Evoking Transformation in People and Product Design
Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash
¹Evoking transformation. Doesn’t that sound so grand and lofty? Let me put it in more relatable way. Change is inevitable. It’s a core part of our lives. 2020 has shown us that. Change often happens from the outside-in, whether it’s on a global level— a pandemic, acuteness of Black Lives Matter or on a very personal level— a breakup, a layoff, an illness or death. When change happens from the outside-in, we are reactive. We choose our perspectives and actions based on these external events. Now imagine the magical place where we create our own change from the inside-out. This change involves finding our voice, finding out what really matters to us and using it to evoke transformation. As people, we can evoke transformation in ourselves and in the other people and relationships around us. As product designers, we can evoke transformation in the process of creating/selling/building our product ideas & vision.
Find Your Voice
Finding your voice is not a binary state — you don’t have your voice vs not have it. Each of us already has a voice. We have a way of being and expressing ourselves that’s evolved since childhood. We have our patterns and typical ways that we show up. These are examples of different expressions of your voice at work:
I’m an introvert.
I’m comfortable connecting with people 1–1 or in small groups. Large groups are harder for me.
I’m first to raise my hand to ask a question.
I have a different work persona than how I show up at home.
I have strong opinions and I will share them with everyone.
I don’t feel like my opinion is needed in the room.
I listen to others to understand what they need and use that to inform my opinion.
We evoke transformation in ourselves and in the world around us by experimenting with how to authentically express ourselves. Consider the three attributes to authentic expression that you can play with — *1. Fierce Courage, 2. Aliveness, and 3. Connection.
And also consider, where in your life might you want to evoke transformation. Perhaps it’s a key relationship with a coworker or a boss, a friend, or a family member. Perhaps it’s to increase your impact as a designer on the products you create. Perhaps it’s to change something about yourself.
1. Fierce Courage
Fierce courage is being able to say the thing that no-one else dares to say. To speak your truth. In doing so you risk many things— not being liked, ridicule, not being heard, or being judged. You can speak your truth with kindness, as recommended from the philosophy of radical candor.
When you’re thinking about a relationship, has there been something that’s troubling you? How do you ask for what you want? Or empathetically ask the other person about something that’s been bothering you? Is there something that needs to be said to honor the relationship? Some examples:
To a manager: I have too much work. I’d like your support in figuring out how to prioritize my load.
To a spouse or partner: I’m feeling some resentment about how we balance housework and childcare. I’d like to get your perspective on it. Can we talk?
To a friend: I’ve noticed that you seem distracted and overwhelmed. Is this something that I could help you with?
What do you want to be different about your work impact or the impact of the products that you create? What feels like the right thing to say to improve your product or company?
The photos & illustrations in our product don’t reflect the gender and ethnic diversity of the people who use our product.
The current version of our MVP (minimum viable product) feels like it’s missing the mark on key use cases / quality / features and we should address the issues before the release.
As a company we talk about valuing product quality, yet it seems that our product teams are incentivized to release products as quickly as possible.
I’ve given some examples of fiercely courageous statements / questions above. What part of your voice needs to be fiercely courageous to make your relationships and products be the best that they can be?
2. Aliveness
Aliveness is having energy, fullness of feelings & emotions, and being in flow. It involves being fully present, and in the moment. There is a desire for movement, action, and forward momentum.
Consider who in your life brings you aliveness, and what is it about them that evokes aliveness in you.
Perhaps it’s a child that gives you permission to play and enjoy the simplicity of the world.
Perhaps it’s from long-time friends who love you unconditionally and never judge.
Perhaps it’s from another designer on your team with whom you can explore the most out-there, future-facing ideas and co-create something crazy together.
Perhaps it’s a data scientist who brings a completely different perspective to the work. This perspective feels so new and novel that it makes you think differently.
Consider what activities bring you aliveness, and how you could amplify your voice by doing more of these things.
Could it be a side-project or pro bono work that you can’t wait to work on because you care about the cause so passionately.
Or a logo that you’re designing for a friend because it’s so different from your day-to-day digital work and gives you such creative freedom
Or the design sprint where you love the collaboration and energy of possibility from everyone present.
Or the four hours of quiet focus time where you get to create an entirely new concept rather than push out tasks, small design tweaks, and respond to the needs of others around you.
With this audit, you’ll find what brings you aliveness. The next experiment is to bring more of that energy into the rest of your work. This helps to develop your voice, and how you choose to express yourself at work.
3. Connection
Connection is the quality of a trusted, empowered relationship. There is no judgement and there’s the space for all the parties to be themselves. Some relationships may already feel deeply connected, while there’s room to improve in others.
The best path to connection is a clear designed alliance for the role all the parties play in the relationship, whether it’s at work or at home. It’s an open conversation, likely developed over time which covers expectations, roles and desires.
Should some of the connection feel one-sided, approach the relationship with empathy and curiosity. I’ve written a lot more about connection in How to Work with Difficult People, Start with Listening…
Bottom-Line
There is change all around us. We can improve our relationships and product impact by finding our voice, and using our voices to evoke the transformation we want. The path to finding the authentic expression of your voice is through Fierce Courage, Aliveness, and Connection.
¹The concept of Evoking Transformation including the key attributes of Fierce Courage, Aliveness, and Connection are from teachings of the Co-Active Institute.