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The Trials and Tribulations of Directors of UX
Summary
Directors of UX are navigating an overwhelming set of explicit and implicit expectations in their work, leading to frustration, anxiety, burnout, and leaving the field altogether. In this freewheeling discussion with guest Peter Merholz, organizational consultant and leadership mentor, we’ll address how we got into this situation (layoffs requiring those who remain to manage more people; botched agile transformations requiring UXers to lean into product management; immature organizations not knowing how to value the work), and identify paths forward out of this mess.
Key Insights
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UX directors are often overloaded, having to manage both direct teams and cross-functional relationships due to organizational downsizing.
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Many design executives are ill-prepared for their roles, leaving directors unprotected from organizational chaos.
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Modern product managers often lack critical product development process skills, forcing UX directors to fill that gap.
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Leadership work is inherently undefined; doing tasks outside job descriptions often signals true leadership.
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UX professionals consistently report lower job satisfaction than other roles because expectations about the 'real work' of UX are poorly set.
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Trust building with cross-functional partners relies on credibility, reliability, intimacy, and avoiding self-interest.
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Understanding subject matter expertise beyond design craft is essential for UX leaders to gain influence.
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Playing office politics is necessary for advancing a UX agenda, and influence must be exercised ethically.
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Organizational and design maturity vary widely; UX leaders must meet organizations where they are to drive progress.
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Demonstrating the impact of UX requires connecting behavioral design outcomes to business value metrics, which many organizations struggle to do.
Notable Quotes
"UX directors often feel like this poor person in the middle getting pulled in all these directions."
"If executives are responsible for the why and managers are responsible for the what, then directors are responsible for the how."
"Many product managers got the job because they knew the business, but they don’t know how to manage product development effectively."
"If you find yourself doing a lot of things that aren’t in your job description, that might mean you’re doing leadership."
"UXers are less satisfied because we have failed to set proper expectations about what the real work of UX is."
"You build trust by showing you understand what it takes to get something shipped and by knowing the subject matter."
"Playing politics is necessary in UX leadership to advance your agenda ethically."
"You need to meet your leaders where they are on their maturity curve to be effective."
"Design impact doesn’t exist separate from the work with others – it’s part of the initiative's success."
"We freak out when leadership acts irrationally, but we accept that users do the same because we understand them better."
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