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Summary
Join us for a special "fireside chat" with Dantley Davis, Chief Design Officer at Twitter. We hosted a live conversation about Dantley's own path of becoming a design leader, diving into his influences and lessons learned along the way. We also discussed what it means to enable greater inclusivity and diversity in our field, particularly in these momentous times.
Key Insights
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Military training provided Dan with situational awareness applicable to design leadership, balancing macro and tactical views.
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An MBA helped Dan create a shared vocabulary with business leaders, increasing trust and strategic impact.
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Leadership emerged for Dan organically through producing excellent design work and later by scaling via mentorship and recruitment.
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Diversity of team backgrounds leads to better products that serve broader market needs beyond early adopters.
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People of color often carry a ‘tax’ balancing job performance with advocating for equity, which white men may not experience.
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Intentional recruiting processes and tying diversity to compensation motivate leadership to prioritize inclusive hiring.
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Designers should focus on influence and collaboration rather than strict ownership or transitioning fully into product management.
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Authentic, vulnerable conversations about race and inclusion require humility and an openness to material change.
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Exposure to diverse user research and taking executives on field visits helps illuminate blind spots in design.
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Diverse lived experiences are not just diversity hires but valuable capabilities necessary for innovation and a global user base.
Notable Quotes
"By the time I got to high school, I had these skills, but it was a hobby. My goal was actually to go into the military and be an officer."
"In the military, you plan for both what you can control and what you can't, and that balance applies to business and design."
"Having an MBA helped me run through the same quant models product managers use and reinforced trust in my work."
"Design isn't just about pixels, but also understanding policy, legal, tax, and infrastructure—having a 360 point of view."
"The best products take a village; ownership needs to be shared, much like raising a child."
"People of color pay a tax having to balance work and lifting their communities, which makes progress harder."
"Every new designer on my team starts their first day with quality research trips to diverse communities to broaden perspective."
"At Twitter, direct reports' compensation is tied to diversity outcomes, so they have skin in the game."
"To start conversations about race, you have to be vulnerable, say you want to help, and be authentic about it."
"Diverse life experience on a team is a superpower that helps build more inclusive and globally relevant products."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
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