Be in the work.

No ifs. No buts. There is no-one else who can do it like you can.

I was asked yesterday: ‘Mark, do you design anymore?’. I had to pause. ‘What do you mean?’ I replied. Of course, they meant do I make things with pixels, directly. Do I spend time in Figma making things from scratch. No, I don’t. But I still design. Just in different ways.

Design leadership is not (always) about navigating the echelons of company hierarchy. It’s not (always) about line management or running a team. Running a design company is not (always) about pipeline or sales. I see, hear, and read much of the design leader playbook and it never talks about the work.

For me, it is all about the work. And you have to be in it to see it. To feel it.

That doesn’t mean you have to micro-manage. It doesn’t mean you have to impatiently take over if someone is not getting your feedback or going too slowly. It doesn’t mean you have to do it yourself. You probably shouldn’t if you’ve spent time building a team more talented than you are.

Be careful about being in the work around the work.

Being in the work is about seeing and feeling where you are. On the path to better quality. Giving a gentle nudge here or a firm correction there. On the path to building better experiences for your customers. Being in the weeds should never feel beneath you. That is where the work is and the further away from that you are, the less able you are to influence the quality of it.

Note: these are notes to myself. Sometimes made years ago as a result of something or other. But this one was from yesterday and my reflections since.