Expert Panel: Leading in and with Research
Summary
- Anna Avrekh, UX Research Manager at Meta
- Dr. John Pagonis, Principal UX Researcher at Zanshin Labs
- Klara Pelcl, Senior Design Research Manager at ebay
Key Insights
-
•
Great UX research leaders aspire to become obsolete by building strong, empowered teams.
-
•
Effective research leadership requires advocacy to move research from reactive ticket-taking to strategic influence.
-
•
Transitioning from hands-on researcher to manager involves a mindset shift from delivering insights personally to enabling others to do so.
-
•
Preparing research that can withstand organizational scrutiny is key to defending evidence without defensiveness.
-
•
Building stakeholder involvement early reduces resistance and fosters a shared quest for truth.
-
•
Research leadership is not one-size-fits-all; there are valid paths as senior individual contributor or manager.
-
•
Managing a team remotely and during crises requires extra emphasis on communication, trust, and vulnerability.
-
•
Communicating research value is a gradual process requiring one-on-one relationship building and demonstrating impact over time.
-
•
Measuring and closing the loop on research impact helps justify research investment and drives continuous improvement.
-
•
Balancing 'player-coach' roles is challenging; leaders must manage bandwidth, expectations, and onboarding carefully.
Notable Quotes
"One of the amazing things about becoming very successful leaders is eventually becoming obsolete."
"You have to prepare research to withstand scrutiny by anyone so your team can go forward confidently."
"Leadership is enabling people to become empowered to achieve what they are set to achieve."
"The transition from hands-on research to managing is a big mind shift where outcomes become more intangible."
"Don’t position yourself as the research expert; you are the expert in facilitating the quest for knowledge."
"By the time the report comes out, your immediate team should have already moved on with implementing feedback."
"Trust with your team needs to be established and continuously nurtured because tough situations arise quickly."
"Time is the only resource we cannot replenish. Make sure you don’t spend it doing what’s not meaningful."
"Being human, authentic, humble, and showing vulnerability can take you a long way as a research leader."
"There is no certainty ever in research; qualitative and quantitative approaches complement each other for different purposes."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Creativity fuels design, design fuels innovation."
Dr. Karl JeffriesThe Science of Creativity for DesignOps
January 8, 2024
"I never want to walk into a review with my stakeholders at the SVP level and see something for the first time."
Amy MarquezINVEST: Discussion
June 15, 2018
"The core of it is really putting yourself in that other person’s shoes—it’s basic but essential empathy."
Steve Portigal Chris Chapo Kelly Goto Christian RohrerDiscussion
May 13, 2015
"One designer's security in a dedicated model may be another designer's stagnation."
Alicia MootyDesign Staffing Models
September 30, 2021
"UX should be a critical dependency, not an afterthought or checkbox on the to-do list."
Ana Maria Montero Barrantes Aditi Dhar Michelle Kaplan Nate Osborne Matt LaurenceThe Authentic UX Talent Show
January 8, 2024
"Operations tends to be something companies only think about when they are scaling rapidly, but investing early is essential."
Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne RogondinoTheme 1: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"Data entry is the enemy; automation is the key to making research repositories successful."
Sofia QuinteroThe Product Philosophy Behind EnjoyHQ
March 10, 2021
"Please don’t chop off that engine until the new one is built because you are not the only one on this plane."
Laura KleinUnique challenges of innovation in enterprises
April 23, 2020
"Data analysts and user researchers rarely work together effectively, which is one of the biggest missed opportunities."
Andrew MichaelBuilding a Product Insights Team
March 10, 2022
