Digital Insights

If you are having a rough time in the industry right now, you are not alone.I keep hearing the same two stories.People applying for job after job and hearing nothing back.Freelancers and agency owners finding that work is not arriving the way it used to.It is tempting to blame the economy, AI, or whatever headline is currently doing the rounds. Sometimes those things are genuinely part of the story.However, one factor we can control is whether people outside our immediate team know who we are, what we are good at, and what we care about.Be a contributor, not a lurkerMost opportunities come through people.Clients often hire because somebody they trust says, “Talk to them.” Hiring managers do the same thing, tending to hire via friends of friends.Even if you are not looking for a new job or chasing new clients, your reputation still matters. It shapes your credibility in the role you are in right now.If colleagues can see that you are respected outside your organization, and they see you sharing your expertise

Every year around this time, I start seeing the prediction pieces roll in. "The year of X!" they declare. "Y will change everything!" And every year, I find myself wincing a little, because most of these predictions age about as well as milk left on a radiator.So rather than trying to predict the future (I learned my lesson after confidently declaring QR codes were dead in 2019), I want to talk about what I'm seeing among the UX professionals I work with, and what I think it means for 2026.The uncomfortable realityLet me start with the bit nobody wants to hear. UX is on the corporate chopping block again. If you've been in this industry long enough, you'll recognize the pattern. We saw it after the dot-com bust. We saw hints of it during various economic downturns. And we're seeing it now.Some folks think rebranding will save us. We tried that before, remember? We went from "usability" to "UX" and it bought us some time. But slapping a new label on the tin doesn't change what's inside.The interesting thing is

Well, here we are. The UX Strategy and Leadership course has wrapped up, and I am officially putting down my digital pen until January 8th.I know. Try not to weep.

And so we've reached the end of the course on UX leadership and strategy (but not the end of my emails), and I want to leave you with some final thoughts and encouragement for the journey ahead.Being a design leader within an organization is challenging, and you will find yourself coming up against many roadblocks and difficulties along the way. I want to leave you with a quote from Winston Churchill that I absolutely love: "Success is going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."As you look forward and begin to work out how you're going to define your role within the organization and how you're going to begin to shift the culture to be more user-centric, I would very much encourage you to keep that quote in mind. Why? Because making these kinds of big organizational changes is a marathon, not a sprint. You won't transform your company's approach to UX overnight. There will be setbacks, resistance, and moments when you feel like you're not making progress. But if you maintain your enthusiasm thro

Last week I talked about marketing UX within your organization and how you can use internal marketing strategies to build awareness and executive support. This week, I want to dig into a more hands-on approach: getting your stakeholders directly involved in UX activities.If all my talk about guerrilla marketing and PR stunts felt a bit overwhelming, this is a simpler path. The more you can expose stakeholders and colleagues across the organization to real users, the more user-centered their thinking will become. It really is that simple.Why bother getting them involved?I know what you might be thinking. Do I really want stakeholders hovering around during user research? What if they derail everything with their opinions?Fair concerns. But here is what happens when you do invite them in.It builds support. The more stakeholders are involved, the more invested they become. And the more likely they are to support UX initiatives when it matters.It builds empathy. When stakeholders interact with users, even indirec

Last week, I talked about building credibility by looking outside your organization for validation. External benchmarking, expert opinions, and industry recognition all help shift internal perception. But validation only works if people understand the actual value you're delivering. That brings us to today's topic: measuring and communicating UX success in ways that resonate with stakeholders.Because, unless you can demonstrate value clearly, the rest of the organization won't recognize it.Fortunately, decision makers across your company have an inherent need to improve the metrics they see. By establishing the right metrics, you'll influence their behavior. It's a weird phenomenon, but if you give people something to measure, they will want to improve that thing.Two ways to quantify successThere are basically two ways to demonstrate the benefit of what you're doing.Qualitative data can be incredibly powerful. A compelling story generates empathy among stakeholders in ways that raw numbers sometimes can't. Te

Last week I talked about breaking down business silos and getting different departments to work together on user experience. That kind of cross-functional collaboration can feel like an uphill battle, especially when you're trying to shift organizational culture. So, today I want to share a powerful shortcut that can make your life considerably easier: building your credibility internally by looking outside your organization.I know that sounds counterintuitive. When you're fighting to change culture from within, why would you spend time looking outward? But external validation can accelerate your progress in ways that internal efforts alone cannot.Two ways external focus builds internal credibilityExternal validation falls into two broad categories, and both matter.First, when you're making arguments about how things should be done, external evidence adds weight. Every time you express an opinion or recommend a direction, you want data, case studies, or expert quotes backing you up. This transforms your sugge

Last week, I talked about getting stakeholders actively involved in UX activities like research sessions and workshops. That engagement is brilliant for building empathy and support, but it only takes you so far if everyone retreats back to their own departmental bubble afterward.This week, I want to focus on something that will amplify all that good work: breaking down the silos that keep teams isolated from one another.Why silos are killing your UX effortsIn most organizations, different teams work in their own little worlds. Developers, marketers, product owners, business analysts; they all contribute to and impact the user experience, but they rarely talk to each other beyond handoffs and status updates.This creates two problems for you as a UX leader.First, it causes friction in the user experience itself. When users move from one part of your product or service to another, they're effectively moving between teams. If those teams don't collaborate, users literally fall between the gaps.I've seen this hap

Last week I talked about culture hacking and how to shift your organization toward a more UX-friendly way of working. This week, I want to get practical about one of the tools that makes culture change possible: internal marketing.I have some bad news. If you are a design leader, part of your job involves becoming a bit of a marketer. Not the fancy kind with huge budgets and billboards, but the scrappy, guerrilla kind that gets attention without spending a fortune.Why? Because if you want to change how people in your organization perceive users and value your team, you need to get their attention first. Traditional marketing does not work when you are trying to reach your colleagues, so you need unconventional, low-cost strategies instead.Build Your UX Ambassador NetworkBefore I get into specific tactics, you need to understand the real goal here: creating UX ambassadors throughout your organization.You cannot be everywhere at once. You cannot attend every meeting, influence every decision, or educate every c

Last week, I talked about how to boost your influence as a UX leader by focusing on the right activities and building your reputation. This week, I want to explore something closely related. How do you actually shift your organization's culture to be more user-centered?I know that sounds like a lot of work. And yes, there is effort involved. But if you've been applying what we've covered in previous lessons, you've likely done much of the groundwork already. Plus, culture hacking can be surprisingly fun.Four approaches to culture hackingThere are four main techniques you can use to embed UX into your organization's DNA:Engagement and collaboration. You're probably doing this already in your day-to-day work. The goal is to amp it up and bring more people into the UX conversation.Education and awareness. We've talked about this extensively in earlier lessons. It's about helping colleagues understand what UX is and why it matters.Feedback and iteration. Creating systems that give people ongoing visibility into h

Last week, we talked about the key UX topics you need to educate your organization on. But education is just the foundation. Today we're diving into something equally crucial, boosting your influence and perception of UX within your organization.Changing your organization's culture to be more user-centric isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. I've learned this the hard way more times than I'd like to admit.When I first started trying to shift organizational thinking toward UX, I thought I could bulldoze through resistance with compelling presentations and undeniable data. That approach went about as well as trying to change the weather by shouting at clouds.The reality is that cultural change in organizations is genuinely challenging, and there are solid reasons why.Why organizational change feels impossibleMost organizations have what I call "change paralysis." The longer a company has existed, the more entrenched its current culture becomes. It's like trying to redirect a river that's been flowing the same way f

Last week, I talked about the importance of educating your colleagues on UX best practices and the different educational approaches you should consider. This week, I want to get more specific about what topics to prioritize when building your educational content.I take a pragmatic approach to this task because otherwise it can feel incredibly intimidating. Instead of creating a comprehensive UX curriculum covering everything under the sun, I focus on three targeted areas that will give you the biggest impact.Start with common mistakesThe first area I focus on is the errors I frequently see colleagues making when they try to do user experience work themselves. This is crucial because as we democratize UX across the organization, more people will naturally be attempting these activities and making predictable mistakes.For example, one mistake I see constantly is leaving user testing too late in the project, when it's expensive and difficult to make substantial changes. When I spot this pattern, I create educati

If I had to pick one part of this new way of working that matters most, it would be education.Education is what makes democratizing UX possible. It’s the lever that lets you scale your influence far beyond the handful of projects you can personally touch.When you invest in education, two things happen.First, you raise the profile of users across the organization. People begin to see what UX actually involves and why it matters. They notice the benefits of doing it right and the costs of ignoring it. The more you teach, the more people start thinking about users every day.Second, you empower your colleagues. Training gives them confidence to try UX activities for themselves. Suddenly, user research or testing doesn’t feel mysterious or out of reach. With a little support, they can make user-centered decisions without waiting on you.But the way you educate is just as important as the fact you’re doing it. Too many UX teams rely on just one approach (usually formal workshops) and miss the variety of ways people

As I said in the last lesson, shifting responsibility for user research, testing, and prototyping onto colleagues won’t land smoothly with everyone. It’s a big ask. To make progress, you need to get ahead of objections: both the ones people voice and the ones they keep to themselves.When I coach teams through this transition, I encourage them to start conversations by acknowledging concerns upfront. A simple line like, “I know some of you might have concerns about this approach, so let me share a few thoughts before we dive in” takes the sting out of resistance.It is tempting to avoid focusing on the objections for fear that you will plant them in people's minds. However, in my experience, you're better off getting ahead of these things. Because once somebody expresses an objection, they tend not to back down. However, if you raise the issue first, then they can choose not to pursue it further.Here are the most common objections you’re likely to face and a few hints on how to address them. This isn’t an exhau

In the last lesson, we explored how your own team needs to embrace a new role if you want to escape being treated as the “UX service desk.” But even if your team makes that shift, it’s not enough.The truth is, you’ll never have the time or resources to handle every touchpoint yourself. If you want user experience to really scale, you need to equip others across the organization to share the load.That doesn’t mean they all become professional UX designers. It does mean they start taking more ownership of UX decisions in their projects.Let’s recap why this shift is necessary before exploring what usually trips people up, and how to make those first moves without overwhelming anyone.Why Democratize UX?It’s worth repeating myself, because this is so important: trying to do all the UX yourself is unsustainable.There are three strong reasons to start sharing responsibility:Resource limits. Even the best-staffed UX teams can’t cover every product, campaign, or digital touchpoint. Democratization is the only way to s

As I said in the last lesson, if your team doesn't change how it works, nobody else will either. This shift is not easy. It means asking your people to take on a very different role from what they're used to.The transformation has four pillars:Providing consultative services across the organization without owning every deliverableCreating resources like design systems and user research that others can useEnforcing standards and compliance with UX best practiceEducating colleagues so they can apply UX principles in their own projectsIt's no surprise that some team members might push back with, "I didn't sign up for this." Many enjoy building interfaces and being hands-on. But this new approach solves many of the frustrations they already face.Why the Shift Benefits Your TeamWhen I talk to designers about this change, I highlight several benefits:Greater influence at a strategic levelWhen your team steps back from just making screens, they get a seat at the big table. Instead of being brought in after decisions

So far, we’ve explored why you can’t possibly implement every user experience yourself and how to scale your influence through services, resources, and standards. Those are essential, but they won’t solve the whole problem.Here’s the sticking point: your colleagues aren’t UX practitioners. And if we’re honest, most of them don’t particularly want to be. They see UX as your job, not theirs. Left unchecked, that dynamic leaves you as the bottleneck every time.To truly scale UX, we need to turn colleagues into active participants in the design process. That’s about more than handing them a playbook, it’s about shifting how they see their role.Three Shifts That Make Colleagues UX PractitionersBefore we look at the practicalities, let’s break down the three changes that will set you up for success.Transforming Your TeamRight now, your team is probably treated like a service desk. Others delegate UX work your way with the expectation you'll simply execute their requests. As long as that dynamic continues, they've g

Build Your UX Shield: Policies That Deflect Drama and Defend StandardsLet’s be honest. Policies and procedures aren’t exactly the stuff of design conferences or portfolio showpieces. But when it comes to influencing your organization at scale, they’re one of the most powerful tools you’ve got.In fact, if you do nothing else from this course, implementing even a handful of UX policies will make your life easier, your decisions more defensible, and your stakeholders more cooperative.Let me show you why.Why Policies Matter More Than You ThinkPolicies give you a way to shape behavior without having to show up in every meeting or fight every battle. They're like pre-agreed rules of engagement that help avoid awkward conversations or power struggles.Without them, every decision becomes a negotiation. With them, you shift from arguing your opinion to simply pointing to shared expectations.Here's why they’re so effective:They’re one step removed – Policies let you avoid head-to-head conflict. You're not saying no, th

Ever notice how every other department has policies and procedures, but UX rarely does?There are rules for procurement. Rules for budgets. Rules for installing software. Even rules for when you’re allowed to eat fish at your desk (I wish I was joking). But ask someone for the rules around UX, and you’ll probably get a blank look.The difference? Most teams have taken the time to write theirs down. We haven’t.That’s what we’re going to fix.We’ll start with one of the most accessible and impactful types of UX guidance you can create: design principles.What Are Design Principles, Really?Design principles are a set of high-level guidelines to help your organization make consistent, user-centered decisions. They provide a north star for teams as they navigate the thousand tiny choices that shape your user experience - from interface copy to onboarding flows.Done right, they:Keep people focused on what matters mostEnsure UX is considered across the board, not just by your teamHelp settle disagreements without callin

In our last few lessons, we’ve been building out the ecosystem that supports a scalable UX strategy. We’ve covered services, tools, design systems, and even preferred suppliers. But there’s one more piece of infrastructure that can have a surprisingly big impact; your user research repository.If you want to empower others to take on UX work without losing too much quality, you need to give them a solid foundation to build on. That means they shouldn’t have to start from scratch every time they run a project. And they certainly shouldn’t have to repeat the same user research over and over again just because nobody saved the results.That’s where your repository comes in.What a UX Repository Actually IsAt its core, this is simply a central, searchable place to store past user research. Not just what you have done, but what anyone across the organization has conducted.This could include:Personas or audience segmentationJourney mapsSurveys and interview transcriptsUsability testing resultsAnalytics insights, heatm