UX Australia 2011

Consultants and in-house teams struggle with organizations that simply can’t deliver great experiences. Demand for skilled UX professionals far outstrips supply. Solving both problems will take strong UX leaders: people who can influence others to accomplish shared goals. We can develop strong UX leaders if we develop a broad view of what a UX leader is and focus on developing both practice leadership and change leadership skills.

UX leadership is a skill set, not a job title. UX leaders can come from many disciplines and have many roles. Managers need to carve out opportunities for multiple leaders to develop. Individuals must be able to envision models of leadership that fit their own strengths and interests.

In a field where collaboration and creativity are essential, UX leaders must be able to bring out the best in designers, developers, researchers, product managers, and others. Being promoted to management doesn’t automatically make someone a leader, and plenty of front-line UX pros exercise leadership skills every day. We must recognize that leadership – much like design or research – involves a unique set of skills that years of conscious practice to master.

It’s not enough for UX leaders to influence and inspire others. UX leaders must also be equipped to solve the hardest design problem of all: changing not just the process by which our organizations develop products and services, but also the culture that invisibly drives every decision.

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Download: Experience leadership (mp3 audio file)