{"id":13252,"date":"2016-03-17T13:32:39","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T21:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uxpin.com\/studio\/?p=13252"},"modified":"2020-04-22T06:37:04","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T13:37:04","slug":"design-leaders-8-questions-to-regularly-ask-your-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uxpin.com\/studio\/blog\/design-leaders-8-questions-to-regularly-ask-your-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Design Leaders: 8 Questions to Regularly Ask Your Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most powerful things a leader\u00a0can do is listen.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not always intuitive (or convenient) to check in with your team (especially about things unrelated to clients or projects) but it\u2019s undeniably\u00a0important.<\/p>\n

Countless books and articles on management boil down to some form of \u201clisten to your team, then act accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

But what does that mean in a design context? To remind you to listen effectively, here are a few of my favorite questions to ask your entire team (individually or in a group) on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

1. What was something that bugged you at work yesterday?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The idea here is to learn about smaller or near-term issues or annoyances. It\u2019s a way to address minor concerns before they become big ones.<\/p>\n

I try to be a hands-off manager, and I don\u2019t meddle unnecessarily. I give advice, but I don\u2019t micromanage, and I don\u2019t act on everything I hear. However, asking questions like this is a chance to notice bigger patterns and to ultimately alleviate potential issues with people or process.<\/p>\n

As a general guideline, if you hear several complaints about the same person or process, it\u2019s time to address it. If instead you hear that there\u2019s not enough reggae in the music mix, you\u2019ve probably got a happy team.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4312\"<\/p>\n

Mostly, it\u2019s just helpful to allow team members to vent. That goes a long way. Work environments are highly stressful, and even the most even-keeled need to let off steam once in awhile.<\/p>\n

2. What small or large successes have you had recently?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Perhaps because we’ve all experienced the imposter syndrome<\/a> at some point, most designers\u00a0don\u2019t give themselves nearly enough credit. Or maybe they\u2019re too busy to stop and reflect on their successes. In either case, asking this simple question forces people to recognize their own efforts and remind them that they\u2019re making progress each day.<\/p>\n

In addition, as a design leader, it\u2019s easy to miss and overlook smaller successes. We don\u2019t always see the challenges and solutions each team member faces each day. Unfortunately, without seeing that stuff, it\u2019s too easy to forget it\u2019s happening. This helps the manager as much as the team member. As a bonus, it feels amazing as a manager to know that things are getting done (and getting done well) without any direct input.<\/p>\n

3. Is there anything you\u2019re stuck on?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This question is a good way to get a temperature reading for each project. More importantly, it can also save a lot of time if you can help someone get unstuck.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not talking about throwing away your plans and diving into code with someone. Sometimes, it\u2019s as simple as pointing them in the direction of a solution.<\/p>\n

Typically, the right direction is a how-to article or an example of how someone else handled a similar problem. The idea isn\u2019t to solve all of your team\u2019s issues for them. It\u2019s to give them the tools to find solutions on their own. A manager\u2019s experience is one of his or her greatest assets. The more experienced the manager, the more likely they\u2019ve overcome a similar situation in the past.\"IMG_4379-2\"<\/p>\n

4. Have you seen anything recently that you wanted to copy or wished you\u2019d thought of?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is just a great way to learn about what people are thinking about outside of work. Discussing it out loud may lead to better projects, but also, it\u2019s a question that a team member can freely answer, with no deadlines, feelings, or politics attached.<\/p>\n

I like this question because I value my designers\u2019 and developers\u2019 opinions on what\u2019s awesome and what\u2019s played out. I also love discussing design and usability, and this question can lead to debates about aesthetics versus function or whether something is too \u201cdesigny\u201d to be effective.<\/p>\n

5. Have you come across anything the team should read or think about?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sharing videos and articles is huge in today\u2019s professional world. It\u2019s all over social media, LinkedIn, and even our emails. But, for whatever reason, it\u2019s relatively absent in face-to-face conversation.<\/p>\n

A junior designer or intern may not follow the creative director on Twitter, but they can benefit so much from seeing what their boss is reading and what their peers are thinking about. I tweet articles all the time, but I don\u2019t drop urls in normal conversation.<\/p>\n

Conversely, imagine how beneficial it is for the team leader to gain trend and industry insight from the least jaded newcomers?<\/p>\n

Everyone has great information to share, and all it takes is to ask. I\u2019ve found that just asking is truly the best way to facilitate this, and making the process more formal is tricky and has overhead. At Brolik<\/a>, we\u2019ve tried many different ways to post, save, and share articles. We even tried curating articles in an email list for a while. Nothing seemed to stick. Sure, monthly Movie Fridays have been pretty successful, but there\u2019s so much information we pick up between them that could help the entire company grow.<\/p>\n

Now, I just ask what people are reading and thinking about, and if something good comes up, we share it with the whole team.<\/p>\n<\/section>

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