"Today, design drives effective business strategy, but design education hasn't caught up. As companies scramble to digitally transform, adapt to the climate crisis, and navigate culture and trade wars, design's role has expanded-moving to the center of how organizations shape products, services, and systems. With this elevated role comes a sobering reality: Many design leaders feel increasingly out of their depth."
"Promoted for creative excellence, they suddenly find themselves navigating boardrooms, budgets, business models, and organizational change without the proper preparation. As Fast Company puts it, a generation of design leaders are in the midst of a " big design freak-out," as many realize the creative confidence that propelled careers doesn't always translate into executive credibility. One senior design leader recently admitted on LinkedIn that they were unprepared to lead people, lead change, transform processes, make sound business decisions, or even understand how a company works."
Design now drives business strategy as organizations pursue digital transformation, climate adaptation, and geopolitical complexity, placing design at the center of products, services, and systems. Many design leaders promoted for creative excellence confront boardrooms, budgets, business models, and organizational change without adequate preparation, undermining executive credibility. The gap reflects a systemic shortfall in education: traditional design programs teach craft—visual communication, UX research, and design thinking—but seldom cover business strategy, change management, or stakeholder alignment. Leadership capabilities are built over time and often require later executive training; business leaders have established pathways like MBAs that design historically lacked.
Read at Fast Company
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