Becoming a Changemaker by Leading with Design
Summary
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
"I’m trying to separate who I am from what I produce and the roles I hold."
Ashley SewallExit Interview #5: Designing My Life After Tech
February 19, 2026
"Sometimes organic culture pieces, like playing Wordle at the end of standup, shorten meetings and keep them tight."
Daniel OrbachZero to One: Co-Creating Operating Models with your Team
September 23, 2024
"Ignorance is often normalized and productive for certain individuals within an organization."
Sarah Fathallah Alba VillamilBeyond insights: Rethinking the role of researchers as stewards of organizational wisdom
March 13, 2025
"We want this process to be collaborative and cross-functional, involving engineering, design, sales, marketing, and customer success."
Anna Nguyen Emily BroganWhy Our Voice of the Customer is Better Than Yours
March 10, 2022
"Shadow design is not about blaming people—it’s about recognizing that design work is happening outside the design team."
Audrey CraneShadow Design–Where Else is Design Happening in Your Organization?
April 20, 2023
"We’re really in the game of behavioral change—planting seeds today so teams move naturally towards the future."
Dominique WardThe Most Exciting Time for DesignOps is Now
September 8, 2022
"We treat our shared tooling and design system as a product with a dedicated team maintaining reusable components and governance."
Shawna Hein Kevin HoffmanCreate a Cohesive Civic Design Practice Across Agency, Vendors, and Contracts
November 17, 2022
"If your purpose is just getting through 2020, that’s okay — survival can be the goal right now."
Allison SandersOperating with Purpose
January 8, 2024
"We are the shopkeepers of today; it just looks a little bit different."
Erin WeigelReal-world lessons to improve your conversion rates
June 26, 2024
