Summary
Design and research-driven leaders have evolved from being responsible for executing design concepts to having a crucial role in driving change across organizations. This is welcome progress, but with greater responsibility comes new challenges, especially when it comes to championing change in organizations likely to resist it. As design and research-driven changemakers have risen in the ranks of business, they’ve “learned on the job,” experiencing both setbacks and victories. We captured many of these learnings by interviewing over 40 design leaders and incorporating their shared wisdom in our book, Changemakers: How Leaders Can Design Change in an Insanely Complex World. Whether these leaders worked at IBM and Google, a US government agency, or a small consulting firm, their insights and observations are applicable to all and well-worth considering. This presentation will offer an overview of what we learned. It will cover the top mistakes changemakers make as they navigate the messy processes and people issues involved in driving any type of change. You'll learn how to determine the ground conditions needed for success, how to find and align supporters, how to minimize detractors, and how to repurpose design tools, frameworks, and techniques to your advantage. Maria Giudice is the co-author of Changemakers: How Leaders Can Design Change in an Insanely Complex World.
Key Insights
-
•
The role of design leaders has evolved from product delivery to shaping organizational culture at scale.
-
•
Changemakers must assess 'ground conditions' like executive support and resources before accepting leadership roles.
-
•
Rushing into change without understanding the organization's history and culture ('coming in too hot') often generates resistance.
-
•
Building a shared vision requires inclusive collaboration where all stakeholders feel heard and represented.
-
•
Prioritization and focus on a few small wins prevent burnout and enable sustainable change.
-
•
Tools like the impact matrix help teams evaluate effort versus impact to choose projects wisely.
-
•
Vision without execution is futile; delivering tangible outcomes with prototyping and milestones is essential.
-
•
Failure is inevitable in change leadership; embracing mistakes with courage leads to growth and innovation.
-
•
Visual communication techniques enhance stakeholder understanding and trust during complex change efforts.
-
•
Changemakers don’t necessarily need formal design training but must adopt design as a mindset and problem-solving strategy.
Notable Quotes
"The best future leaders will embody the qualities and traits of a DEO — design executive officer — creative business leaders at the intersection of design and business."
"Change is fundamentally a design problem and therefore change can be designed."
"Before you accept a mission as a changemaker, ask yourself do you have a clear directive, champion support, and the right resources?"
"Coming in too hot means running into a burning building like a firefighter, ignoring past work, and rushing without listening."
"Nobody wants to be told to do your thing unless it’s clear that it helps their thing. It’s just human nature."
"Don’t boil the ocean. Get small wins before you go for the big change."
"You need maniacal focus to prioritize, but remain flexible as priorities will always change."
"Vision without execution is hallucination. You must make outcomes tangible and measurable."
"Failure sucks and hurts, but if you haven’t failed, you haven’t taken enough risks."
"When you hit the bottom, that’s where creativity flourishes and it’s time to iterate, evolve, and redesign."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"We don't just need to do a better job of articulating our value; we need to become more valuable."
Chris GeisonTheme Two Intro
March 28, 2023
"Medical errors should rank as the third leading cause of death in the US, many influenced by software and communication failures."
Mariah HayEthics in Tech Education: Designing to Provide Opportunity for All
June 14, 2018
"You have to ask yourself, what's the least amount of work you need to do to get the learning you want from a prototype."
Steve Sanderson Alissa Briggs Jeff Gothelf Bill ScottDiscussion
May 14, 2015
"Are the questions that you are asking and the stories that you are telling yourself serving you?"
Brendan JarvisFraming Tomorrow by Questioning Today
June 8, 2022
"Designers should act like therapists or journalists when negotiating political divides around data governance."
David ConradThe Feeling of Data
September 14, 2023
"Growth in your career doesn’t always have to be vertical; sometimes sideways or diagonal moves help you stay true to yourself."
Lada GorlenkoTheme 3: Introduction
June 10, 2021
"We used behavioral science techniques like laddering and therapeutic research to vividly recreate users' memories."
Jemma AhmedConvergent Research Techniques in Customer Journey Mapping
March 31, 2020
"If the entire firm isn’t operating the same agile script, you won’t get the benefits of scaled agile."
Jack MoffettSAFe or Sorry?
May 29, 2019
"Breaking research down to simple plans, like a clear list of questions, helps demystify the process for new researchers."
Ned Dwyer Emily Stewart James WallisThe Intersection of Design and ResearchOps
September 24, 2024
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What are the benefits of reallocating time saved by AI into in-person immersive research activities?
How does involving more senior researchers in the field improve research outcomes when AI handles transcript processing?
What features does Rosenbot offer to help UX learners deepen their knowledge through follow-up prompts?