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Summary
Directors of UX are navigating an overwhelming set of explicit and implicit expectations in their work, leading to frustration, anxiety, burnout, and leaving the field altogether. In this freewheeling discussion with guest Peter Merholz, organizational consultant and leadership mentor, we’ll address how we got into this situation (layoffs requiring those who remain to manage more people; botched agile transformations requiring UXers to lean into product management; immature organizations not knowing how to value the work), and identify paths forward out of this mess.
Key Insights
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UX directors are often caught in the middle, managing both delivery teams and cross-functional relationships, leading to burnout.
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Many design executives lack the skills or support to shield directors from organizational chaos.
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A large number of product managers lack key skills in managing product development processes, forcing UX directors to fill that gap.
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UX directors are frequently under-leveled compared to peers in engineering and product, impacting their influence and effectiveness.
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Some UX directors are the senior-most design leaders in their organizations, necessitating them to act as both directors and executives simultaneously.
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Leadership work consists largely of undefined responsibilities that require initiative beyond job descriptions.
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Building trust with cross-functional partners involves demonstrating credibility, reliability, and authentic personal connection.
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Knowing the subject matter deeply is essential for UX leaders to gain credibility alongside product and engineering counterparts.
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UXers report lower job satisfaction compared to their peers because of a mismatch between expectations and organizational realities.
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Organizational and design maturity levels create gaps that UX leaders must navigate by meeting organizations where they are and gradually shifting perspectives.
Notable Quotes
"UX directors often feel like this poor person in the middle here getting pulled in all these directions."
"Middle managers are responsible for the how—process, coordination, and communication—and you don’t see the value of that until it’s missing."
"Many product managers got their roles because they know the business or subject matter, but they don’t know how to manage product development."
"Sometimes the director is the most senior design person in the org and ends up playing the executive role without the title or support."
"If you’re doing a lot of work that’s not in your job description, you might actually be doing leadership."
"Developing trust means showing you understand what it takes to get something shipped, that you’re reliable, and that people can be vulnerable with you."
"Knowing your subject matter as a UX leader is just as important as knowing your craft."
"UXers are less satisfied than their peers because we have failed to set expectations about the real work of UX in organizations."
"Playing politics in UX leadership is about maximizing relationships ethically to advance your agenda, not about being underhanded."
"We don’t get upset when users say one thing and do another, but we freak out when our leadership behaves that way."
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