Leaders develop their leadership philosophies and practices based on their values and experiences. Mine were shaped by over 20 years of international experience in various sectors, company sizes, and cultures.
They have been refined over time and are the foundation for tailoring my leadership style to fit each organization I work with.
Although my leadership style is deeply rooted in Servant Leadership, the need to wear multiple hats in most of my roles led me to blend several leadership styles for better results. The values and styles below are the most common mix.
My approach to Design Leadership is tailored for each company. Depending on my mandate and goals, I will typically start off from one of the following 2 models and fine tune it to the org's needs:
Suppose I'm going to develop a DesignOps practice. In that case, I start from this model, as it allows me to focus on the main areas (people, practices, tools) and/or their intersections (culture and community, operations and governance, craft).
Regardless, there are two additional areas in which I will always invest a great deal: Partnerships and Strategy.
This model can combine multiple focus areas, like the example below. It all depends on the org, my mandate, and my goals.
What guides my attitude in the workplace
What guides my work
My goal is efficiency. I'll start on pen and paper and move to digital when it makes sense.
Similar to fidelity, I start with the lowest level of fidelity and work my way up as required.
I practice User-Centered, Data-Informed Design. Robust UX Research activities that allow me to immerse myself in the users’ experience is how I typically start projects.
Design Thinking, Double Diamond, Design Sprints, JTBD, and Lean UX are the most common methodologies I use and I'll pick the one more suitable for each project.
I will also frequently combine different aspects from several methodologies to better suit the project's needs.
I rely heavily on data collected throughout the process to inform my design decisions. Without data, we're just guessing.
My main career driver has always been learning. I've pursued career opportunities based on what I could learn from that role and the team I'd work with.
Some years ago, after seeing many organizations fail because they were still building digital products like in the 90s, I decided to help organizations change how they work by evangelising design empirical evidence.
I came to this area because I was deeply passionate about it and the opportunities ahead. That has always stayed the same.