Summary
You may have noticed that all is not well in the world. Caught between a pandemic, a civil rights reckoning and the spectre of global conflict - you still have to show up each day and lead your team. With so much happening, it's easy to forget that the scale of your impact doesn't only come from the tools, systems or processes that you implement, but also from the depth of the questions you ask of yourself, of your team, and of your users. Drawing from over 75 long-format interviews with some of the best and brightest design leaders, this talk explores some of the big questions facing the field, and how you can use the humble question to be a better leader. Warning: this talk may raise more questions than it provides answers for.
Key Insights
-
•
The COVID-19 lockdown disrupted Bedog's ambitious UX lab plans, forcing reflection on personal and professional resilience.
-
•
Global crises like systemic racism, political populism, and war provoke universal existential questions influencing design leadership.
-
•
Provocative questions can challenge the status quo but carry risks as seen in Socrates’ trial and death.
-
•
UX and design fields remain predominantly white and male, with significant underrepresentation of people of color and women.
-
•
Ethical dilemmas in design require designers to act as de facto ethicists, balancing business pressures with moral responsibility.
-
•
Amy Jimenez exemplifies the difficulty of standing up for ethical principles within large enterprises.
-
•
Successful problem-solving often benefits from mixed methods and respect for indigenous knowledge, as in the Easter Island moai example.
-
•
Changing the stories we tell ourselves about our challenges can empower us to act and find meaning, demonstrated by Dr. Susan Weinschenk’s cancer narrative.
-
•
Bad questions reinforce victimhood and limit potential; good questions foster curiosity, learning, and constructive change.
-
•
Design leaders should focus on creating their own tables and influence through expertise and collaborative respect rather than simply demanding inclusion.
Notable Quotes
"That night at 11:59 PM the entire nation of New Zealand would move into what was called a level 4 lockdown."
"Why was the universe doing this to me? That was a bad question."
"Socrates was known in Athenian society as a gadfly, a fly that bites livestock, for his overt and intentional interference with the Athenian power structure."
"Who do you see? Who do you not see? Why do you not see them?"
"We don’t have to restrict ourselves to playing the canary in the coal mine. We can design the harm out of our products before they’ve even taken flight."
"If only we could just get that seat at the table."
"They walked. The locals were most likely right."
"The stories we tell are framed by the questions we ask. Our stories repeated become our beliefs and our beliefs influence our behavior."
"I’m very fortunate. I have great medical care. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I am going to live my life to the fullest."
"Are the questions that you are asking and the stories that you are telling yourself serving you?"
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"We over-emphasized technology and process information and forgot the people inside the organization."
Matt StoneScaling Empathy, A Case Study in Change Management
June 11, 2021
"During discovery, it’s important to identify which features require exploration versus those that just need validation or small fixes."
Aditi Ruiz Christian Crumlish Farid SabitovA PM State of Mind: Empathy Mapping Your Product Manager, Pt. 1
December 6, 2022
"There aren't learned enough experts; we are still in that nebula trying to figure out how to become a star."
Dave Malouf Meredith Black Farid SabitovThe Past, Present, and Future of DesignOps: a 2-part DesignOps Community Call (Part 1)
February 17, 2022
"Getting something accessible is a straight line; keeping something accessible requires process change."
Sheri Byrne-HaberAccessibility at Scale
June 9, 2021
"I think of a journey map as a suggestion, not a rule, and I might take parts of it to fit the context and people."
Nidhi Singh Rathore Amber DavisEmbracing participation to unlock deeper truths in commercial research
March 12, 2025
"Adding inclusivity to the career ladder took three years and this is still a living document with room for change."
Laine Riley ProkayHow DesignOps can Drive Inclusive Career Ladders for All
September 30, 2021
"When the pandemic hit, those in the resilient 'yellow' zone had enough reserve to readjust and come back."
Ariba JahanTeam Resiliency Through a Pandemic
January 8, 2024
"By understanding your environment and having those conversations with your product manager, you can create a relationship that is sustainable and efficient."
Noreen Whysel Katie SaindonShort Take #4: UX/Product Lessons from Your Industry Peers
December 6, 2022
"It’s good practice to offer one-on-one interactions with older adults due to their learning preferences."
Rittika BasuAge and Interfaces: Equipping Older Adults with Technological Tools
February 23, 2023