My 5 cents on leadership
#1
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
Keep a down to earth attitude and as my late father taught me - don’t take yourself too seriously. Always be transparent with the team, especially when things aren’t going as expected. Share your true thoughts and listen carefully to theirs. Trust is key for a long lasting and successful studio.
#2
All designers are equal but some are more
Titles may be important for someone’s next role or serve as a tool to acknowledge great work. In the studio everyone owns what they do, no matter their age or experience, and can proudly point to different pieces of the product and say “I did that”.
#3
Front(end) and back(end)
Stand in front and protect the studio from politics and unnecessary design work. Learn to say no. Publicly support designers and managers and back up their work. There’s a time and place, and nonetheless a way, for feedback and learning how to grow from mistakes.
#4
Why god why?
Storytelling isn’t just a buzzword anymore. A great explanation of your managerial decisions, just like presenting your designs, is sometimes the difference between failure and success of getting them through.
#5
Behind every successful design there stands a person
Nielsen Norman group defines empathy as: “The ability to fully understand, mirror, then share another person’s expressions, needs, and motivations.” Managing with empathy is the ability to understand your people’s feelings. Always remember to listen and share their emotions by putting yourself in their shoes. Now, you can ask them to design for their users in the same way.