Design leader vs design practitioner
There comes a time in some service designers careers when they realise they are no longer doing the job they love anymore. That certainly happened to me. I’d progressed ‘up the ladder’ in the way I was expected to. I actually had three Service Design Lead roles in a row (one was a secondment), I think because I knew that if I progressed to Head of Design I would no longer be doing hands-on design anymore.
Lead level is one step above Senior and one step below Head, unless you count Principal but let’s not get into that! To me, it always felt like a bit of a ‘sandwich’ role. You were expected to step into the leadership space and be developing those skills but also have your hand in the detail of the design work. Some people love this. I certainly made it clear in every Lead role I held that I wanted to keep doing hands-on design work. The problem was the reality!
In reality, it’s really difficult to do both of those things well at the same time. I constantly felt like I was being pulled between two worlds and not doing either very well. I personally think every Lead role will be different depending on the organisation you’re working in. There will also be a difference between in-house and agency roles. I found being a Lead in agency was easier and more defined, I think because of the project focus.
Recently I asked on LinkedIn what people wanted me to write about and the lovely Jas Kang suggested the topic of moving between leadership and practitioner roles and whether it was possible to keep shifting between the two. It’s an interesting question because I think when I left my last permanent role I thought I was giving up on leadership. This did, in some ways, feel like a bit of a failure. But I consoled myself with the fact that I would be getting back to doing what I love - being a design practitioner.
From a freelance point of view I’d say for the first two years I was firmly in the practitioner space. Yes, I was leading projects, but a lot of the skills we associate with design leadership; making the case for design, stakeholder management, strategic direction, budgeting and commissioning, people management, developing communities of practice - I wasn’t doing.
I was ok with this, it was an active choice for me. But I do wonder if you leave it too long the muscle memory goes. I will be working for the next 20+ years, it’s likely I may want to move into a Head of Design role at some point in the future, I’m conscious of neglecting this part of my skillset.
Recently, I feel like I’ve struck a nice balance. I’ve had two projects on side-by-side. One, I’m leading directly with the client. I’m playing a practitioner role but also leading and managing the project. I’m using less of my leadership skillset here. In the other project, I’m working via Public Digital. The project is challenging from a stakeholder management perspective and I’ve found myself starting to flex those muscles again. Initially I didn’t notice I was doing it, it’s all part of the job anyway. When I noticed I’d slipped back into this space I was initially reluctant - this wasn’t part of freelance life for me. But now I realise the value of learning opportunities like this. As a freelancer I don’t always feel like I’m growing and developing, so having the chance to stretch my legs a bit here feels important.
I also think we need to interrogate what we mean by ‘leadership’. I feel like, as a business owner, I’m embracing a new kind of leadership now. When I write and share my experiences, when I deliver talks and I mentor other service designers - I feel like a leader. Not in the same way that I used to, but this kind of leadership feels like a better fit for me.
So I think, from a freelancer perspective, I do feel like I have the opportunity to shift between the two if I want to. I guess the question might have a different answer if you think about it from the perspective of working in full time roles. I know some agencies are starting to develop pathways now so that designers can choose which direction they progress in and those who choose the practitioner direction are not disadvantaged from a pay and progression point of view. While this is helpful and interesting it still requires designers to make a choice. What if you find you’re on the wrong path and want to change direction? Sadly, people can be short sighted when viewing CVs and I wonder what stepping back then looking to step up in the future would look like to future potential employers?
I don’t have all the answers here (I never do). And I can only really speak from my own perspective. So I’m interested to hear from others so we can have a conversation about peoples experiences of this in different corners of our industry. I’m curious about agency vs in-house and if flexing is different/easier in one vs the other? If you have thoughts or personal experiences to share, please do get in touch.