Kristie:

Welcome back to another episode of FLUX. Today, we are joined by Kristin, currently the VP of Product Design at Cisco IT. I won't take too much away from you, so if you could just tell us a bit about yourself and your career.

Kristin:

Sure, Kristie, thank you. Yes, I am the VP of Cisco IT design, working in the Cisco IT organization. We support the employee experience, from the tools and applications to the tone and the culture to the physical environment. We often say we're Capital D design, meaning running the full expanse, an all-inclusive nature of what that means. So, we have product and visual design, researchers, the Agile transformation function, and content and communication design, multimedia, and of course, UX UI, visual research. We now have a team upwards of 150; it's grown rather quickly in my tenure here, which is just a bit over a year. As you mentioned, my prior time was with IBM for just shy of 21 years. So, I've lived only ever in the design business, and it's what I know, love, and had learned. At the end of my college career, I never looked back because this was where my home was.

Kristie:

Did you always want to be a designer?

Kristin:

It wasn't a thought in my mind. But when I was in college, we didn't have cell phones, personal computers, or even laptops. Up through senior year, I was majoring in psychology and human development. I was double majoring and was going to graduate early. Then, one of my very last classes in my first semester of senior year was user-centered design. I ended up taking this course and fell in love with the topic within the first five minutes. I cornered the professor and said, "I didn't know this field existed. There is a world in which we can blend the art and science of psychology with the business-minded world and find some union between the two." And he was like, "Yeah, this is my job. I do this at IBM. If you love this course, let's see where we can take this." He allowed me to apply for an internship with IBM, and that became my career for my whole lifetime. I had thought I was going down a different path, maybe a child psychologist, but this one course took me in a different direction. I'm thankful for this serendipitous occasion and the professor, Danny Hager, who works with me to this day at Cisco and worked with me at IBM.

Kristie:

There's so much in that. Just having worked with certain people throughout your whole career. But I think the most interesting aspect of your path is that you worked for a company for so long. In the design and tech world, it almost encourages jumping every two years to stay relevant or keep up. Your success throughout IBM is impressive when something that speaks volumes for designers because it doesn't just jump every two years; you can find success internally.

Did you face any challenges during that time, or was it a task in itself? Sometimes internal promotions are quite tough to get.

Kristin:

Well, no shortage of challenges along this road, which is part of it. In design, as you say, Kristie, it's probably in every profession; we're facing our unique set of challenges. Designers, I think, face a more unique set of challenges because we're wired to be caring, empathetic beings who put our hearts and souls on the line. Sometimes it works well, and sometimes it doesn't. You must find this balance of not taking it too personally but still being personally invested. When I shifted from being a practitioner to being a manager, that was tough for me.

One of the most shaping and pivotal parts of my life. I was a UX practitioner for 14 years. I sort of thought, "This is what I do." I didn't really aspire to be a manager of people. I loved what I was doing. I took that leap, and suddenly, I found myself managing people that I had been learning from, that had been my mentors. They felt awkward about it. I took it too much to heart, thinking I needed to be a certain way. It was inauthentic, and I quickly disliked it. I worried I made the wrong choice. At some point, through conversations and being real with people I trust, I realized there's no magic secret to being a manager. It's not very different from being a leader, which every single person on any design team is. You're a leader when you go into your project space. It doesn't matter how long you've been here or what grade you are; you're representing our entire space and everything we stand for. It dawned on me that my most effective self is just my real self. Just take this mask off, stop trying to emulate behaviours that I didn't think were great when I was a practitioner, and use my powers for good. Think of all the things I wish had been done when I was a practitioner. How can I make those things be reconciled as a leader? That was the biggest piece of advice that was instrumental in my growth and development. I love the role I'm in now, and I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be.

Kristie:

It's interesting when you get promoted or get a job; you almost start doubting yourself. Impostor syndrome comes in, and you start doubting your abilities. If other people have seen the value in you, it's funny that we can't see it in ourselves.

What does leadership look like to you beyond just managing your team?

Kristin:

It means several things. We love to run horizontally. If you think of each project as a tree, being the connective tissue between things happening across various domains or organizations we support. We're a centralized partnership within an 11,000-person organization. Doing any one project won't move the needle on a big user experience. We form deep partnerships, understanding our purpose and emphasizing shared goals. Relationships and partnerships are everything. If we don't instil in others what it means to lead with design and experience, we won't get far individually or achieve bigger accomplishments. Having a mission, vision, values, and strategy within our design house, projecting that out to all projects, teams, and people we work with. Teaching without preaching—helping everyone understand the importance of designing with intent and for meaning.

Kristie:

Exactly. And I think a lot of it has to do with understanding the common goal. That's what you said, once you understand the common goal, you can help achieve that. If you are lost outside and just doing your job without knowing the bigger goal, then you become a bit distant.

Do you have a design philosophy that you live by?

Kristin:

I have many. Adapting design ops into an organization is crucial for maturing any design shop and how you serve others around you. "Why Design Matters" is a book I always have, highlighting and dog-eared. It's inspiring to read design leaders' stories. Creativity, Inc. and The Best Place to Work are worth a reread to understand what makes a workplace and employee experience go to the next level. Use all your powers for good; what does everybody need and believe that you can do better? It's about understanding our own power, creativity, and the meaning we assign to what we're doing.

Kristie:

What about any advice you'd give to a young designer or somebody who's aspiring to get into a leadership position?

Kristin:

We are as unique as a fingerprint, and as soon as you realize that's your strength, the better off you are. Your real strength is your unique point of view. When you come into the workforce, you think, "I need to act like I know it all, or I need to mimic someone else." That's a bad way to start because your most effective self is going to be your real self. If you can hone that early and understand what your unique point of view is and understand how powerful that is, then you can use it to guide you along the way. It took me too long to figure it out. When I stopped looking around to the left and right and behind me to see what everybody else was doing, and I just focused on what I was good at and what I loved, then things really started taking off. If you can make that shift early and bring people along, you can accomplish great things.

Kristie:

Exactly. Everyone's journey is different, and everyone brings something different to the table. So, focus on your strengths and be authentic.

Kristin:

Exactly

Kristie:

Thank you so much for joining us today, Kristin. It was wonderful having you on FLUX.

Kristin:

It was wonderful being here. Thank you so much, Kristie.