Becoming a Changemaker by Leading with Design
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
"Many of us have followed zigzag paths to get where we are today, and that’s one of the wonderful qualities of the UX field."
James LangHopeful Futures for UX Research
January 30, 2026
"If you ever need help, you can reach us at help-customer-service for technical issues and customer support."
Bria AlexanderDay 2 Welcome
September 24, 2024
"Reading unfamiliar news content helps you see structure and language more clearly than reading what you already care about."
Shazia Ali Bruce Gillespie Joyce Lee Andy WarrCommunication: Innovative techniques for making your voice heard [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
August 21, 2024
"Consistency over business unit efficiency meant choosing a unified interface over letting each business unit do their own thing."
Davis Neable Guy SegalHow to Drive a Design Project When you Don’t Have a Design Team
June 10, 2021
"If your topic is already tackled exceptionally by a prior book, go deeper or wait until the market shifts."
Louis RosenfeldCoffee with Lou: Should You Write a (UX) Book?
March 7, 2024
"Continuous understanding means both strategic and tactical research with strong customer connections."
Sean McKayWhole Product Thinking: Expanding beyond problem and solution space thinking
March 14, 2024
"This emerging AI technology has given us a golden opportunity to combine the heart and brain of technology and make meaningful impact."
Liwei DaiThe Heart and Brain of the AI Research
March 31, 2020
"Diagrams help when we feel stuck—providing stability, transparency, understanding, clarity, and kindness."
Abby CovertStuck? Diagrams Help
October 27, 2022
"When I pressed enter it said product added to cart, but I had to check if it was actually the right product."
Samuel Proulx Laur BaekInclusive Research: Debunking Myths and Getting Started
March 12, 2025