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The transition from being an IC to becoming a manager is one of the most exciting and challenging shifts you can make in your career. The skills that helped you excel as a designer aren’t always the ones that help you thrive as a leader. In fact, holding onto them too tightly can unintentionally hold your team back.
I wrote this as a reflection for anyone stepping into management (or already there), wrestling with where to lean in, where to step back, and how to lead in a way that builds trust, culture, and long-term impact.
So let’s talk about what that shift actually looks like.
Yeah, it’s great you knew how to build components, contribute to the design systems work, created some of the most thoughtful prototypes, and put in the extra hours to develop your expertise. You thought deeply about user flows and edge cases, and guided your teams to focus on what users actually want while understanding the business. That’s exactly why I thought you’d make a great manager.
Not just because you were excellent at execution, but because you set an example. You raised the bar. You showed initiative, elevated the impact of design on the business, and built strong relationships across functional disciplines. People respect you. They ask for you by name to lead work. You are a force and a multiplier.
But stepping into management means something fundamentally shifts.
I know it's hard to say no. I know your instinct is to jump into the details, to extend yourself even more. But doing more of the same work doesn't serve you or your team.
Taking on more execution only creates the illusion of extra design capacity. You know better. You know that design work doesn't end with a series of mockups. It has a long tail of responsibilities: edge cases, bug fixes, stakeholder reviews, and QA cycles.
And here's the thing, it’s not your job to do this anymore.
You won’t be evaluated on how flawless your prototypes are or how fast you can ship. In fact, continuing to do that work may hurt your team. If you're in the room, speaking for them, showing your thought process before they've had a chance to articulate their own—you’re unintentionally robbing them of the opportunity to grow.
This is your new challenge: delegate, show people the way, and help them understand the possibilities and their potential. Because when people are performing their best the products we build benefit.
Hand off the projects you used to lead. Let others take the reins. Let them stretch, make mistakes, and find their own way. Some of it might surprise you. Some of it might not meet your standards. That’s okay. You're building something bigger now: a team culture.
You’ll have to accept that your decisions a year ago may no longer hold weight. Things evolve. What worked yesterday might not work today. You might sit in meetings where people question your past design decisions.
Let go of your ego. Because change is constant, and new ideas may go beyond what you thought of.
Create space for others to lead. Provide feedback, but try not to be prescriptive (although, at times, it's necessary).
Don’t forget what got you here—but now, step back, observe, and support.
In doing so, you might learn a thing or two and be the catalyst to make things go beyond what anyone thought was possible.