Four years ago, I wrote my thoughts on what makes a good design lead. I thought it would be a good time to revisit it as I recently hired a lead for our largest design teams at Automattic. During the process, I made an important shift inspired by a conversation with Matt. (Happy Birthday!)

Instead of hiring someone who I think would be a great person that could work for me, I looked for someone that I would be excited to work for. Someone I can learn and grow from, along with the team they will lead. We won’t improve our products, our designs, our organization, or ourselves, if we aren’t hiring and surrounding ourselves by people who are markedly better.

There’s also the very real fact of keeping great people. We now know that, by in large, people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers. A great lead is someone you are excited to work for. Regardless if that person works for you or you work for them.

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A great design lead:

• Leads by example.
• Clearly articulates and upholds a bar for quality.
• Stays close to the customer and the product.
• Is focused on the work.
• Regularly moves through altitudes, from setting design direction to details like widows & orphans.
• Knows the strengths & weaknesses of each designer (including themselves!) and provides opportunities that are compatible yet challenging in order to facilitate growth and product excellent results.
• Is resilient and can lead through change.
• Gives ample feedback, both praise and constructive.
• Is always learning.
• Is someone you want to work for.