Design Leaders in the Corporate Jungle

Learning to drive design-led change effectively.

I've just returned from the south of France, where I spent a week at John Thackara's residence working on my graphic novel about design leaders. It was a retreat that provided me with the space and time to focus on my work, with the added benefit of having daily access to John's brain. John's intellectual prowess is truly remarkable, and he is also a kind and generous human being.

John and I during one of our work sessions.

He was surprisingly interested in listening to my rant about the difficulties faced by design leaders in creating momentum for change. These professionals operate in an environment that often doesn't seem to make much sense. He told me, "You are like writing the Dilbert of design!" I had never thought about my work that way, but maybe he is right.

Many (though not all) of the design leaders I've encountered express frustration with the seemingly irrational corporate environment in which they operate. They face formidable obstacles that hinder their efforts to drive meaningful change and make a lasting impact within their organisations or institutions. Common scenarios include:

1. Mismatch between job description and reality. Despite being hired with the expectation of creating a significant impact, design leaders often find themselves isolated and struggling to find support to drive collective efforts. Individual key performance indicators (KPIs) take priority over the broader goal of effecting change.

2. Toxic culture. Toxic workplace cultures are common, with some leaders lacking the necessary skills and attitude to nurture and inspire teams, and large egos often hindering collaboration.

3. Short-term wins over the long term. Firms tend to prioritise short-term gains over long-term investments, making it challenging to enact meaningful change. This is especially true amidst leadership changes and reorganisations, which happen very often in some of these places. 

4. Working in the 'cracks.' Service and strategic designers, as they work with different parts of the organisation, tend to identify things that are genuinely broken (e.g. processes, systems, incentives). They often spot these opportunities for improvement between silos but struggle to get buy-in to tackle them as there is no clear owner or they do not represent a priority.

If you're a senior service designer or design leader in a corporate setting, you've likely encountered these challenges. While not every designer's experience matches this description, unfortunately, many do. I hope you're among the fortunate few who have never had to contend with these issues.

"Reality is always controlled by the people who are the most insane." Dilbert

Designers react to these situations in various ways. The most common responses I've observed are:

1. The Savior: These relentless individuals tirelessly advocate for design, evangelising its value in an attempt to persuade others that the 'design way' is the best way. Year after year, they see zero to little change and virtually no impact. They convince themselves everything is bad, often getting depressed, maybe burning out, and leaving.

2. The Submissive: They accept that things will never work the way they think they should. They lose almost all hope of creating an impact but remain in the job. Why? Because of the 'golden cage.' The golden cage provides a steady job that pays well and offers stature. The fear of losing that wins over the fear of missing out on the real design action happening somewhere else.

3. The Hopper: These are design leaders who get into an organisation, sniff around, try a few things, stay for a bit, maybe a year. They give it a chance and when they realise the environment is not fertile, they swiftly quit and go somewhere else. Their experience page on LinkedIn tends to be very, very long.

4. The Morpher: This type of design leader enters an organisation with modest expectations but a strong determination to influence it. They spend time networking fearlessly and understanding the organisation's dynamics before subtly introducing design concepts. They take time to explore the question, 'How are decisions made around here?' They don't talk about design per se, but how to make things better, how to beat competition, how to thrive in uncertain times, how to improve margins, how to meet sustainability targets. They speak a language the organisation wants to hear. They treasure and leverage each and every win. They always leave behind a network of "work friends" when they move on.

Three things I have seen Design Leaders (of the Morphers type) get right:

1. Recognising the Importance of the Environment:

Ask yourself, are people in this organisation open to experimentation? Are people competent? Are people collaborative? Are people willing to learn? Are people in the game to collectively succeed? If the answer to these questions is yes, that's a fertile ground to establish and grow design as a driver for meaningful change. It won't be easy, it will be hard, but it will be worth it. If the answers to those questions are no, then stop. Do not invest your energy in it. You cannot change the culture of an entire organisation on your own. You simply can't. Despite what your ego says. Pick your battles.

2. Acknowledging that No One Cares About Design:

No one. That's right. Why should they? So, stop evangelising. Stop trying to convince people design is the recipe for success. Instead, focus on understanding what truly matters to the organisation and its people. Tailor your discussions to address these concerns using familiar terminology for your audience. Learn about how the business works. 

3. Knowing what is the choice after the choice.

Now this is a new realisation for myself too. The realisation is that effective design leaders are able to plot different interventions at the same time, being very clear what are the choices at their disposal if things go bad. If they fail, they don't panic, they are immediately aware of what's the best next choice or step. They calculate risks carefully and are in control of their options.

Do you recognise yourself in one of these profiles? Take some time to reflect on your own experience and strategy. I would love to read your story, so please share your thoughts in the comments. I read every single one of them.