Speakers
Peter Merholz
Peter Merholz has worked at the intersection of design, technology, and humans for over 25 years. Currently, he’s an independent consultant focused on improving the effectiveness of design organizations. His clients include JP Morgan Chase, Ceridian, The New York Times, Roblox, and Starbucks.
He co-founded Adaptive Path, the premier user experience consultancy, acquired by Capital One in 2014. After leaving Adaptive Path, he served as a design executive, leading teams at Groupon, OpenTable, Capital One, Snagajob, and Kaiser Permanente.
He co-wrote Org Design for Design Orgs, still the premier book on building in-house design teams, and co-hosts Finding Our Way, a podcast exploring design leadership.
Oh, and yeah, he coined the word 'blog'.
About the talk
The Evolving Design Leader: embracing your new form as you advance in your career
The Peter Principle (not named for me, but for organizational consultant Laurence J. Peter) states that because people are promoted based on prior success, they end up rising to a level of their incompetence, because the skills that got them there aren't those that will carry them forward. This is particularly true in the field of design, as it is only recently that we've seen true executive design roles, and we're all still figuring out how we can best contribute.
In this talk, Peter (Merholz) will prepare you for each stage in your leadership journey, from manager to director to VP and beyond. In which direction should you be oriented: managing down, across, or up-and-out? What activities are worth your time and effort (ensuring quality delivery; recruiting and hiring; strategy and vision)? The answers vary as you evolve in your career.
Q&A with Peter Merholz
Q&A with Peter Merholz
The Evolving Design Leader: embracing your new form as you advance in your career
The Peter Principle (not named for me, but for organizational consultant Laurence J. Peter) states that because people are promoted based on prior success, they end up rising to a level of their incompetence, because the skills that got them there aren't those that will carry them forward. This is particularly true in the field of design, as it is only recently that we've seen true executive design roles, and we're all still figuring out how we can best contribute.
In this talk, Peter (Merholz) will prepare you for each stage in your leadership journey, from manager to director to VP and beyond. In which direction should you be oriented: managing down, across, or up-and-out? What activities are worth your time and effort (ensuring quality delivery; recruiting and hiring; strategy and vision)? The answers vary as you evolve in your career.
About the workshop
Design Leadership Fundamentals
When designers become design leaders, they often don't realize that the skills that got them there aren't the skills that will carry them forward. To be a great designer is to be a remarkable craftsperson and problem-solver. To be a great design leader is to excel at these four Archetypes: Coach (managing down, getting most out of the team); Diplomat (managing across; ensuring design's voice in the process); Champion (managing up; handling executives and stakeholders); and Architect (managing the team as it scales).
In the workshop, we'll dig into each of these archetypes, discussing practices and mindsets that will help you succeed within each. This workshop is structured with activities, and will be a facilitated conversation among peers. Peter will provide brief presentations to set the table, and then lead a discussion to find out your challenges, your successes, and take advantage of collective intelligence to better enlighten us all. Each Archetype also comes with an assessment tool for grading yourself, and then your team, afterward.
Design Leadership Fundamentals
When designers become design leaders, they often don't realize that the skills that got them there aren't the skills that will carry them forward. To be a great designer is to be a remarkable craftsperson and problem-solver.
To be a great design leader is to excel at these four Archetypes: Coach (managing down, getting most out of the team); Diplomat (managing across; ensuring design's voice in the process); Champion (managing up; handling executives and stakeholders); and Architect (managing the team as it scales).
In the workshop, we'll dig into each of these archetypes, discussing practices and mindsets that will help you succeed within each. This workshop is a facilitated conversation among peers. Peter will provide brief presentations to set the table, and then lead a discussion to find out your challenges, your successes, and take advantage of collective intelligence to better enlighten us all.
Each Archetype also comes with an assessment tool for grading yourself, and then your team, afterward.
Key Takeaways:
- How to shift your focus from the content of the work, to relationships with others, recognizing that stronger relationships leads to better output
- How to motivate your team to deliver their best work
- The importance, and fragility, of Trust
- Why you need to overcome your reticence and become an active communicator
- How to balance being a "team player" with making sure you get what you need to succeed
- Connecting design to what the Business values
- Systems and structures that enable scale
- Why you can't be a good leader if you're not taking care of yourself