93. Why Great Designers Aren’t Always Great Managers

Are you climbing the career ladder, or should you be exploring a career playground instead?

This week Alison Gretz joins the show to explore the unique differences between individual contributors and managers. Alison is a leadership coach with a wealth of experience in UX design and strategy. Her career journey, which includes leadership roles at major companies like Target and Shutterfly, provides a unique lens through which we examine career progression in the UX field.

Alison challenges the traditional concept of career progression. She introduces the intriguing idea of viewing your career as a playground rather than a ladder, encouraging us to explore various roles and responsibilities without the pressure of always moving “up.”

We dive into the often-overlooked challenges of transitioning from an individual contributor to a management role in UX. Alison shares candid insights about the lack of management training in many organizations and offers practical advice on how to prepare yourself for leadership positions.

Whether you’re contemplating a move into UX management or looking to grow your impact as an individual contributor, this episode offers fresh perspectives and actionable advice. Tune in to gain insights that will help you design a career path that’s as unique and innovative as the products you create.

Topics:
• 06:21 – Alison’s Origin Story
• 08:52 – Manager vs IC
• 15:48 – Your career as a playground
• 17:54 – How do you know if you’d be a good manager?
• 21:15 – When you’ve hit a ceiling as an IC
• 26:23 – Keep an eye out for these things when interviewing
• 28:18 – How do you ask about leadership training for aspiring managers
• 32:11 – There are sometimes training opportunities if you ask
• 35:04 – How to help your leader help you get there
• 44:21 – As a manager, how do you keep your portfolio current?

Helpful Links:
• Connect with Alison on LinkedIn
• designbydesign.co

Alison Gretz
Design Leader and Career Coach

About Alison

Alison Gretz is a Leadership Coach and Trainer working at the intersection of the future of how we work on digital products, and leading healthy, high-performing teams of humans. Her Training offerings include a Design Leadership Accelerator and an entry-level Manager course. Launching this fall is the Good Manager Operating System – a collaborative tool for Managers and their teams to create healthy, impactful relationships and battle toxicity in their workplaces. Alison possesses over two decades of experience in strategy, Information Architecture, UX design, Product, Marketing, and supporting startups. Her career is marked by impactful achievements such as leading the Target App’s relaunch for increased engagement and digital revenue. Amidst the pandemic, she rebuilt Shutterfly’s Creative Services group, ensuring continuous product photography. Alison expanded the global UX Design team at Thomson Reuters, promoting user-centric design worldwide. She’s on a mission to make leadership less lonely and more human-centered, accelerating us all toward inclusive workplaces where everyone can thrive.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn

—

Thanks for listening! We hope you dug today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you really enjoyed today’s episode, why don’t you leave a five-star review? Or tell some friends! It will help us out a ton.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear.

• Get a FREE audiobook AND support the show
• Support the show on Patreon
• Check out show transcripts
• Check out our website
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Subscribe on Stitcher