How To Be An Effective Design Manager For Your Team?

Designing digital products is not one person’s job (& we’ve elaborated that for you here) Each division requires a very different skill set. While one part demands you to visualize a design, another role is expected to follow a strict design system.

While you know or have read the basics of design management (i.e open communication, hand-holding, work process & more), we are here to define how you can mentor a designer to grow in a role they will naturally excel in.

Learn Who They Are

Background says so much about the person. Take time & learn where your team members worked, their experience, their job roles, their achievements, their interest, their passions? Know what they truly love & excites them about their job role? What are their future goals?

Dive a little deeper into their personality. Are they more likely to take on challenges? Would they perform under pressure? Are they looking for a comfortable job or something that puts them out of their comfort zone? What about teamwork, how adaptive are they?

Study Their Strengths & Weakness

What are they naturally good at? What do they struggle with? Get answers to these questions & it would help you plan the ratio of easy to achieve tasks vs tasks that require them to stretch. That ratio will always fluctuate based on workload, personality, personal life, etc. Put them to test, throw them into the pool of diverse briefs and see if they swim or sink.

Chalk Out A Growth Plan

Hear from the horse’s mouth, don’t assume their growth plan. Get them to chalk out one for themselves. Once your mentee’s detailed the plan out, understand their POV on what it takes to achieve their desired goals. It will help you identify the gaps & share advisory points from your experience.

This activity will surely stay with them for years to come & helps clear out the blurry vision.

Observe & Suggest

Keep a track of their progress! What’s their struggle points? What’s a left-hand job for them? Give them pro-tips for their pain points & see how it fairs for them (coz no solution fits all) The results of which would be a good learning for you too.

Regular Check-ins Are A Must

Problems can arise whenever & so can some demotivation. If your team size is huge, it can get difficult to know their whereabouts everyday. So make it a point to conduct weekly catch-ups.

Evaluate their performance, their progress on their growth plan & address their concerns.

Talk Beyond Work

Loosen up! You are managing a human, not a machine. Organize meets outside work, talk beyond work (Just chill out and show a side of vulnerability because you are human too 😀