Seeing more clearly as a new design manager
Decrease your blindspots by facing them head-on
The first step to making sense of the routine challenges of leading a team is seeing things as they really are. Here are two methods you can begin using now.
Every day we are confronted with so much incoming information that it is impossible to make sense of it all. So we use mental models to help make sense of what we can. Models inform the stories we tell ourselves. Those narratives provide the clarity we deeply crave in the midst of the chaos of daily life.
Information > Model > Narrative > Meaning
This pattern is how people make sense of their workplace and the people they work with. But what happens when your information that is feeding this pattern of sensemaking is incomplete?
Most often you and I are blind to critical facts, thus skewing the efficacy of the whole pattern of making sense and seeing clearly.
2 ways to see more clearly
To make sense of what is going on you need to check your information, mental models, and stories. To begin, acknowledge your own blindness and create actionable strategies to cover your blind spots.
Acknowledge blindness
The first step to seeing your work, team, and organization clearly is to acknowledge the truth that you are blind to pretty much everything going on around you. Ed Catmull, the President of Pixar and Disney Animation explained it this way in his book Creativity Inc:
It simply doesn’t occur to [new managers] that after they get promoted to a leadership position, no one is going to come out and say, “Now that you are a manager, I can no longer be as candid with you.” Instead, many new leaders assume, wrongly, that their access to information is unchanged. (P. 171)
As a new manager, you are even more blind than you realize.
Purposefully check blind spots
To lead a design team that makes a measurable impact, you must have an accurate picture of reality and that starts with visibility of the facts of your team. Do you know the personal and professional goals of your teammates? Their strengths and opportunities? Do they feel like they are contributing and adding value?
A few things that have helped me discover blind spots:
- Weekly 1:1 conversations. The focus is explicitly on the important but not urgent things. This could include career development, things they are learning, and big ideas. Logistics or project-specific items come afterward and if needed we schedule more time later if more coordination is required. FranklinCovey has some helpful material on this.
- Bi-weekly team pulse. Based on what I learned from John Deere I’ve begun to send a bi-weekly poll to my team. This simple action has led to richer conversations, highlighted big blind spots, and led to my making small adjustments to how we work together.
As you consider your team and the activities that make up daily life, how are you purposefully seeking out your blind spots to see more clearly?
