Synchronizing Design Team Goals

Are we running our Design Orgs with business rigor and discipline? We must manage the design organization with the same discipline and rigor as a General Manager leads a business unit. Although the design team does not have a profit and loss responsibility, as leaders, we should understand all management aspects of our teams. Here are 6 factors that will elevate Design’s strategic stance in the organization and drive success forward: 1️⃣ Become Financial Stewards: We must have a deep understanding of our design team’s financials, our budget, our sources of funding, and the costs of the team to the organization. As Design leaders, we are responsible for managing resources effectively and ensuring the design function is a financially responsible contributor to the organization. 2️⃣ Align with Organizational Goals and Priorities: As Design leaders, we must ensure our teams understand the company’s overall vision and business objectives. We need to connect the dots and be explicit about how the design work contributes directly to business outcomes like growth, customer acquisition, profitability, and operational efficiency. 3️⃣ Advocate with Balance: We need to balance between advocating for design and advocating for the product team. It is important that we amplify the voice of design in the organization, however, it is important that we bring our partners along. 4️⃣ Communicate with Transparency: We must cultivate an environment of open communication both within the design team and with other business leaders. We need to ensure that together, we anticipate issues and address them early on. 5️⃣ Strive for Operational Excellence: We should have a clear understanding of the team allocation, capacity, and priority alignment across the Design team’s book of work. We must develop a solid DesignOps practice, establish repeatable, efficient processes that allow the design team to scale without compromising quality. Our teams run efficiently when we build a robust operational and cultural framework. 6️⃣ Develop a Strategic Mindset: As design leaders, we must think strategically about our team’s impact on the organization. Understanding the business landscape, making data-informed decisions, and recognizing the importance of cost-efficiency and resource management are all integral to running our design team with business rigor. Under the current economic environment and market pressures, it becomes more important that we adopt a General Manager’s approach to running our Design organizations. These factors ensure that design leadership has a solid foundation for creative vision and strong business discipline, aligning design efforts with the organization’s strategic goals while managing operational efficiency. What is your perspective? I invite you to join the conversation. #Design #Business #Leadership #Impact #Operations #UX #DesignOps

I know why your team's drive doesn’t match company’s goals. Here's how to sync them up. Clear organizational goals are just the beginning. Transformative success lies in the strategic implementation of four unconventional methods that foster deep engagement and shared vision. Let's look at 4 ways to make this alignment happen: 1. Narrative ignition: → Highlight examples of how the organization fulfills its mission. → Share accounts of customer lives improved by the company's work. 2. Champion spotlighting: → Acknowledge team members who exemplify organizational values. → Share examples as to how they are living out the mission. 3. Community catalyst: → Find local causes that match organizational aims. → Offer time off for team volunteering. 4. Soul synchronisation: → Discuss how individual values align with company purpose. → Create spaces for group reflection. These 4 methods are simple in practice, but they take time to become habits. So be patient and stay aligned. Transformative change comes to those who work for it. — P.S. Unlock 20 years' worth of leadership lessons sent straight to your inbox. Every Wednesday, I share exclusive insights and actionable tips on my newsletter. (Link in my bio to sign up). Remember, leaders succeed together.

Design collaboration falls apart without shared expectations. Over the years, I’ve found that even when business goals and user needs are agreed upon, teams can lose sight of what they aim to achieve in the design process. This often happens because the design “process” doesn’t account for everyone’s perspective or goals. Two key areas often break down during iterative design: • What did we learn? • Why are we iterating? Designers often focus too much on refining ideas and lose track of how their work creates value. → What did we learn? Teams can feel uneasy without ways to show the value of their work through metrics. That’s why we use Helio and are developing our open data-informed framework, Glare, to help teams work with UX metrics. Here are common problems: • Missing feedback shows we need early user input • Vague feedback doesn't align with goals • Conflicting priorities need a shared focus • Siloed decisions need full team involvement • Pushback needs better explanations for changes • Misaligned metrics require success measures → Why are we iterating? Struggles often arise when refining ideas. Teams must agree on what "good" looks like and how well designs meet goals… without this, frustration builds quickly. It needs repeating in every design review. Iteration helps to… • Move beyond ideas stuck in the first thoughts • Avoid focusing on details too early • Take time to address interface improvements • Avoid delays from too many opinions (this is tricky) • Fix confusing areas and get on the same page • Balance goals while keeping users in focus Great design reviews and shared goals are the foundation for effective design collaboration. DM me if you want to learn more about how Glare helps with these challenges. I’d love to hear your thoughts. #productdesign #productdiscovery #userresearch #uxresearch