What’s next for you? The interaction design world is growing and changing and there is an increasing number of opportunities within our profession. One option as you progress in your career is the move to management. But should you do it?
I want to share with you the 4 big lessons I learned through my experience managing a UX team. I use insight from the experts to provide a deeper understanding of what great leadership really is, while relating it back to the specific challenges of being a UX manager.
As an interaction designer you already have many of the skills needed to give you a head start in the move to management. But there is more to it than what appears on the surface. One of the most difficult parts of being a manager is building the emotional intelligence to bring self awareness, empathy and humility to the role. These traits are more important than those commonly portrayed by the ‘charismatic leaders’ of popular culture and they are things that can be learned. In my talk I will demonstrate how these come into play with examples of common issues that you might face as a UX manager.
Being a good manager takes time and effort as well as a shift in focus away from the pure practice of design. But it is in many ways its own design challenge that brings great satisfaction. And the skills you will learn are life skills, not only work skills.
