Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
The Trials and Tribulations of Directors of UX
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
-
•
UX directors are often overloaded, having to manage both direct teams and cross-functional relationships due to organizational downsizing.
-
•
Many design executives are ill-prepared for their roles, leaving directors unprotected from organizational chaos.
-
•
Modern product managers often lack critical product development process skills, forcing UX directors to fill that gap.
-
•
Leadership work is inherently undefined; doing tasks outside job descriptions often signals true leadership.
-
•
UX professionals consistently report lower job satisfaction than other roles because expectations about the 'real work' of UX are poorly set.
-
•
Trust building with cross-functional partners relies on credibility, reliability, intimacy, and avoiding self-interest.
-
•
Understanding subject matter expertise beyond design craft is essential for UX leaders to gain influence.
-
•
Playing office politics is necessary for advancing a UX agenda, and influence must be exercised ethically.
-
•
Organizational and design maturity vary widely; UX leaders must meet organizations where they are to drive progress.
-
•
Demonstrating the impact of UX requires connecting behavioral design outcomes to business value metrics, which many organizations struggle to do.
Notable Quotes
"UX directors often feel like this poor person in the middle getting pulled in all these directions."
"If executives are responsible for the why and managers are responsible for the what, then directors are responsible for the how."
"Many product managers got the job because they knew the business, but they don’t know how to manage product development effectively."
"If you find yourself doing a lot of things that aren’t in your job description, that might mean you’re doing leadership."
"UXers are less satisfied because we have failed to set proper expectations about what the real work of UX is."
"You build trust by showing you understand what it takes to get something shipped and by knowing the subject matter."
"Playing politics is necessary in UX leadership to advance your agenda ethically."
"You need to meet your leaders where they are on their maturity curve to be effective."
"Design impact doesn’t exist separate from the work with others – it’s part of the initiative's success."
"We freak out when leadership acts irrationally, but we accept that users do the same because we understand them better."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"You can change the conference time zone to your local time zone in the upper right corner so there’s no confusion about start times."
Louis Rosenfeld Bria AlexanderDay 1 Welcome
September 23, 2024
"Changing branding and the look and feel should be possible with very quick and easy interactions, not taking another 10 weeks to customize."
George Abraham Stefan IvanovDesign Systems To-Go: Reimagining Developer Handoff, and Introducing App Builder (Part 2)
October 1, 2021
"Aim for a two for one: how can you make your goals and the goals of others align?"
Jess GrecoClaiming your power: Practical tools for amplifying your unique voice
March 13, 2025
"This is us. This is all of us in this room. That could be your mom or your son or your daughter or you that have been through that."
Robert SchwartzWe're Here for the Humans
June 9, 2017
"Anticipation involves preparatory actions to manage uncertainty about future conditions."
Nicole AleongFuture Orientations to Everyday Life: Futures Anthropology as a Methodology
March 26, 2024
"Power dynamics exist in every session. People don’t want to be embarrassed or feel put on the spot."
Mila Kuznetsova Lucy DentonHow Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices
March 9, 2022
"Language is very important; sometimes new vocabulary helps because people didn’t have a word before."
John Mortimer Milan Guenther Lucy Ellis Patrick QuattlebaumPanel Discussion
December 3, 2024
"How do we train AI models to prevent bias and preserve privacy, especially considering disability data is often seen as medical data?"
Sam ProulxTo Boldly Go: The New Frontiers of Accessibility
November 18, 2022
"This isn’t about Skynet; it’s about simple signals of awareness that adapt to immediate context."
Josh Clark Veronika KindredSentient Scenes and Radically Adaptive Experiences
June 11, 2025
