Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Expert Panel: Leading in and with Research

Gold
Thursday, March 10, 2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Share the love for this talk
Expert Panel: Leading in and with Research
Speakers: Anna Avrekh , Dr. John Pagonis , Klara Pelcl and Sina Schreiber
Link:

Summary

What does it take to become a great research leader? What are the different types of leaders in research? How do you grow a team from a solo researcher to a successful research team? Growing research teams show a company’s commitment to user-centered and insight-driven decision-making. With growing teams, research leadership becomes a central topic. With user research often having the most comprehensive picture of the user, we will explore what this means for the collaboration with or leadership of other disciplines in the organization. Today we have the chance to learn from three research leaders who share their personal perspectives on research leadership and various facets of it. Get to know our panelists: Anna Avrekh, UX Research Manager at Meta Dr. John Pagonis, Principal UX Researcher at Zanshin Labs Klara Pelcl, Senior Design Research Manager at ebay Join us live as we have plenty of room for your questions during the panel.

Key Insights

  • Great UX research leaders aspire to become obsolete by building strong, empowered teams.

  • Effective research leadership requires advocacy to move research from reactive ticket-taking to strategic influence.

  • Transitioning from hands-on researcher to manager involves a mindset shift from delivering insights personally to enabling others to do so.

  • Preparing research that can withstand organizational scrutiny is key to defending evidence without defensiveness.

  • Building stakeholder involvement early reduces resistance and fosters a shared quest for truth.

  • Research leadership is not one-size-fits-all; there are valid paths as senior individual contributor or manager.

  • Managing a team remotely and during crises requires extra emphasis on communication, trust, and vulnerability.

  • Communicating research value is a gradual process requiring one-on-one relationship building and demonstrating impact over time.

  • Measuring and closing the loop on research impact helps justify research investment and drives continuous improvement.

  • Balancing 'player-coach' roles is challenging; leaders must manage bandwidth, expectations, and onboarding carefully.

Notable Quotes

"One of the amazing things about becoming very successful leaders is eventually becoming obsolete."

"You have to prepare research to withstand scrutiny by anyone so your team can go forward confidently."

"Leadership is enabling people to become empowered to achieve what they are set to achieve."

"The transition from hands-on research to managing is a big mind shift where outcomes become more intangible."

"Don’t position yourself as the research expert; you are the expert in facilitating the quest for knowledge."

"By the time the report comes out, your immediate team should have already moved on with implementing feedback."

"Trust with your team needs to be established and continuously nurtured because tough situations arise quickly."

"Time is the only resource we cannot replenish. Make sure you don’t spend it doing what’s not meaningful."

"Being human, authentic, humble, and showing vulnerability can take you a long way as a research leader."

"There is no certainty ever in research; qualitative and quantitative approaches complement each other for different purposes."

Ask the Rosenbot
Jamika Burge
Embracing change: Navigating shifting landscapes with compassion and agency
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Bria Alexander
Theme 1 Intro
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Bas Raijmakers, PhD (RCA)
What Design Research can Learn from Documentary Filmmaking
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Yulya Besplemennova
[Demo] Stress-testing GenAI in user research synthesis
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Bethany Brown
Rewiring operations with service design and AI
2025 • Advancing Service Design 2025
Gold
Jon Fukuda
All the Ops: Successful cross-functional collaboration
2025 • DesignOps Summit 2025
Gold
Chris Hodowanec
Agile + User Experience: How to navigate the Agile landscape as an UX Practitioner
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Ovetta Sampson
Managing the Human Engagement Risks of AI
2025 • Designing with AI 2025
Gold
Sarah Fathallah
Beyond insights: Rethinking the role of researchers as stewards of organizational wisdom
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Rebecca Topps
Planning and conducting remote usability studies for accessibility
2020 • Advancing Research Community
Mandy Drew
What Role(s) Can Research Play in Responsible Design?
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Julie Norvaisas
Back to basics, or start from scratch?
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Cornelius Rachieru
Handling Complexity: Framing a Scale of Design
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Kristen Honey
"Let’s Talk About Data and Crisis”: Public Digital Service Delivery = Open Data + Human Centered Design
2021 • Civic Design Community
Marc Fonteijn
First Insights from the 2025 Service Design Salary(+) Report
2024 • Advancing Service Design 2024
Gold
Crystal Yan
Building a Customer-Centric Culture
2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Gold

More Videos

Joanna Vodopivec

"Bringing stakeholders into the kitchen early helped us learn even before sessions started and adjust designs accordingly."

Joanna Vodopivec Prabhas Pokharel

One Research Team for All - Influence Without Authority

March 9, 2022

Louis Rosenfeld

"Public sector work is about broadening your reach and delivering outcomes to everyone, not winning market share."

Louis Rosenfeld Lashanda Hodge Senongo Akpem Chris Hodowanec

Becoming a Civic Designer: Making the Move from Private to Public Sector

November 17, 2022

Bria Alexander

"Please put your questions for a specific speaker in the associated thread for the talk."

Bria Alexander

Day 3 Welcome

September 25, 2024

Uday Gajendar

"Hopefully the internet stays strong and holds steady despite the stormy weather here in Louisiana."

Uday Gajendar Louis Rosenfeld

Day 2 Welcome

June 5, 2024

Sam Proulx

"Confidence is a higher burden in retail because people are giving real money; inaccessible flows cause quick abandonment."

Sam Proulx

Online Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience

June 7, 2023

Russ Unger

"If you really care about success, you define it first and hire against performance, not just experience."

Russ Unger

Onboarding: The Ecosystem, not the Afterthought

November 7, 2017

Catherine Dubut

"No one really knows what to expect anyway, so failure goes largely unnoticed. It's better to be transparent about the mess."

Catherine Dubut

Bridging Physical and Digital Spaces: Approaches to Retail Service Design

March 18, 2021

Josh Clark

"Assistance interfaces combine open-ended dialogue with the ability to do tasks on your behalf."

Josh Clark Veronika Kindred

Sentient Design: New Postures for AI-Mediated Experiences (2nd of 3 seminars)

January 29, 2025

Dantley Davis

"Ownership needs to be shared. The craft of making is similar to raising a child — it takes a village."

Dantley Davis

Leadership & Diversity—A Fireside Chat with Dantley Davis

September 17, 2020