Fear is the mind killer.
With all due respect to Frank Herbert, the same maxim applies to building products; fear is the mind killer. But this is the fear of missing out—FOMO.
AI is causing companies to revert to old behaviors; chasing the technology and not the opportunity. Specifically the fear of not being one of the cool companies that is using the latest AI to either make themselves more efficient (read this as cover for correcting bad past decisions) or to being able to say to their customers “Now with more AI!” These decisions are being made out of fear; fear of someone else will get there first, fear they won’t be seen as being cutting edge enough, fear that personal reputations will be questioned for not embracing AI. So we find ourselves surrounded by AI—whether or not the AI is required, whether or not the AI is solving meaningful problems, let alone doing it effectively.
Fear narrows our field of view. In fact a rush of adrenaline can cause tunnel vision, and yet the threats we didn’t anticipate are countered by our peripheral vision.
Leadership is not about making decisions based on what you know but also on what you don’t. Setting a vision is meaningless with out the ability to do those things necessary to get there. To be clear leadership is not just about taking action; its about how you take action, how you communicate the action, explaining why, being clear on the intention and the meaning of the action. Its also about when to take action and knowing which things require your direct involvement. Leadership looses its effectiveness when decisions are made out of fear. While threats will always exist, you have already lost if you’re responding out of fear and not purpose.
Stop. Think. Focus on what you know and what you don’t know. On what is stable and what is not, on what is important not simply urgent. Then move forward, it is the resulting action that establishes alignment. You can’t talk your way into alignment, no mater how many presentations or white papers you write. Creating a shared values poster for your break room doesn’t create alignment. Neither will performative customer round tables or briefing from industry pundits.
For design leaders the most effective way to advocate for your point of view it to put it into action, to demonstrate what it matters. Prototype your strategy, make it tangible, give it both form and demonstrate the value it has for customers. Don’t hide behind a vision deck for your team or the organization. If you believe the organization needs to align to your users, make that impact tangible; show both what is missing, how much its costing, and most importantly how by working with the users your products become more successful, grow faster, are more cost effective to deliver and support, most importantly drive growth.
Alignment comes from action. Leaders’ manifest alignment committing resources, budgets, and developing the skills, tools, and workflows to get things done. Yes leaders are responsible for setting a clear objective, laying out the actual rails for the teams to run on in order to deliver success so everyone can track the collective progress. Alignment comes from walking the walk. Take the first step.
