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
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Great UX research leaders aspire to become obsolete by building strong, empowered teams.
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Effective research leadership requires advocacy to move research from reactive ticket-taking to strategic influence.
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Transitioning from hands-on researcher to manager involves a mindset shift from delivering insights personally to enabling others to do so.
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Preparing research that can withstand organizational scrutiny is key to defending evidence without defensiveness.
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Building stakeholder involvement early reduces resistance and fosters a shared quest for truth.
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Research leadership is not one-size-fits-all; there are valid paths as senior individual contributor or manager.
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Managing a team remotely and during crises requires extra emphasis on communication, trust, and vulnerability.
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Communicating research value is a gradual process requiring one-on-one relationship building and demonstrating impact over time.
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Measuring and closing the loop on research impact helps justify research investment and drives continuous improvement.
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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."
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