Building Design Teams and Culture

The Challenge: Talented People in Outdated Systems

When I arrive at a new company, I often inherit talented designers trapped in structures that prevent them from doing their best work.

Designers are scattered or siloed. They don’t have a strong, strategic perspective. Low performers drag down morale while high performers feel underutilized. This usually leads to poor quality, high turnover, or design teams as executers instead of partners.

My Approach: The Hybrid Model & Culture of Excellence

I structure teams so designers own their domain while thinking strategically across the full user journey - creating opportunity for both accountability and collaboration.

But structure alone doesn't create culture. Great culture happens when we have a purpose and we can make an impact.

I protect what matters: space to think long-term, opportunities to grow, and clarity amid organizational chaos. I set a higher bar for our work and provide the support to reach them - and make tough calls when necessary.

The Results: People Want to Work With Me, Again & Again

I've maintained 80% retention across my teams.

But I'm most proud of this: several people have followed me from one job to another.

When one senior designer followed me from Dish to AXS, he said I made the impossible feel possible - advocating for the time and autonomy designers needed while fighting hard battles for stakeholder buy-in.

Here’s what attracts top talent:

• Shared expectations and accountability

• Honesty and transparency

• Coaching to individual needs and styles

• Clarity and certainty, whenever possible

• Empathy balanced with high expectations