Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
Join us for a special "fireside chat" with Dantley Davis, Chief Design Officer at Twitter. We hosted a live conversation about Dantley's own path of becoming a design leader, diving into his influences and lessons learned along the way. We also discussed what it means to enable greater inclusivity and diversity in our field, particularly in these momentous times.
Key Insights
-
•
Military training cultivated Dan Lee's ability to manage both tactical and macro-level challenges, which he applies to design and leadership.
-
•
An MBA provided Dan Lee with strategic frameworks and a shared vocabulary to better integrate business goals with design decisions.
-
•
Design leadership often evolves organically from consistently delivering quality work and influence, rather than intentional career planning.
-
•
Dan Lee views shared ownership and influence in product development as more effective than rigid role ownership between designers and PMs.
-
•
The ‘tax’ of being a person of color or woman in tech includes balancing job responsibilities with advocating for community equity.
-
•
Intentional diversity hiring requires proactive outreach, relationship-building, and compensation incentives for leadership.
-
•
Authentic, vulnerable conversations about race and inclusion can foster understanding and material change in organizations.
-
•
Designers must expand empathy beyond similar peers to include underrepresented and diverse user groups to avoid narrow product focus.
-
•
Recruitment of diverse talent is not passive; it requires strategic relationship-building with communities and organizations.
-
•
Having leadership compensation tied to diversity outcomes, as at Twitter, helps embed accountability for inclusive hiring.
Notable Quotes
"My dad told me very early on in my career that I had to work two times harder than anyone else to get the same things."
"Ownership needs to be shared. The craft of making is similar to raising a child — it takes a village."
"I approached design not from the context of user experience first, but from what job we’re trying to satisfy for our customers."
"There were things I controlled and things I didn’t, and I needed to plan for both."
"It was a tax I had to pay my entire career — balancing the work and trying to lift my community."
"Every manager who works with me knows their responsibility includes sourcing candidates for diverse backgrounds."
"If you don’t have those challenges, it’s a lot easier to make it in the corporate world."
"You need to ask, who are you excluding in the conversation? That’s the disservice to empathy."
"I made an explicit choice: we’re not making any offers until we’re interviewing women."
"Designers who come out of US tech need to pivot quickly toward broader inclusion or risk being outpaced by other markets."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
















More Videos

"I hadn’t realized that we were both going to need that advice."
Randolph Duke IIWar Stories LIVE! Randy Duke II
March 30, 2020

"This is a moment to rethink identity beyond UX and get creative with income streams and career paths."
Corey Nelson Amy SanteeLayoffs
November 15, 2022

"If you measure an infinite number of customers, every change would be statistically significant, but not every change would be meaningful."
Landon BarnesAre My Research Findings Actually Meaningful?
March 10, 2022

"There was a founder who said our job was to coach people to not need us anymore, which is the kind of mindset I wish was more common."
Amy BucherHarnessing behavioral science to uncover deeper truths
March 12, 2025

"Momentum in users is like energy in fluid—strong motivation drives fast, decisive movement."
David SternbergUncovering the hidden forces shaping user behavior
July 17, 2025

"Piloting your ideas before committing helps prevent disruption and saves energy in the long run."
Deanna SmithLeading Change with Confidence: Strategies for Optimizing Your Process
September 23, 2024

"Hiring for lived experience, not just academic credentials, changes the game."
Jennifer StricklandAdopting a "Design By" Method
December 9, 2021

"Our team Ops Charter is about amplifying and celebrating the work and impact of design and design Ops."
Rachel Posman John CalhounA Closer Look at Team Ops and Product Ops (Two Sides of the DesignOps Coin)
November 19, 2020

"Service designers connect the dots, which represent elements, teams, processes, policies, and customer needs that all must align."
Gina MendoliaTherapists, Coaches, and Grandmas: Techniques for Service Design in Complex Systems
December 3, 2024