Designers As Leaders: Now that we have a seat at the table, how do we prove we belong?

A recent survey of LinkedIn job postings revealed an astonishing 66,000 openings for executive design leadership roles. By this measure, it is undoubtable that user experience design has reached a “tipping point” wherein established businesses are viewing it as a key driver—a requirement, rather than an option—and they are investing in design at rates never before seen. As a result, there is a massive demand for designers who have the skills to lead growing organizations of hundreds or thousands of designers, and a vast shortage of designers with the skills and experience to fill these demanding roles.

The dilemma is that most designers have built their careers as practitioners and individual contributors, rather than as organizational leaders, hence we are forced to “learn as we go” when adopting business leadership skills.

As this first full generation of design leaders matures into increasingly substantial and challenging leadership roles, what skills will we need to adopt? Where will we find them, and how will we learn them? And how will we retain our unique and essential skills as designers as we evolve?