Reflections - Early Lessons as a Design Manager

As I round out my second year as a people manager, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on my journey. In my experience, the best way to ground myself in what I’ve learned is to write it down. This time I’m going to try something new… sharing my reflection with others.

I’ve learned so much about myself as well as leading versus managing since I started managing a team of five very talented and opinionated designers. My team has given me the gift of feedback, hard lessons, and — what I hope to be — long-lasting friendships.

Here are a few of the major lessons I’ve learned over these two years:

1. Let go of “nice” in order to be kind

You will better serve yourself, your team, and your teammates by being kind rather than nice.

This means that you should always focus on your teammates true needs over your own need to be liked. For example, not sharing constructive feedback because it is difficult or you don’t want to hurt feelings is the biggest disservice you could provide.

Be kind to your teammates and don’t shy from the more difficult conversations. These will help them grow (and — by the way — you will grow from them as well). Plus, not sharing something — say, that a teammate is minimizing someone’s voice in meetings — will just lead to a suboptimal outcome. Have the conversations. Get vulnerable. Let teammates know the potential outcome of their behavior and talk through how the situation could be different in the future.

Additionally, there’s another perspective to be concerned about: Not only does not sharing constructive feedback stifle an individual’s ability to grow, but it will affect your entire team too. The team you build is only as strong as the weakest player. Everyone on the team (including you) works to hold each other up through the course of organizational changes, problem-solving, and difficult setbacks. If you have a teammate who isn’t holding up their end of the deal and you aren’t talking to them about it, you are letting the rest of the team down. This is especially true for your most senior teammates — they want to be inspired and grow, but they won’t necessarily be fulfilled and enriched solely through mentorship and coaching.

I’ll be honest, this one is a struggle for me. I truly do care about what others think of me. I want folks to enjoy working with me, but being ‘too nice’ can get in the way of that. So, I now focus on being the kindest leader I can be, calling things out for each of my teammates as appropriate. I’m not always right, but we are growing stronger as a team — and that’s more important.

To help myself remember this focus, I came up with a new mantra: Be brave enough to be OK with others not liking me.

2. Decisions should always start with conversations

You can better serve your team by including them in decision-making.

Decisions must always start with conversations. As a manager, you rarely have all of the inputs to make the best decision on your own. The best leaders look to their teammates and ask what they think. This is not only to involve them in the process of finding a solution but also to ensure that you, as the decision-maker, do the right thing for your teammates.

I recently made a big mistake: I delivered a decision without a prior conversation with a teammate. I was aware that I was going against my best judgment, but, the circumstances were a bit different and I thought I shouldn’t rock the boat. Well, I was wrong…big time. I was so wrong that others were raising their hands to ask “why would such a decision be made?” Thankfully, everything ended up working out OK, and, we learned a number of lessons as a leadership team. However, we did erode some trust with folks.

Asking your team how they feel about decisions, even if you may not be able to influence the direction of the decision, ensures that the team knows you are thinking about them, their careers, and their success — not just about the success of a project or initiative. Over time, this will build a stronger, more transparent relationship between you and your team, making the hard decisions a bit easier for you all to make…together.

3. Remember that we’re all human

Serve your team by showing that everyone is human — even the executives.

I think almost everyone can relate to being nervous or afraid to speak to the C-suite. Over the past two years, I have noticed if I am calm and unfazed by sharing our WIP to any level in the organization, my team will follow suit. Over time, through leading by example, teammates have become less nervous and overwhelmed when speaking to or presenting in front of the most senior leaders in our organization.

It takes a great deal of time and effort on your part as a manager to help your teammates get comfortable with this required challenge (at least for my team of designers). Your role in this is to give your team the tools they need to succeed while amplifying their voice and ensuring they have the right platform. The outcome — a well-spoken and confident team — is absolutely worth it.

Don’t hesitate to lead by example…that’s (partially) what you are there for.

4. Hire people who are better than you

Hiring people who are better than you ensures that your team grows together.

When I first started hiring people, I questioned my abilities and wondered if I should be in this managerial role at all. Some of the work I saw blew my portfolio out of the water — why should I hire someone who is going to make me look bad?

What I found was quite the opposite.I hired that stellar portfolio (with the help of my team) and have personally grown so much. I’ve learned how to be an even stronger leader and how to find great side projects for the insatiable designer.

Instead of making these decisions on my own, I brought my team into the conversation. I shared resumes and portfolios of people I thought could be a good complement to the team. I received feedback from my team, which made me feel much more confident that I was doing what was right for them. I learned they (even the most senior members of the team) wanted to hire others they could learn from or be inspired by.

After hiring a couple of these people that we as a team chose, I am much less concerned about how my portfolio stacks up. Now, I’m focused on more important things, like finding inspiration for a team that will thrive together no matter what challenge is thrown our way.

I’ve had the privilege of learning so much from my team and am excited to continue growing with my teammates. I can’t wait to share more learnings as they come. 🤓