What my past design managers taught me about managing people.
I’ve had good managers and I’ve had not-so-great managers. I’ve learned from both.
Being a good manager is hard, it’s underrated how much time, feelings, and sacrifice good managers must make. As a designer, I thought I could only learn from a manager that was a designer, but boy was I wrong. Here are my takeaways.
It’s okay if you’re not friends with your directs.
I had a manager who I was best friends with. As a young designer, I thought that was normal. Our social lives collided too much and it made our relationship as a manager to direct report complicated. You’re there to coach, support, and grow your directs. It’s okay if you’re not friends with them.
Designers love growing in their craft.
Managing designers is fun, but challenging because designers long to grow in their craft. The challenge is that sometimes the craft they want to grow in doesn’t align with business goals! Spending weeks on a design system might sound appealing to some, but might not be something the team has the bandwidth to focus on long term.
Don’t encourage weekend work.
I once had a manager who asked me to work a weekend and then rewarded me for putting in the time. The difference between a thank you and “that shouldn’t happen again” and a gift for working harder than others is immense. Respect work/life balance, respect people’s boundaries, and value your team based on their performance, not hours worked.
Support your team when they are having tough days.
Being in a creative role is rewarding! However, it requires a state of flow, a clear mind, and the ability to be constantly inspired. When things are tough in personal lives, it affects work and that’s okay. I remember having a really tough week with family issues and I wasn’t able to give my 100% at work or even my 60%. My manager gave me a safe space to share what I was going through, was supportive, and even encourage time off. Support your team, don’t expect them to be pushing 100% at all times.
Keep your team inspired.
Design teams need to stay inspired. I like to ask what my team does to stay inspired. Some of them say they need to go outside on a walk and others say they need to do a “dream” or “fun” project. It’s worth the time to let your team explore things they love in the long run.
Protect your team's time.
Heads downtime is so important for designers. Some practical ways to protect your team's time is to encourage heads down time by snoozing Slack notifications, and scheduling meetings in the morning or the afternoon to allow your team to have a full day of heads down time to dedicate to designs.
Managing styles are different for everyone! And team members often need unique guidance. Take the experiences of poor managers and great managers to trust and protect your design team.
