Kim Goodwin on UX Leadership 2011 04

Leading UX

UX London, April 2011
© 2010-2011 Kim Goodwin

the set of values & norms that drive actions


Adaptive
Accepting of (reasonable) risk
Accepting of (reasonable) failure
Committed to quality
Willing to prioritize
Other-focused


required for effective culture


Youʼre a leader if you can enlist others as


Becoming & being a UX leader
Behaviors
Style & context
Changing cultures
Models of change
Individual change
Vision
Homework & wrap-up


determines whether people see you as a leader


They are what volunteers see

They are what we can control


1. Can I trust you?
2. Do you value me?
3. Do I believe in the idea?
4. Do I believe in your ability?


Honesty is the #1
quality people
require in a leader

Based on surveys of over 75,000 people
internationally in late ʻ80s & ʻ90s
Kouzes & Posner


Be fair
Act with integrity
Be honest with me
Put the teamʼs interests before your own
Take responsibility for your own mistakes & ﬂaws
Stick to your stated values (especially when itʼs hard)
Keep your promises
Keep my conﬁdences
Give credit where itʼs due
Be there when I need you
Tell me what I need to know

Look out for me

Warmth is like the aesthetic usability effect


For more on relationship between warmth & perception, see Hartman, 1999

Listen to me
Seriously consider my views
Explain your reasoning
Assume Iʼm competent
Give me opportunities
Encourage and support me
Help me achieve goals, even if they mean leaving
Treat me as more than a cog in the machine
Acknowledge my efforts and sacriﬁces
Be interested in me
Look out for my interests

Ask for my views and ideas
Understand me and my needs

You can get away with just one or the other ... for a while


Other-centered
Not about tangible rewards
Challenging


On intrinsic motivation, see: Edward Deci (1969); Deci & Ryan on self-determination theory; Daniel Pink (Drive)

leader + environment + volunteer + situation


values + behavioral preferences



adapted from Blake & Mouton

What criteria do you use for decisions?


Where is your comfort zone?

Most models based on Jungian psychology


Get energy E (external) I (internal)

Process information S (facts & observations) N (abstractions & ideas)

Make decisions F (based on feelings) T (based on thinking)

Prefer to organize life J (structured & scheduled) P (ﬂexible & open)


For a free approximation of your probable type, try:
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

If you are : You may be seen by opposite types as :
E (extraverted) Tiring; too fond of “forced fun”
I (introverted) Unfriendly or remote
S (facts & observations) Dense
N (abstractions & ideas) Hand-wavy
F (feeling-based decisions) Irrational or overindulgent
T (logic-based decisions) Uncaring
J (structured & scheduled) Inﬂexible
P (open & ﬂexible) Unproductive or disorganized


situational leadership


concept introduced as “life cycle” leadership by Hersey & Blanchard, 1969

Skill
Experience
Relationship needs
Communication style
Learning style
Conﬁdence
Position power
Goals

Degree of task structure
Importance of outcome
Proactive / reactive nature
Degree of commitment required
Degree of commitment that exists



adapted from Hersey & Blanchard


adapted from Vroom & Yetton (1973), Vroom & Jago (1988)

If youʼre talking to: Try to:
E (extraverted) Offer teamwork situations
I (introverted) Allow for solo work
S (facts & observations) Use concrete examples
N (abstractions & ideas) Paint the big picture
F (feeling-based decisions) Talk about emotional consequences
T (logic-based decisions) Outline logical reasoning
J (structured & scheduled) Share targets & timelines
P (open & ﬂexible) Emphasize where exploration ﬁts


Leadership need or situation:
My worst / least effective behavior is:
It happens when / because I:
My best / desired behavior is:
I could behave that way more often if I:


Are you the right person to:
Have this conversation?
Lead this initiative?
Lead UX in this company?

Sometimes the answer is no.


Delivering feedback
Handling criticism
Negotiating
Mediating conﬂicts


1. observed behavior
2. results of behavior
3. any explanation of results
4. discussion of potentially more effective behavior

When you <did this>, <this happened> because <of this>.


Feedback on your behavior:
Accept it as a gift
Help the giver share it more effectively

Disagreement with a decision:
Find any value in the critique
Present the tradeoffs & ask what theyʼd do


Know your goals & what you wonʼt give up

Negotiate directly with the right person

Where thereʼs a disconnect:
Discuss goals & alternate ways to accomplish them
Narrow the effect of disagreeable terms
Avoid negotiating against yourself


Talk to people individually ﬁrst
Understand goals & limits
Educate on behavior style if needed

Help them frame things constructively
When you____I feel____because____.
My goal is____.
Can you think of other ways to accomplish my goal?


The big picture on


3-5 years minimum
Commitment at all levels
Old culture has deep roots


Failure to understand that itʼs a long process

Overly narrow focus or approach:
Executive edicts
Education
Process

Leadership issues:
Ineffective
Insufﬁcient commitment

Champion leaves

Unfreeze
Must shake people loose
Crisis, vision, evidence are all levers

Transition
Change is a long, messy journey
Break things into manageable steps

Refreeze
Let the new culture put down roots

Rewards, stories, evidence help cement the change

Kurt Lewin, 1951

1. Establish urgency
2. Develop a guiding coalition
3. Develop a vision
4. Communicate the vision
5. Enable action
6. Get short-term wins
7. Donʼt let up
8. Make change stick

John Kotter, Leading Change


Lawrence, Dyck, Maitlis & Mauws, 2006

Primary Secondary
Attention Organizational structure
Reactions to crises Systems & processes
Role modeling Facilities design
Rewards Stories & myths
Personnel decisions Formal statements


Edgar Schein

Who will be hardest to unfreeze? What levers might work?
Who needs to be in your coalition? Why?
Who should play the 4 change leadership roles?
What values, attitudes & behaviors need changing?
What systems & processes need to be changed or invented?
What opportunities are there for short-term wins?


Edgar Schein

Organizational change is based on lots of



Alexander Horniman, Darden School of Business


Kubler-Ross, 1969

Deny need for change
Discount the messenger
Discount their ability to change
Discount othersʼ ability to change
May not share helpful information

Focus on “unfreezing” approaches:
Evidence of problems
Their personal frustrations
Vision © 2010-2011 Kim Goodwin

Think theyʼre doing a good job
Admitting need for change is admitting failure
You are challenging their self-image

To move people past anger:
Accept anger (within reason)
Provide a way out
Avoid blame


Look for easy, superﬁcial changes
This is quicksand!

To overcome bargaining:
Ask how the solution will address deeper problems
Revisit the end goal


Need for change is understood
The easy way isnʼt working
Problem seems overwhelming

Help people see:
A clear path
Manageable milestones
How they can affect their future
Examples of success


Need is understood
Path is clear

Focus on:
Providing clarity
Removing obstacles
Making sure youʼre ready for them to act


Everyone agrees that change requires


Through leveraging multi-platform synergies, we
will develop and deploy industry-leading, scalable,
and usable systems that drive customer
satisfaction and increase market share.


“A great man is
one sentence ...
and it is always a
sentence with an
active verb.”
Clare Boothe Luce
American Congresswoman (1940s), ambassador, playwright


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Carl Van Vechten Collection, LC-USZ62-116604

they just have to communicate & rally people behind it


The experience of: Used to:

Users & customers Inspire change in the
organization

UXers Develop a desirable
environment

Colleagues or clients Hire & coach designers;
working with UXers build trust & respect

Scenarios, sketches, storyboards, prototypes ... of course!

Also collaborative games:
Magazine cover
Design the product box


What do UXers need to be successful & happy?

Responsibility & authority
Role in the organization
Kinds of projects
Relationships with colleagues
Opportunities for growth
Shared values


What would make it a great place to work?
What matters to different types of people?
For big groups: afﬁnity & dot-voting


Deﬁne based on:
What colleagues or clients need
The role & perception you want


Knowledge & skills
Behaviors
Attitudes
Responsibilities
Authority


and a few concluding thoughts


Which kind of vision(s) do you need?
Who needs to be involved in creating it?
Who needs to be inspired by it?


Obstacles to change
Unfreezing techniques
Coalition members
4 change leadership roles
Short-term wins


Especially the ones who will start a landslide!

Behavior style
Skill vs. commitment
Stage of grieving


Examine:
Values
Behavior style
Unmet needs
Ineffective behaviors

Identify:
Ways to “hack” your weaknesses
Other leaders to complement you

Do your volunteers:
Understand a shared goal?
Make progress toward accomplishing it?
Seek your help?
Give you feedback?
Stay around for a long time?

In case youʼre oblivious: ask & have someone else ask

Postpone them if you canʼt be effective
Get used to having less control
Build in “backstage” time


let me know what you think

kimgoodwin@mac.com @kimgoodwin


Kim Goodwin on UX Leadership 2011 04

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