My Design Leadership Blueprint

This list grows, shrinks and mutates as I learn more about myself.

1. Ask “What problem are you trying to solve?”

All feedback is valuable, but is not always given in its valuable form. People like to offer solutions. Your goal is to find the problem they are trying to solve with those solutions.

2. Transparency breeds trust

The only way to earn your team’s trust is to be truly open and transparent with them.

3. Processes affect life

Processes are the way developers interface with the product, and should be designed with respect. They impact people’s day-to-day routines, their finances, their mood, their schedules, their family time and their emotions.

4. Game systems affect player emotions

Experiences are taken in as a whole, and each part has the ability to impact players emotionally. A number in your script could translate to a three-hour grind. Design decisions have ripples.

5. If it makes you uncomfortable, dig deeper

What does it say about yourself when you have a negative reaction to an idea, a co-worker, a decision, a piece of feedback? This is how I’ve learned my most important lessons about myself.

6. Design the nail to the hammer you wield

There are countless solutions to every problem. By defining the parameters for success, you can recontextualize the problem to fit the team’s skill set. Wield the hammer, design the nail

7. Problems give agency. Solutions take agency away.

Developers love solving problems. It’s what they’re great at. When the leader defines the problem and steps back, developers are free to use their skill and creativity to arrive at novel solutions. There are paths to victory beyond what you can see.

8. Civility, tolerance and respect are non-negotiable

These are basic, required elements for a teammate. If you don’t care about displaying and upholding these, anything else you bring to the table is irrelevant.

9. If it affects the team, ask the team

People want to, and should, be involved in decisions and changes that impact them. When the change is announced, most people should already know it was coming and have had a chance to offer feedback.

10. Manage the tension between Agency and Velocity

Moving fast requires leadership to make quick decisions. Quick decisions tend to take agency away from the developers, leading to loss of motivation. Know when to take the reins to achieve velocity and when to pause and let the team drive.

11. Expose your thought process: become predictable

The clearer you can be about why you think the way you do, the likelier the team is to 1) ask great questions 2) push back on the right spots and 3) anticipate your thoughts while developing, and deliver increasingly higher quality work.