The Inside Advantage: Growing the Design Leaders of Tomorrow
Note: This is my next post based on my recent interview for the Samelogic podcast, where we discussed the ins and outs of building successful UX and design teams. Check it out if you want to learn more, or take a look at my last two posts for a deeper dive.
Think about your path to your first leadership role. Did you jump in headfirst, or did you have help? I’m willing to bet that you (like me, and like most of us) had support along the way: someone — a mentor or a manager — who saw a spark of something in you and helped you cultivate it.
Leadership on your team can (and should!) be developed over time, but in order to do that, you have to be able to identify it and nurture it in your hires. That’s where the real work starts. With that in mind, let’s talk about how to spot future leaders, create opportunities for them to succeed, and support their ongoing growth and development.
Identifying future leaders
In my last post, I covered a lot of the qualities I look for in candidates when I’m hiring. When you’re intentional about your hiring strategy and bring in people with a growth mindset, you’re already creating the right conditions for leadership within your team. However, those traits may or may not translate into true leadership. So how do you identify that quality in your current team members?
As a leader, part of your job is always having your eyes open for high performers. The only way to do that is by staying close to your team and actively observing them and how they show up — both in their individual work and in the ways they work with others. Take the time to really observe each of your reports, and ask yourself:
Are they seeing gaps in the system and taking the initiative to close them? Are they putting processes, frameworks, and principles in place to improve how things are done? (I talked about this a lot in an earlier post, but I think it’s worth repeating!)
How are they showing up as a colleague? Are they putting in effort to help others succeed, instead of focusing on just their own achievements?
Do they have a solution-focused mindset? Do they approach challenges with creativity and curiosity?
How are they influencing the culture? Are they contributing to a collaborative environment and making others feel seen, heard, and supported?
A lot of times, people mistake leadership potential for being the loudest voice in the room or the most extroverted personality. Your responsibility is to watch for people who show patterns of support and initiative — people whose actions consistently benefit those around them and the broader organization.
Investing in growth
Talent has a habit of slipping away when you don’t create the conditions for it to flourish. For this reason, you should see nurturing leadership talent as an ongoing process. As a leader yourself, sometimes you see strengths in others that they might not see in themselves, so the question becomes, how do you help them see those strengths, too? How do you help them grow those strengths and connect them to opportunities?
You’re in a unique position to do this by:
Being intentional about career conversations: Set aside time for discussions about your team members’ long- and short-term goals. Do they have any skills they want to develop or projects they want to take on? The more you absorb from these talks, the easier it will be to connect your reports with the right opportunities.
Prioritizing skill development: Whenever possible, budget resources for growing your team’s skills through workshops, seminars, certifications, or other forms of training. Remember to take their goals into account!
Exposing your team to different functions: Designers and UXers tend to be very function- and team-centric. But even if your reports want to stay on the design track, exposure to cross-functional leaders and teams helps them expand their thinking and develop empathy. As I’ve said before, this is so important for design leaders!
Giving stretch assignments: You have a broader view of the goings-on in your company than your reports. Look for ways to give them projects that will challenge them or create ownership opportunities while playing to their strengths. These projects should be ambitious but achievable with regular check-ins, support, and feedback.
Building a culture of coaching and mentorship: Connect your reports with mentors or peer coaches who can help them learn and grow. Encourage them to have regular conversations about skill development, current challenges, and career goals. Ideally, you should be pairing people with complementary skills and goals, but cross-functional mentorship can also be a great learning opportunity.
This is all in support of building a culture that encourages continuous learning, where leadership and growth opportunities are accessible to everyone on your team. Recognizing and acting on their strengths and goals will empower them to take on more ownership and help them grow as individuals — and, by extension, as a team.
Paving the way to success
Most of the time, great design leaders, or leaders in general, don’t develop in a vacuum. They emerge because someone invested in their potential and encouraged them to refine their skills through mentorship, projects, and other opportunities. The time and energy you put into nurturing that potential now will help your team thrive today — and be felt by future teams tomorrow. That’s part of your job as a leader, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll find it more fulfilling and inspiring than you would ever expect.
In my next post, I will share insights from my journey for those aspiring to become design leaders. See you then!