Bringing Design to the 'Table'
If you’ve worked as a design leader for long enough, you've likely encountered the phrase "We need a seat at the table" from one of your teams at some point. But what does this statement really mean and why do we hear designers say it?
In my experience, this expression often echoes the sentiments of a design team for the following reasons:
Treated like ‘Short-Order’ Cooks:
They find themselves constantly reacting to requests rather than proactively shaping design decisions. And those requests usually have challenging timeframes.
Photo by Daniel Bradley on Unsplash
May be misunderstood:
Their objectives and contributions might not be clear to others in the organisation or seen as valuable. It’s also not uncommon to have different interpretations of the role.
Lack impact and influence:
The design team struggles to influence the strategic direction of the product and/or the company. This sentiment tends to emerge in design teams of similar maturity, typically at a crucial juncture where the team has grown to a size that demands more significant support and design leadership working at a more strategic level.
Poor communication:
Ideas and insights are only valuable if they are presented and communicated to others effectively. You should always ask ‘How is my work interpreted and perceived by others? Are you effectively communicating your design or ideas across the organisation?’
You might be the smartest person in the room, or have even have some of the best ideas, but if you can’t communicate these effectively to a room, it may be lost, overlooked or unconsidered.
Note: I actually just had an example of this recently, where two designers from one of our product verticals were giving updates on a weekly basis to their extended squad (roughly 10-12 people). Their presented their solutions directly from fFgma (not something I usually recommend) and jumped straight into showing thier final designs and solutions. Within literally 60 seconds, they had a barrage of questions coming in from across the room from PMs and many others, and over the next 50mins were unable to drive/steer the meeting at all.
The following week, after mentoring those specific designers to create a more structured and shared agenda for the meeting, we saw a dramatic improvement the following week. They managed the meeting well from start to finish, came in with a set agenda and kept everyone on course for the next 45mins. All thanks to laying out a clear agenda and structure to the meeting.
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Feeling unheard:
They believe their ideas are not being adequately considered or shared when discussing with the peers or other members of the team.
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I'm sure there are many other reasons, but these are the ones I've heard the most. So the following tips are the ones I've found most useful when trying to establish design with a company.
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Understand the Business
I cannot stress this enough – get to know how the business and generally how things get down.
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Decision making: How and where are decisions made?
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Key Stakeholders: Who are the right people to get onboarded? Who may be critical to the success of ‘X’.
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Success Metrics: How is success measured and celebrated within the customer and the company? Delivery or Impact?
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Company Values: What are the core values guiding the organisation?
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Quality Standards: Are there a set of established Design and Accessibility standards?
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Design and Product Process: Is there a common/ shared approach and process for product delivery
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Experience has taught me that every business is very unique and much like an individual’s personality. Solutions that work in one company may not necessarily work so well in another. Adaptation is essential to make a meaningful impact. I've worked in businesses led by alpha personalities, driven by engineering prowess, steered by marketing, or centred around the product strategy. Some, sadly even seemed to follow the "loudest voice" principle.
I've also collaborated with teams that sometimes suffer from "decision atrophy," where they circle around issues or options without making concrete decisions, sometimes out of fear. This often happens in rapidly growing companies when the impact of what were once quick decisions amongst a few people, and now becoming broadcasted intentions across a larger company.
For a design leader, it's essential to find right balance between the time spent nurturing your team, and time spent focussed on the broader business. When you successfully connect the dots between your customers and product (represented by your team) and the larger organisational landscape (your peers), the path to instigating meaningful change becomes clearer.
