I managed a distributed team (SF, Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland) of 4 designers + 1 intern to build experiences that help jobseekers apply, improve their candidacy and get hired on LinkedIn. My role as a manager was a commitment to cultivating growth, sculpting careers, and creating an environment where each designer could flourish.
Shifting from an individual contributor to a Manager was like stepping into a new world. It dawned on me that my own achievements were no longer in the spotlight. At the close of each day, success wasn't about measuring my personal wins anymore. Instead, it had beautifully transformed into a measure of my designers' growth – that became the true essence of accomplishment.
Upon entering the realm of management, I was looking for guidance from numerous managers and directors on the path to becoming an effective leader. The most resonant piece of advice I received was a fundamental truth: each designer possesses their own unique qualities, and rendering a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t work. I understood that tailoring my approach to cater to their individual needs was paramount.
Mentorship. Guiding their growth became my focal point, a journey of identifying strengths and areas for improvement. I collaborated with each designer to align their ambitions with potential opportunities, an endeavor that required fostering their ability to define their own aspirations and the kind of designer they aspired to be. Together, we carved out plans spanning 3, 5, and 10 years, with me as a guiding force to navigate towards their goals.
Empowerment. I aimed to instill a sense of autonomy within designers, allowing them the freedom to lead their projects and decisions. Giving them ownership while offering support when they needed.
Feedback. Transparency and open dialogue were the cornerstones of my approach. I established an environment where designers felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. Providing constructive feedback regularly was so important. I wanted to create an environment where feedback is appreciated and seen as a tool for improvement rather than a critique.
Understand impact. It was important to help my team feel the connection between their work and its impact on the business. So, I kicked things off by aligning our team's mission within the broader LinkedIn landscape. I encouraged designers to explore the ins and outs of different business lines, giving them a fuller picture of how everything came together. This hands-on experience expanded their design thinking beyond the usual boundaries, enabling them to tackle challenges with a more holistic perspective.
LinkedIn Talent Solutions (LTS) team was a marketplace that made up of Hiring teams (Hiring platform team) and the other side being Jobseekers (Careers Team).
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LTS team’s mission: Build the world’s definitive hiring marketplace, helping professionals get the best opportunities and employers hire the best talent.
Careers team mission: To help members improve their candidacy, apply, and become a hire.
I illustrated how the marketplace worked. The left side being through the lense of a Job seeker and the right being the Hiring team.
Additionally, I actively encouraged Designers to familiarize themselves with our team's North Star metrics. This helped transformed them from mere experience crafters into drivers of pivotal business outcomes.
Connecting the dots. While Designers might not always find themselves in strategy meetings, I did, given my role as a manager at LinkedIn. This necessitated my ability to bridge the gap and connect them with different teams, eliminating any potential for isolated efforts.
Product strategy also fell within my sphere of influence. In close collaboration with the Design team (Design & UX research) and our Product partners, we sculpted a comprehensive journey map that depicted the trajectory of our team's mission within the larger Careers landscape. This collaborative exercise uncovered opportunities for enhancements for our users and their needs.
Process
In my role as a manager, I implemented impactful measures that streamlined design operations and nurtured a culture of excellence within my team. Here are some highlights of my contributions:
Elevating Design Quality. One of my first initiatives was setting up structured design reviews for my team. Recognizing the significance of feedback loops.
I also collaborated closely with engineering leads to establish a refined process for filing bugs. This approach not only enhanced UX quality but also fostered cross-functional collaboration. On a quarterly basis, we orchestrated focused efforts to address these issues, ensuring a continuous pursuit of design excellence.
Planning. Recognizing the need for better planning within certain teams, I took the initiative to introduce effective planning methods. This endeavor continued until my last day at LinkedIn. Together with the design ops team, we crafted a detailed process that brought stakeholders and designers together. This collaborative approach ignited roadmap planning discussions, a crucial step in aligning design efforts with the larger organizational goals.
Hiring and onboarding top talent. Contributing to LinkedIn's growth, I collaborated seamlessly with the recruiting team to hire design talent. My involvement spanned from identifying potential candidates to participating in the interview process, ensuring that each addition was a strategic fit for our dynamic team.
Additionally, I played a key role in creating a comprehensive new hire presentation for the Careers team. This resource became an integral part of the onboarding process, enabling new team members to swiftly immerse themselves in our mission, values, and workflow.
At its core, my manager journey at LinkedIn was all about enhancing design operations, fostering a real sense of teamwork, and creating an atmosphere where growth never takes a back seat.