What the hell does a design leader do all day?

While everyone has a general idea of what a designer does (well, it depends on who you talk to), the waters get murkier when explaining what a design leader's role entails.

It's a complex and multifaceted position that requires a unique blend of skills and responsibilities. I tried to detangle everything.

Titles – they are not always what they seem they are

When I say design leader, I refer to various titles, which can mean different things depending on the company and context. For some, my role will fall under Head of Design; for others, it's a Head of Creative; sometimes, I'm a Creative Director; then again, a Design Director; and sometimes, a Design Manager or a Creative Manager.

Doesn't make things easier, does it?

So I ended up with 'Design Leader & Creative Manager', trying to combine it all in one(ish) title. I use 'Design' in my title because I have a background in design. And I truly believe that design-led companies are best positioned in the market as they have a different approach to craft, user-centricity, and emotional and psychological brand storytelling.

Design leadership can feel like taming to-dos over and over but in a creative and innovative way. | Midjourney prompt: A long to-do list that folds around the streets of London. The list is as tall as the buildings, goes over them, around them, loops and has a dynamic movement. You can see it's paper with a ticking list; the words are illegible. The city streets are empty, and apart from the list, the sun is shining. --ar 16:9

So, what does a design leader actually do?

This question comes up repeatedly in conversations, and when I was recently asked to take over the Instagram account of Ladies, Wine & Design London, I took my chance and used the space to deep-dive further into that topic. Because I am a designer, I love clustering my findings, and I have identified three main pillars that showcase my role quite well. These pillars are People, Design x Business, and Soft Skills. Let me explain each in more detail.

People

• Hiring, leading and building teams

• Mentoring & coaching: guidance, support, feedback

• Create psychological safety > team culture

• Users-first approach

• Cross-functional collaboration

• Facilitate workshops, conversations, meetings (team and 1:1)

• Create rituals and structures

• Add optimism and energy

• ...
  

Design x Business

• Set a vision

• Creative/design direction

• Brand guardian

• Align design & business needs: track and report metrics and outcomes

• Roadmap planning

• Strategies: whole-puzzle thinking

• Research

• Manage: Time, budgets, projects, teams, workloads, decisions, and high-quality standards

• Use storytelling to present, inspire, convince

• Design Ops: process improvements

• Meetings with senior leadership and stakeholders

• Jump hands-on into design work if needed once in a while

• Safeguard creative and innovation time for the team

• ...

Soft skills

• Active listening

• Communicate clearly

• Empathy

• Be adaptable

• Decision making

• Curiosity > Never stop learning. Stay informed about trends, technologies, competitors, contemporary culture, and people. Whatever the sponge brain can soak up.

• Analytical: solve problems, organise

• Resolve issues and bottlenecks

• ...

A snapshot in time. Evolving roles of a design leader.

Remember, this list is just a snapshot of my current journey as a design leader. It evolves, grows, and adapts as I embrace the ever-changing nature of my roles.

I'm eager to hear your thoughts and additions. What would you include in the list of design leadership responsibilities and skills?

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