DESIGN LEADERSHIP
We exhibit leadership in the family, at work, or when buying groceries. It happens when we’re planning for the future and just listening to others. What I’ve realized is that, to truly grow as a leader and to be the most effective version of ourselves, it’s critical to reflect on?why?we do what we do. To understand how we lead, how others respond to our leadership, and — ultimately — how we can apply our leadership philosophy to amplify the work we love: design.
?
What’s design leadership?
While there are endless definitions of leadership, let’s try to craft one specifically for design.
·???????? Defining leadership is a process of?social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.?— Kevin Kruse
·???????? Leadership is about the ability to drive?results, set the vision and share it, create an?environment?of success, and remove obstacles. —?Judy Marks
·???????? Leaders are coaches with a?passion?for developing?people, not players. — Randy Stocklin
?
Design is the process of?imagining?and planning the creation of objects, systems, buildings, vehicles, etc. — Webster
Experience design centers on?people’s experiences?to drive the design and features of your products, processes, environments, and strategies —Clockwork
?
Ultimately, combining some of these core themes of leadership and experience design, we can arrive at a definition of?design leadership: Design leadership is the art of impassioning, mobilizing, and developing people to craft experiences that improve human outcomes. In essence, design leadership is how we influence people to deliver experiences that benefit other people. And, by benefiting people, we in turn accelerate the strategic objectives of our work and team environments.
?
A solid design leadership philosophy gives us clarity on why we do what we do..?Design leadership is the art of impassioning, mobilizing, and developing people to craft experiences that improve human outcomes.
?
A leadership philosophy is a codified reflection of how our values, beliefs, emotions, principles, and aptitude shape influence others. Moreover, we can define interactive behavior by how we influence those around us through our actions and decisions — either by direct interaction or by indirect perception.
?
Design Leaders guide business strategy. Design, at its core, is user-centric, creative problem solving. A great Design Leader applies their knowledge and experience to the advantage of their organization, identifying and meeting the needs of its customers.
?
Thanks.
Sundarraj.S
Leadership Coaching, HR Strategist and Risk free HR Compliance.