In August 2024, I received an offer to lead a small design team at a startup I'd been freelancing for. Startups have always been my specialty, and product design my passion, so I said yes.
Most of the design teams I worked in previously were small, and while I had some exposure to larger design organisations and great design leaders, I started in this role thinking to myself: What exactly does a Design Lead do?
A Design Lead is more than just a great designer. Let's be honest, that ship has sailed the moment you move beyond the Senior title. Beyond technical capability — a Lead also needs to be a mentor, a product manager, a project manager, a data expert and also strong at relationships and team dynamics.
So here we go, these are some of the things I've learnt so far.
Lesson #1: Finding your worth beyond the tools
One of the first things that I needed to do as a new Design Leader was let go of my identity as the "Figma Expert". You can still be one, but especially if you're people managing, your role is so much bigger than that.
Here are two high-value things I think a Lead can bring:
- The ability to unlock the potential of the Design team
- The ability to unlock the potential of Design for the Business (this might be in other ways like greater collaboration with Brand and Marketing, for example)
That's where it's important to focus your efforts. It's easy to get trapped into picking up the tools and starting to do design work yourself — and that can distract from the true value that you can bring.
Some good ways to move away from being the Figma expert:
- Actively step back from 'doing' the design and focus on providing effective prompts and feedback.
- Foster a knowledge-sharing culture so team members can support each other, reducing reliance on you as the sole Figma expert.
Lesson #2: Be accountable but not responsible
Here's another challenge — learning how to be accountable for an outcome, but not responsible for getting it done. As a Designer who manages other Designers it's very easy to think "I could do this easily myself" — but that's another trap.
Your goal is to empower your designers to achieve the desired outcome, and part of that is also accepting that sometimes the design won't look exactly as you envisioned in your head. But that's also the beauty of it — a shift in perception helps, you realise there's always more than one way to solve a problem. Seeing your team explore different and unique ideas can be incredibly fulfilling.
As someone who is accountable, you need to maintain quality standards. The challenge is learning when to step in with guidance and when to allow your team more autonomy.
Lesson #3: Don't be a lone wolf
This is yet another trap — thinking you have to do it all on your own to prove you're the 'best designer' in the team. I like to instead lean into collaboration and help designers gain a sense of ownership over the team.
Ways my team fosters collaboration:
- We co-create our strategy, values, and principles, which increases team buy-in.
- We run regular retrospectives, rotating the facilitator role to share ownership.
- We frequently spin up co-design sessions to solve problems together and maintain visibility across the product.
Lesson #4: Stop and listen
This one isn't just for Design leaders — sometimes, listening is more important than responding. Sure, a bias to action is great, but when you're dealing with things like working relationships, it's sometimes better to let it simmer before trying to come in with a solution.
In people management I've learnt that people want to be heard, and sometimes that is enough rather than having to have something be done.
This applies whether you're managing your team or influencing leadership. As designers, we're often conditioned to have immediate answers, but it's okay to take time to think. A skill that I've picked up is to ask for space and time to come back later with an answer or solution.
Lesson #5: Gotta catch them all
This one is actually pretty fun. I've learnt that building a team is like putting together the ideal battle group in a video game. Identify the different capabilities that you want in your Design team, then hire people that have strengths in each of those capabilities.
Design Systems, Data and Analytics, Research and Testing, Visual and UI — there's a huge spectrum of skills and interests out there. I used to think that hiring was all about getting the right person for the role, but when I realised that you can zoom out and think about your team as a whole, that really changed things.
Lesson #6: How to be influential
Influence isn't about getting people to do what you want or pick the option you prefer. It's about your reputation within the business, the relationships you build, and how others perceive your contributions.
Some ways to build influence:
- Get involved and show impact by driving successful outcomes for your team and projects.
- Support other teams by sharing Design's expertise beyond your immediate work (Marketing, Research, Product).
- Build strong relationships and position yourself as a trusted voice in Design.
- Advocate for Design's value in the business. When I started, I worked with Marketing to give them access to the Product Design skillset, ensuring a solid Design voice overall.
Lesson #7: I'm still a work in progress
When I stepped into this role, I initially thought it would be about building a team, running 1:1s, and defining design standards. But I've realised it's so much more. Product Design is uniquely positioned within a business — not just as experts in UI, but as leaders in Product, Research, and Design Thinking.
There's immense opportunity to expand the role of Design beyond its traditional boundaries and create value across the business.
One of the biggest shifts for me has been moving from a technical focus to a relational one — learning to blend soft skills with design expertise to help my team and the business harness the full potential of design. There's still so much to learn, and I'm looking forward to growing alongside this ever-evolving role.