HOW I LEAD
Systems, relationships, and clarity.
Design leadership isn't about having all the answers — it's about building the conditions that help teams find the best answers together.
MY ROLE
As a design manager, I operate as the DRI for the UX strategy of my group. My focus is on creating the conditions for great design to happen:
Research synthesis
Making sure customer insights are translated into actionable strategic direction
Strategic framing
Defining the "why" and "what" so my team can focus on the "how"
Team facilitation
Running critiques, workshops, and planning sessions that elevate everyone's thinking
Stakeholder alignment
Building shared understanding with product, engineering, and business leadership
People development
Investing in each designer's growth, career goals, and creative confidence
BUILDING TEAMS
I believe high-performing teams are built, not found. When I join or inherit a team, my first priority is understanding each person — their strengths, their growth edges, and what "doing their best work" looks like for them individually.
From there, I focus on building the structural support that lets talent flourish: clear goal-setting frameworks, regular 1:1s with real substance, design quality reviews that elevate craft without crushing creativity, and team rituals that build shared ownership and trust.
At GoDaddy, I manage 7 designers ranging from associate to senior lead levels. At HubSpot, I oversaw 7 designers across the Data Management Group. At VMware, I managed 5 designers from entry-level to Senior Product Designer 2. In each case, the foundation was the same: invest in the people, and the work follows.
PARTNERING CROSS-FUNCTIONALLY
I operate in a triad model with product and engineering leadership. I don't believe design should be an order-taking function — but I also don't believe it should be a walled garden. The best products come from true partnership, where design has a strategic voice and also deeply understands the business and technical constraints.
At HubSpot, I partnered in a triad structure directing team members across 6 front-end and 4 back-end squads. At GoDaddy, I work in close partnership with product and engineering leadership to align team priorities with long-term commerce ecosystem vision.
AI IN MY PRACTICE
I started deliberately integrating AI into my design leadership workflow in early 2024, and I've been iterating on it since. This isn't about chasing trends — it's about honestly asking: where does AI make my team faster, smarter, or more capable, and where does it not?
Meeting facilitation & docs
Using Copilot to capture and synthesize Teams meeting notes, action items, and decision logs in real time — reducing overhead so we spend less time on documentation and more on design.
Brainstorming & strategy
Using Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT as thinking partners when exploring strategic directions, framing problems, or stress-testing assumptions — surfacing angles I wouldn't reach alone.
Research synthesis
Using Claude and other LLMs to identify patterns across transcripts, surface contradictions in user feedback, and pressure-test strategic framing. The AI accelerates the path from raw data to actionable insight.
Prototyping & exploration
Encouraging my team to use Figma Make and Cursor/Claude Code to accelerate early-stage prototyping — getting to testable artifacts faster so we can learn sooner.
What I've learned so far
AI is exceptionally good at compressing the time between "I have raw information" and "I have a structured perspective." It's not good at replacing the judgment calls that come after — the decisions about what to prioritize, how to frame a recommendation for a skeptical stakeholder, or when to push back on a product direction that doesn't serve users.
The biggest risk I see isn't that AI will replace designers, but that design leaders will over-index on AI-generated output and under-invest in the human judgment that makes that output meaningful. My job is to help my team use AI as an accelerant while keeping the strategic and empathetic thinking firmly human.
I don't mandate AI tool usage, but I actively create space for my team to experiment. We share what's working, what's not, and where the boundaries are. Building this kind of team-level AI literacy is, I believe, one of the most important things a design manager can do right now.
MY VALUES
Psychological safety first
People do their best creative work when they feel safe taking risks, asking questions, and disagreeing respectfully.
Ownership over output
I'd rather my team own a problem end-to-end than produce beautiful experiences that don't move the needle.
Show, don't tell
Whether it's a design concept, a strategic recommendation, or a team process improvement — make it tangible.
Give credit generously
The best thing a design leader can do is make their team visible. I spotlight my designers' work at every opportunity.