I teach designers how to get the respect they deserve. I share tips, tricks, and tools about design systems, process, and leadership.
You Are Special
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Reading time: around 1 minute It's a beautiful thing to have friends who aren't afraid to compliment you through an insult. Over lunch one day, I was whining to my friend Wil Reynolds about how frustrated I was that a few members of my team weren’t seizing the opportunities to push the limits of work on the projects I had put them on. Wil asked me what kind of support I was giving them to get them to do that, and I replied that I was putting them in situations to succeed. Then Wil really laid into me. “You know what your problem is, Dan?” Oh boy. Those are trigger words for me. I was ready to fight. “You think you’re not special. You think that all you had was ‘a shot’ and all you did was take advantage of it to create the success you’ve had, so all everybody else needs is ‘a shot.’ No, you’re talented and ambitious and you have a superpower in turning a opportunity into a good outcome. Other people can’t do that on their own. They need help. They need support. They need guidance and mentorship and coaching. You think you’re being humble by thinking you’re not special and that everyone can do what you can. You’re actually being really arrogant by thinking that and not setting up your teams for success.” Holy backhanded compliments, Batman! I felt praised and insulted and seen and challenged all at once. Wil was right. Starting that day, I revamped my agency’s structure such that everyone working on a project got a direct coach and sponsor, from our junior people all the way to our managing director. I think about Wil’s admonition often. There are probably a handful of things you do that you think are unremarkable, that anyone could do them given the chance. You're wrong, just like I was. You're special, just like I am. Don’t sell others short just because they don’t have the same superpowers you do. Use those powers to set them up for success. —Dan 📰 Latest News🚀 My brand new Design Systems 101 course just opened for registration earlier this week! It’s the biggest course I’ve ever created: 72 learning modules with over 10 hours of video. Check it out! 💬 FeedbackHow’d you like today’s email? 👍 Loved it / 👎 Hated it |
Dan Mall Teaches
I teach designers how to get the respect they deserve. I share tips, tricks, and tools about design systems, process, and leadership.
Reading time: around 7 minutes This article is part of a 4-part series brought to you by Wix Studio about running valuable projects that grow your clients’ businesses and yours too. Wix Studio is a platform built for agencies and enterprises to create exceptional websites at scale. If you're looking for smart design capabilities and flexible dev tools, Wix Studio is the tool for you. When agencies think about their dream projects, they’re often thinking about this combination: Projects that...
Reading time: around 1 minute The quickest way to get promoted is to get your boss promoted. Do something that makes them look amazing to the people that are evaluating their work. Making your boss look good gives you the highest likelihood that they’ll bring you along with them in rank and/or compensation as they move up too. How do you get your boss promoted? Find out what their job depends on, and tie your job directly to theirs. Here are some ways to find that out: Ask. Talk to your...
Reading time: around 1 minute Design systems promise 3 main things: efficiency, consistency, and innovation. I always like to add a fourth: relief. If your design system is working well, the work gets easier. You finish it faster. You start to see economies of scale. But relief isn’t something that just happens. It’s there for the taking, but you have to actively choose it. Here’s a scenario that happens often with design system teams I work with. After weeks or months of hard design system...