This article is part two of a three-part series in which I sit down with Anukriti Verma, a design manager, to reflect on our experiences at different phases of our careers. You can also find the series in her publication, Making design make sense, where she shares her reflections on career growth. This series is published weekly, so be sure to subscribe to catch the next one!
Hi friends! Last week we touched on perception vs realities of a design leader. Today we’re diving deeper into what a design leader does on the day-to-day. Let’s dive in!
Navigating meetings, decisions, and team alignment
Harrison: Yes it’s true managers do have a lot of meetings! But what are these all about? Could they have been a Slack conversation or an email instead? I know there is a big anti-meeting movement, but hear me out, for managers they are very important especially when there is intention around them.
Anukriti: That’s a good way to get the elephant out of the room! Meetings often get a bad rap, but the reality is that they play a critical role in decision-making, alignment, and building relationships. If I could summarize all kind of meetings, we’d be looking at another article, but this is a good overview of most meetings design leaders are involved in:
Hiring - Reviewing portfolios, conducting technical screens, and making hiring decisions to strengthen the design team.
Team health - Meeting 1:1 with the designers on their project challenges, performance check-ins, workload discussion, or any decisions they need help with.
Design reviews - Ensures the solution is refined to a high-quality and often surfaces things that someone may have missed.
Strategic reviews - Aligning design with broader business goals.
Cross-functional alignment - Ensure alignment with product, design, engineering and other teams.
Operational planning - Identifying blockers, improving processes, and creating a space for designers to thrive in the work they do.
Harrison: There are so many things to stay on top of, and switching context can be challenging. How do you manage it all?
Anukriti: I literally have a note doc for every person I talk to! It may sound weird at first, but going unprepared for a meeting, or forgetting action items discussed doesn’t benefit anyone in the meeting, so notes of some kind are essential. I used to rely on memory for every decision made in a meeting, but when you're switching contexts every hour (or even every 30 minutes), keeping notes is a lifesaver for me! Also, with so many AI tools out there, it’s easy to condense the raw notes into simple action items.
Cross-functional stake/holder meetings
Harrison: Every major decision comes down to a discussion. And you can’t solution or design your way out of it and sometimes they may not be actionable immediately! You may need more data, input from a specialist and connections with another team.
Anukriti: Exactly! Sometimes, the biggest way to unlock a problem is simply starting the right conversation with the right people. I think building relationships with stakeholders is super important—as important as the decisions themselves. The way I see it, these meetings can fall under any of these categories:
Decision making: These meetings often set the direction of a product or initiative. I’m in either 1:1 meetings or design review meetings with stakeholders on a regular basis—in most meetings there are short-term and long-term decisions being made.
Alignment and Delegation: As leaders, we decide whether more data is needed to inform a decision, or if a decision is ready to be made, or if it's time to delegate.
Uncovering opportunities: Some of my best ideas have come from these discussions with my PMs, researchers and engineers. This collective act of identifying opportunities is rewarding - it often shapes the work our teams do.
What do you think? Anything to add?
Harrison: Another thing to note is that the stakes vary! Some meetings are low-risk and exploratory, while others are mission-critical. It’s our job to help define what’s at stake, drive the conversation forward, and ensure a decision is made.
Now talking this out sounds easier said than done!
One of the things my executive coach taught me is that it’s always important to focus on the shared purpose and have absolute clarity on the topic of discussion and the desired outcome. That means sometimes it may not be clear within the bounds of discussion and so it's ok if there needs to be some time to put thought into things or regroup at a later time.
Keeping the team aligned & focused
Anukriti: Alignment is everything! This is an area I often find myself spending time on, that’s not to say there’s inefficiency in processes. It is often about over-communicating and bringing everyone on the same page early and often. Harrison, how do you ensure your team stays on track?
Harrison: I think there are a few key areas. We get involved a lot in product/project planning to make sure that product and design and all cross-functional partners are aware of what’s on our plate. This provides focus and clear expectations.
Here’s how we make sure our team stays on track:
Planning - Knowing what projects are coming down the pipeline and aligning cross-functional efforts accordingly
Quarterly Kickoffs – Defining the focus areas and team pods so everyone knows what they’re working on on a quarterly basis. This format creates a ton of curiosity into what other designers are working on.
Deep Dives – Designers present their work to foster collaboration and visibility.
Ownership & Themes – We set themes for the quarter, reinforcing priorities and showcase how their work drives business impact.
Ownership is also key
Harrison: I like to borrow from sports analogies. My former manager recommended this book called The Score Takes Care of Itself, by Bill Walsh, who was a former coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Walsh emphasizes organizational ethics, a high standard of performance, and the leader as teacher. This book really resonated with me in that regard as a former athlete. I remember when I played at Iowa there was a slogan on the practice field that was:
When I played at Iowa, there was a slogan on the practice field that read “Preparing to be the best.” That meant bringing your best effort to every practice, evaluating your performance, learning how to improve, and repeating that cycle. This same mindset can be brought to the work we do daily, ensuring we’re always striving to deliver our best.
Anukriti: I love that! We hold a high bar for craft. I have a weekly team design crit which is a great way for the designers to give feedback and input on each other’s work. It also gives us an overview of what everyone is working on, which identifies opportunities to collaborate and add ideas to making a high-quality user experience.
Harrison: Yes, and if a deliverable doesn’t meet the standard we’ve promised our users, we should escalate to leadership right away. Regardless of whether it's an MVP or a General Availability (GA), every feature should just work and meet our customers' and members' expectations.
We have the ability to change the environment around us. Let’s not waste time imagining what could be, we can make it a reality ourselves. We know things won’t change unless we do something about them, and who better to start than you? It takes commitment and a willingness to take action in the moment.
Anukriti: I agree, this is also my personal philosophy! Taking initiative and working as a team can completely change how we get things done. It’s not just about doing more, it’s more about doing what actually matters, for our users and each other!
Final thoughts
If there is one thing that you could take from this article, it would be understanding that when it comes to the day-to-day of a design leader, no two days are going to be the same.
Staying organized is super important, but it’s also important to embrace spontaneity, and not losing sight of your creativity. Sometimes we tend to get caught up in all of the structure, but great ideas spark from moments of moments of spontaneity, open dialogue and the energy to work through the unknown.
Or simply put, learn to embrace the chaos!
Stay tuned for next week, when we talk about the future of design leadership and AI. Until then, check out our previous post in this series: