Boost your design team through team training and leadership coaching
I help design teams achieve their potential
To boost an entire team I use a whole-team methodology, blending design craft workshops with 1-1 coaching of design leaders and cross-functional training in team effectiveness.
Core to my approach is the belief that you need thriving leaders to have a successful team and you need a thriving team to have successful leaders.
In my view, design leadership in this manner is not the sole domain of people managers. Leadership can be expressed through the design craft just as much as through the craft of people management.
The most enduring, cost effective way to build a flourishing design team is to invest in its people
I’ve spent my career forming and growing design teams in high performance, collaborative companies. I know from direct experience that the best results come from investing in people and their team environment.
Some aspects I look at:
Design team effectiveness
Wellbeing: Team health diagnostics, boundaries and self-care, retros and feedback loops.
Ways of working: Rituals and practices, psychologically safe design critiques, design game plans, cross-functional process and shared accountability, stakeholder engagement, practical design standards and measures of quality.
Operations: Team design and structure, frameworks to scale, design system formation and adoption, interviewing and hiring.
Design leadership as a people manager
People management as a craft: Building a culture of trust and safety, modelling self-care, running effective 1-1s, setting expectations, maintaining accountability, fostering intrinsic motivation, sharing leadership with design craft leaders, performance management.
Making strategic impact: Influencing stakeholders and senior leaders, setting design and team vision, building trust with peers, effective communication, managing up, advocating for design, frameworks to scale, measuring design impact.
Design leadership as an individual contributor
How to lead without managing: Setting craft standards and quality expectations, delivering effective feedback, leading team rituals, influencing without authority, modelling growth mindset, accountability vs design people managers.
Making strategic impact: Influencing senior leaders, building trust with cross-functional peers, effective communication, crafting a vision, managing up, aligning stakeholders, measuring design impact, advocating for design.
All design specialisations welcome
Whether your team focuses on User Experience, Product Design, Content Design, Design Research, Interaction Design or some other aspect - team effectiveness always starts with people.
Ready to boost your design team?
- Strengthen and clarify cross-functional collaboration
- Improve team structure, processes and resilience
- Lift delivery, quality and communication
- Help new or growing design leaders achieve their potential
- Flexible remote-first coaching and training sessions
Whole-team methodology
- Diagnostics, identification of needs, align on approach
Can then include areas like:
- Workshops and custom team training
- Cross-functional process education
- Practical design standards and measures of quality
- Design system formation and adoption
- 1-1 coaching of design leader/s, including people leaders and craft leaders
Cultivate a flourishing design team that achieves its potential
Need something specific?
If you’re unsure, reach out and I can help you work out what approach would have the biggest impact for your team.
1-1 leadership coaching
Weekly or fortnightly sessions:
- For design people leaders and/or design craft leaders
- Practical guidance, frameworks and feedback
- Fresh perspective and ways to avoid becoming overwhelmed
- Grow impact, effectiveness and career
Team training
For design or cross-functional teams:
- Design craft workshops
- Team effectiveness training
- Cross-functional process education
- Custom sessions for a specific need or team context
Selected focus
For example:
- Design system guidance
- Job descriptions and interviewing for open roles
- One-off sounding board for design leaders
- Design strategy coaching and feedback
Testimonials
Judd offers a wealth of design knowledge and leadership experience. I can say with confidence that Judd's coaching has had a tangible impact on my career. His empathetic and understanding approach is unparalleled.
JR, Design Lead
Judd is an amazing leader and coach, and I believe I’m a confident leader today because of his guidance. He has been personally invested in my growth as a design leader, and has helped me gain a whole different perspective on leadership that spans design, business, and people.
Soo, Design Director
Judd goes the extra mile to create a safe space for coaching with his friendly and supportive approach. As a senior IC who transitioned into a management role, Judd's guidance for first-time managers & regular coaching helped me make the transition with confidence & ease.
Mannu, Design Manager
I highly recommend Judd to anyone looking for an enthusiastic and empathic coach, for anyone who wants to take the next step in their career, or to anyone who wants to improve their craft processes and ways of working.
Kelly, Design Lead
Boost your design team and help your design leaders achieve their potential
FAQ
Do you run sessions remotely or in our office?
I work remotely by default so that I can connect with teams irrespective of their country or location. If your office is in Sydney I can run in-person sessions. For in-person sessions in other locations throughout Australia or New Zealand, reach out and we can discuss options.
Can you help us improve the way our cross-functional product team works together?
Absolutely. I find the best results come from addressing the way each function/craft/team interacts with each other and with the work as a whole (e.g. design, product management, engineering/development). I spent many years at Atlassian training cross-functional teams to be effective in this manner.
We’ve never had a dedicated design people manager before - can you help us train a designer in our team to take on this role?
Yes, I’ve trained many first-time design people leaders. I take the approach that people management is a craft, much like design is a craft. It can be learned, practised with joy and provide immense fulfilment.
We have a small number of designers who work directly with engineering/development - can you help us improve the way these designers work?
Yes, I can coach a set of designers 1-1 and also help product leaders set them up in the most effective manner.
Can you help us identify gaps in our design team and the skillsets best suited to fill these?
Yes. I can also provide input on the overall team structure, ways to scale and related challenges.
Can you recruit designers for us?
No, I’m not a recruiter. However, I can help you identify and frame team/skillset gaps (as above), write job descriptions and assist with design interviewing process.
Will you act as our temporary Head of Design?
No, however I can coach a nominated design people leader and/or craft leader to help the team run smoothly until a Head of Design is found. I can also help with writing the right job description and assist with the interviewing process.
Have more questions? Get in touch