Over the last few weeks, I've spoken to a bunch of design managers, directors, Heads, and VPs about their work. I'm noticing a clear pattern. Personal identity largely determines where and how they seek out information.
Service Designers seek answers from other Service Designers.
Product Designers seek answers from other Product Designers.
UX Designers seek answers from other UX Designers.
Researchers seek answers from other Researcher.
DesignOps people seek answers from other DesignOps people.
Content Strategists seek answers from other Content Strategists.
Product Managers seek answers from other Product Managers.
Interestingly, I spoke to a bunch of people who were bosses. Not one of them identified themselves as a Manager, Director, or VP first.
The biggest challenges they face are not Service Design, Product Design, UX, Research, DesignOps, Content Strategy, or Product Management challenges.
Every single person I've spoken to has said the biggest challenges they face daily are relationship, communication, politics, negotiating, and self-doubt challenges.
Yet, Design System techniques aren't helping them negotiate. Journey Maps aren't persuading their colleagues to try something new. A Figma prototypes aren't changing the conversations.
There is an exception, though.
Those who no longer identify as belonging to one specific group seek out information very differently than others. They easily move across industries and areas of expertise. They more easily try new techniques and as a result, have found new ways to lead that have yielded positive outcomes. Lastly, they're more at ease with themselves.
It's a curious observation. I wonder if will continue to hold up…
