In the early summer of 2020, I attended a virtual talk where design legend Don Norman, the author of The Design of Everyday Things, shared a major factor limiting the growth of user-centered design — there are virtually no companies with designers at the C-suite level. His request, “We need more designers to become fluent in the language of business.” I sat up, paid attention, and decided at that moment I needed to learn to speak the language of business to influence at the highest level.
Throughout my career as a digital product designer, I have followed a personal mission that everything I create should help people feel empowered, connected, and fulfilled. This led me to Silicon Valley to design digital experiences for large technology companies like Facebook and Oracle, and education startups like Coursera and Everfi.
Over time, as my opportunities expanded and blind optimism waned and I saw the true — good, bad, and unexpected — impact technology could have on people, I felt the additional weight to ensure my work was done responsibly. Designing technology products in an unfathomably complex system of people, processes, policy, and machines is a tall order that requires skills like negotiation, influence, and leadership at the highest levels. These skills aren’t taught in design school.
My personal and professional goals to elevate design and bring the voice of people into technology have generally stayed the same, while the external environment around me changes on a near-weekly basis.
Because of the skills I learned, I have been able to navigate these changes and make progress toward my lofty goals. The program taught me so much. It helped me become a more influential professional by giving me a strong foundation in the language of business. It helped me become a better leader by opening my eyes to the head and heart of leadership. It provided me with a community of others with similar goals but diverse perspectives. And — most importantly — gave me a renewed passion and the confidence to pursue my goals even when things seem impossible.
Additionally, doors have opened to opportunities I couldn’t have even imagined a few years ago. I have been asked to lead strategically-critical initiatives with hundreds of people, give presentations to executive leaders on ground-breaking, innovative ideas, and speak about my leadership skills in front of 500+ designers.
This is just the beginning. I firmly believe what’s good for people, is good for business. I want to continue to use my voice and knowledge of business and management to bring more humanity to digital products and create the most thoughtful experiences possible and influence the highest levels of organizations, become a stronger, more empathetic leader, and shape the future of the tech industry at-large.
