Using design thinking to improve your leadership skills

Leadership is not just a job title; it is a way of being. As a business owner who has to leverage leadership skills to manage a global and remote company, I have found that using design thinking can be a game-changer when it comes to improving your leadership skills.

Design thinking offers a structured approach to problem-solving that focuses on collaboration, empathy, and creative thinking.

One of the key benefits of design thinking is that it encourages leaders to think beyond conventional ideas and explore uncharted territory.

This process helps leaders develop a broader perspective, which can be invaluable in a rapidly changing world.

There are many benefits to using design thinking for leadership skill-building:

• You understand the needs of your people
• Develop stronger relationships with your team
• Be more innovative in your approach to problem-solving.
• Challenge assumptions
• And look for new opportunities to solve complex issues.

By developing these skills, you can become more agile, adaptable, and better equipped to navigate challenges as they arise.

Design Thinking Principles Explored

Design thinking principles, such as empathy, problem-framing, ideation, prototyping, and testing, can be applied to leadership skills in various ways. Let’s break them down.

Empathy

One of the primary focuses of design thinking is empathy - the ability to stand in someone else’s shoes. Or understanding and connecting with the needs and emotions of others.

This principle is crucial in leadership as it helps to build and maintain strong relationships with team members.

By empathizing with their team members, leaders can develop greater trust and inspire loyalty, leading to more productive and efficient teams.

Empathy is possible when a leader listens. And so, it's critical to build active listening skills where you hear people out without judgment. In doing so, you can feel empathy, respect your employees and win them over while resolving issues.

Problem-Facing

Another essential design thinking principle is problem-framing.

Effective leaders recognize complex challenges and break them down into smaller, more manageable parts.

Doing so allows you to identify the root causes of the problems.

This approach enables you to create effective solutions for your team and organization.

Another good reason to use problem framing is to avoid feeling overwhelmed by large problems.

Breaking down a problem into small chunks helps you and your team tackle each issue separately.

In this way, you develop a more strategic mindset to navigate challenges more easily and precisely while keeping your team motivated.

Ideation

Ideation is an important stage in design thinking.

This is where you and your team generate innovative solutions.

The idea is to have multiple sessions to develop ideas. You can do this with any teams and themes. Whether it’s to get new ideas for content, fix a client problem, or create a new product.

One example of ideation in leadership is showcased by tech giant Google. Prior to 2019, employees at Google were encouraged to partake in a weekly meeting known as "TGIF" (Thank God It's Friday), where the company's leaders listened to and engaged with all employees.

This meeting centered on a casual setting and information-sharing, where employees were welcome to share their unique ideas, no matter how unconventional or off-beat they seemed.

This was a powerful way to get more people involved in building Google while promoting an egalitarian setting. Since the pandemic, this practice has become unfeasible but still serves as a good example.

By fostering an environment of ideation, you can unlock the creative potential of team members, leading to unique and disruptive business solutions. It also allows employees to feel valued and encouraged to participate in the decision-making and problem-solving processes of your business.

Prototyping

Prototyping is the stage where you experiment with and test ideas before committing money and time to a project.

By prototyping, you can take calculated risks and make adjust your campaign or plan before implementing a solution fully.

This way, you and your team are more agile and adaptive in decision-making, especially when confronted with complex and uncertain situations.

You create more flexibility, creativity, and adaptability if you’re willing to do trials or make prototypes.

It’s also a good way to keep employees happy and motivated because they’ll pool their efforts into a final product and avoid wasting time and effort on making changes at a large scale.

Testing

The section on prototyping also addresses testing to some degree. It follows that when you ideate, solve problems, and build prototypes, then testing is necessary to ensure that the solutions achieve their intended goals. This is true of leadership and managing people as well.

So, when you work on a project with your team or are trying to boost morale, don't just try one thing.

Try multiple tactics and see what gives you the best results.

For example, you may think that hiring a company to run a team-building exercise is a good way to motivate people but don't just assume that.

Try this tactic but hold a small session with an external team-building service provider. And then compare that with some other activity like a pizza party or a team outing. See what works best for your team and the results you can get.

The same is true when it comes to problem-solving. Trying multiple solutions and seeing which one works best is the way to go.

Conclusion

Design thinking principles offer an inspiring and practical approach to leading people and organizations.

Leaders who embrace this approach can establish more authentic connections with their teams, encourage creativity and experimentation, and develop more insightful solutions to complex problems.

So apply this approach and use design thinking tools to become a more effective leader. It's a thoughtful way to not only drive change but also to allow for improvements and growth.