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.
The Atypical UX Manager Path
Summary
For this month's call we convened a 3-person panel to share diverse stories and paths of becoming a UX manager—from writing, to print/graphic design, and even theater! We discussed the various origin stories of becoming a manager, those humbling moments of learning lessons along the way, and touch upon what makes managing truly rewarding as a career path choice. Whether you're a manager now or perhaps thinking about it with some trepidation, you will surely get some inspiring takeaways. As a bonus, we also featured a short teaser of content coming up for our annual Enterprise Experience 2020 conference.
Key Insights
-
•
UX managers often come from diverse, non-technical backgrounds like graphic design, writing, and theater.
-
•
Empathy toward individual team members’ personalities and needs is crucial for effective management.
-
•
Managing remote teams during COVID-19 requires intentional human connection beyond work tasks.
-
•
Facilitation skills are vital for UX managers to build alignment and support team dynamics.
-
•
Avoid overshadowing team members by empowering them to own their work and grow independently.
-
•
Managing ambiguity successfully means matching management style to individual team member preferences.
-
•
Mentorship is fundamental both for individual contributors and for managers developing new managers.
-
•
A key management skill is coaching people to solve problems rather than solving them yourself.
-
•
Writing skills help managers articulate ideas clearly, especially in complex conversations like performance reviews.
-
•
Leadership in UX expands design skills to people problems, diversity, inclusion, and team processes.
Notable Quotes
"Imagine if everyone you worked with had deep empathy for your customers and made decisions based on those customer needs."
"I really love being a manager because you get joy from seeing people grow and succeed."
"You can’t manage everybody the same way; different personalities require different approaches."
"The best way to overcome imposter syndrome is to mentor others and share the lessons you’ve learned."
"Facilitation is essential—not just for design work but to build alignment and manage people."
"Don’t just make it all about work, especially right now; people need human contact and silliness too."
"A lot of my team are introverts; we do daily coffee chats to keep the team connected remotely."
"You need to coach people to solve their own problems; jumping in to fix them is not sustainable."
"Management is about enabling people to be their best, not about your own success."
"Writing helps me clearly articulate ideas and feedback, which is a superpower as a manager."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Participants themselves need to be real humans at the end of the day to get unique insights."
Kate Towsey Basel Fakhoury Oren Friedman Graham GardnerParticipant Recruitment and Management Tools
March 12, 2026
"The unpredictable black box nature of LLMs means we had to zoom in on small problems first before seeing the bigger picture."
Jennifer KongJourneying toward AI-assisted documentation in healthcare
June 5, 2024
"Designers want more time to prototype and really ensure what ships is successful, but we just don’t have enough people or time."
Kevin M. HoffmanTheme 2: Enterprise Team Journey
June 3, 2019
"Creating internal champions in client organizations helps improve adoption and reduces churn."
Amy MarquezINVEST: Discussion
June 15, 2018
"Invite yourself to the table by bringing actual deliverables, like storyboards and prototypes."
Gretchen AndersonScaling the Human Center
June 8, 2017
"The pandemic and climate change have shown how tightly interwoven and global our challenges truly are."
April ReaganLook, Think, Act: The Futures-Smart Design Organization
October 1, 2021
"The pandemic flipped the equation, and IBM became the place that design talent left."
Dante GuintuHow to Crush the Talent Crunch
September 8, 2022
"Leave some space for creativity in your design system so designers can innovate without breaking consistency."
Jaime CreixemsBest Practices when Creating and Maintaining a Design System
June 7, 2023
"Balsamiq is more a communication tool, intentionally limiting high polish so you focus on sharing ideas and getting feedback."
Billy CarlsonPrinciples of Team Wireframing
October 2, 2023
