Collaboration gets it done
Here’s a list of skills essential for a designer to take on a more strategic role rather than a tactical one, from Luke Wroblewski’s Functioning Form.
I would add one more to this list:
Learn to build consensus.
It’s essential to approach these high-level meetings with stakeholders as a chance to get everyone on the same page. If you’re a good designer, your solution will always be gounded on long- and short-term business objectives. What separates you as a good strategist is your skill to corral disparate organizational needs and allow your client to shoot for the same goal as a group. If everyone feels like they’re heard during strategy phase, it builds a good foundation for when you get into actual design and implementation. The client will trust you and you will feel like you’re working together. But if you come off as an outside expert who’s telling them what’s best for them, there will always be somebody who will make a point of diagreeing with you, and you’re in for a rocky project. Sometimes it’s not even about design. It comes down to involving the client and making them feel invested in the process.
Something else about this topic in general… I’m just starting to learn how to lead these strategic meetings with high-level stakeholders, and I want to stress that this and other skills that Luke lists on his post are all learnable. I think many designers fall in the trap of thinking that they’re somehow more authentic than those in the suit talking strategy, and it’s not their role, or they can’t because “it’s not me” to speak in business terms. I myself used to associate “strategy” with something a little negative, because I felt that real value was in a solid design and implementation rather than just talking about something to death. But now I realize that in order to win bigger clients and have a meaningful impact as a designer, you have to share a strategic vision with the client as well. As someone who’s always been tactical, the learning curve has been pretty steep. Fortunately I have great coworkers who can teach me a few points and keep a very collaborative environment internally, so we’re able to brainstorm almost daily about how best to improve as a group in this direction. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to share some of the things we collectively learned.
