Almost ten years ago, I authored an article for UX Magazine on how to lead a UX Team, and recently reread that piece to remind myself of the ideas I expressed there. I’ve learned a lot since then, so I decided to write a “sequel” to that piece detailing some of the new approaches I have cultivated in my career. Hope you like it.
“Table stakes”
I considered eight different cliches when it comes to deciding on what to call this section, with terms like “empower your team” and “set people up for success.” In the end I realized the management approach I wanted to cover was “table stakes” all good managers need to do.
Essentially, this: Make sure your team has what they need to do their best work. That means the proper inputs, the right level of partnership with product and engineering, and that everyone keeps talking. That’s it.
And sometimes it is easier said than done. At a previous employer, the product team did not partner well with UX. The relationship was more of a “customer-vendor” one, than a true partnership. In that case I tries to work through the issue with product leadership to ensure that the team was working a cohesive unit instead of in silos. I partially succeeded, which given the situation was the best I could have hoped for.
“Two ears, one mouth.”
One of my mentors at Microsoft told me something that has always stuck with me. Which was “two ears, one mouth.” The meaning was clear – Listen twice as much as you talk, and when you are talking try and ask questions of the person you are speaking to. It’s an axiom I have tried to practice constantly. It helps me understand where people on the team are “coming from” and helps me give them what they need. It also helps a lot in my personal life as well…
Keeping the right balance
I work to monitor my team every week, making sure they are focused on their own tasks… And not doing another team’s job for them. A good example of this was on a project where the product manager was not providing the detailed requirements the designer needed, and he ended up spending cycles defining it by himself. I complemented him on his initiative, but also “dinged” him… Reinforcing that he needed to take care of his area of focus (UX) and not “back-fill” when the product team is not doing what they were charged with. It was, at the core of it, an unfair situation. And unbalanced. I talked to both him and the product owner, letting the PO know this was affecting our ability to deliver. The situation was rectified, and everyone was able to get their work done in a collaborative manner.
I also spend a lot of effort making sure the work that the team does is “load balanced”. If one of the team is working 60 hours and another is working 30, something is wrong.
Finally, I also encourage a strong work-life balance. We are now in a post-COVI19 world, and the concept of an office is definitely “pre-COVID thinking.” And if people can work anywhere, then I encourage the tam take full advantage of such a situation, and literally work anywhere. There’s a term called “Bliesure travel” I have had multiple team members who have gone to places like Orlando to work in a hotel during the day and do the theme parks at night. If they get the work done, and have a reliable internet connection… They could be on a cruise ship for all I care.
Set the proper expectations
It’s always important to establish roles and responsibilities. I consistently request a kickoff meeting and a RACI chart whenever possible. I also want UX to be involved in sprint planning and retrospectives, so that they can set – and as need be, reset expectations – appropriately, and at the right time. And as I noted in the last section, I wasn’t people to staying “in their lane” and not do some else’s job for them.
“Stretching”
When it comes to mentoring, I encourage “stretching” and having people try new things. And failure is never a problem. That’s how you learn.
I use MBOs (management by objective) in my current role, but I want to make sure that these goals are not mine, they are the UX designers. If these goals align with the companies, so much the better. But I believe in encouraging creative people to be… Well, creative. If they want to try something new, I encourage it. If they don’t, and are comfortable with the role and the work they are doing… Well, I still will “gently nudge” people to consider trying new and different things.
Give your team what they want, and help them get better
A while back, one of my team came to me and said he wanted to be senior designer and asked what he needed to do to get there. My director at the time did not think he was “ready” but was unable to articulate why. I was already in the process of working with the other design managers to develop a job ladder and capability matrix for all the roles, so I used his request to work though potential gaps in this documentation before rolling it out. The result was a focused mentoring session that not only respond to his questions about his career but also helped establish the process for the rest of the team.
One thing I recommended work on was storytelling, a key talent all good design folks have. How to get better? Reading classic literature and writing his own stories. Even if the end results would not be that good, he could at least pick up some of the key characteristics of what made a good story… And this would help him better communicate designs in the future.
Keep up morale
While there are benefits to “working anywhere”, remote work for many is not optimal. Being stuck in front of a screen and not being able to collaborate in person with peers can make some people stir-crazy and/or depressed… So, I am continuously worried about team morale. I have setup “playtime” every quarter and sent people “prizes” in the mail (out of my own pocket) as rewards for winning the weird games we setup. I ran a virtual pinball tournament at an offsite, brining my Switch.
Do I as a manager have to do this? No, but it’s important. If you care about your people, this is what you do.
Mentor, encourage, and celebrate success
I have had a lot of opportunities to mentor young designers. One of the greats successes was when I worked with a product manager in Australia who really wanted to get into UX. So, I interviewed him and then decided to ask that he be moved into my team. He had a design background and was incredibly enthusiastic.
I stepped him through our design process and asked him what he wanted to work on, and he leaned heavily into research. He helped us test new desktop designs, interview users, and eventually I put him in charge of the mobile design. He is now a UX Director living in the UK. I take little credit in his success, but I definitely celebrate it.
Apply empathy (more than anything else)
I have a strong work ethic. And expect people to work hard but not kill themselves. People have a different rhythm than me. If you know anything about me (and have read about every other thing I have posted on this blog) then you know I’m a big fan of Star Trek. A key principle in the series is the Vulcan concept of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (or IDIC). So, I always try and keep in mind the different approaches the team has. I often tell my team I will always tell them what to do, but I will never tell them how to do it.
Closing
And there you have it, my “sequel” to my earlier article on managing a UX design team. I have been incredibly fortunate to have spearheaded a lot of different teams over the past decade and while I’m pretty confident in my leadership abilities… I’m always working to get better. Always moving forward.
Check back in ten years, to see what else I’ve learned.