t formally trained Designers, and in fact, have not gone through the layers of working through the multiple Design ranks that the discipline in itself holds. Some are professionals who have worked in Product related fields, others come from Customer Experience and others come from the Development side of the world (to name but a few common scenarios). The reason why these professionals are Directors of a practice they may not necessarily be in tune with is secondary, and not the focus of this reflection, since that also depends on each Organization, and where that same Organization is in terms of Product/Experience Design maturity.

In Organizations where the Product Design/Experience Design culture is limited/emergent, Design will typically fall under the guise of the Product Discipline, which also means that in many cases the person leading this combination of disciplines (Product and Design), while at times appreciative and knowledgeable of the Design practice, isn’t in actuality a former practitioner and eventually has to hire someone to come in to compliment that obvious gap in the team (particularly in the leadership angle that the team needs). For Organizations that are in fact Design Centric, Design Leaders are far more frequently professionals who have evolved through the different layers of the Product Design discipline (and once more, each case is different, though the market will always look to professionals who have worked for well known Organizations as a reassurance of status, sometimes in detriment of capabilities, but once again, it’s important to consider each case as its own). This is a reflection on the fact that Design as a discipline has a seat at the table, on par with all the other disciplines, and the importance of having someone who understands the challenges positioned to this group is fundamental.

In Summary: not everyone in Design Leadership is in reality a Designer who was (or is) a practitioner of the discipline, and many professionals become leaders in this field for a variety of reasons, some tied to their problem solving skills, others to the fact they understand the relationship between Design and Product Development, and others from the fact they’re technologists who have evolved in their field, and Design lands on their ecosystem, even if they’re not necessarily acquainted with the scope of what Product Design professionals actually do (to name but a few frequent scenarios).

Second realization: not all Designers have the same background and formal training. Product Design is comprised of a series of disciplines, and not every single professional is going to be a stellar one across all of them. Some Design Leaders have a background in Research, others in Interaction Design, others in Content Writing (and the list goes on). Much like the first observation, what eventually happens, is that these Leaders eventually hire professionals (and leaders) who can compliment their own skills.

Third realization: Leadership is teachable, and there is a variety of speakers and books on the topic (some of the most famous books on this topic includes, “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, but others equally celebrated include “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries and “Tribes” by Seth Godin), however when it comes to the Design field, the most effective vision and comprehensive approach to both solving problems and empowering these particular professionals, as I’ve come to realize and witness, comes from professionals who have gone through the ranks of the field, ones who truly understand the challenges that lie on each phase of the process itself. That’s not to say there isn’t merit in leadership that isn’t based on experience in the field, but that is a situation where that gap, that shallowness will eventually translate into the need to compliment that particular professional’s point of view, with someone who has an actual view and insight into the discipline itself.

Job families, career advancement in Design, or for that matter in any professional field, is a topic always open for an ongoing discussion. For Designers in particular, I will opine that the opportunity for a career advancement should be based upon the intersection of skillset, continuous education and the work this person has been able to deliver and produce (and in which context did that happen). Getting to be a leader at times can be a matter of circumstance, of timing, opportunity, but for Designers and professionals in general, there should be a layer of self awareness, which allows them to properly assess if they are indeed ready for that challenge, and if not, how can they compliment their own skills either through a new hire or leveraging further training/education.

President John F. Kennedy wrote on the topic of Leadership and Learning:

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”