Do not index
Do not index
I hear you; I’ve been in that situation myself in my first Product Design role.
It’s not easy, but here’s how I coped:
4 tips to grow in one-person design team
1. Learn best practices from everywhere
Soaked in all the UX and Product information I could, inside the org, but mostly outside — figuring out what are the best practices I should (and ask my team to) adopt.
2. Fight for more hires and be open about it
I admittedly championed for another hire (eventually, we hired 5), and by default, I was the Lead.
Be transparent about how swamp you are and make it visible the impact you’re having thus another new design hire would have.
3. Speak Up for Yourself
Make sure you are rewarded for your commitment, and talk about goals, raises, and promotions.
Self-advocacy is key as you’re a team of one, especially advocating for the value of design.
Be a coach to others as you’re the expert (even if you don’t have experience, you have more experience in design than others)
4. Find mentors, inside and outside the company
Lastly, there’s mentorship can be found inside and outside your organisation.
Inside should be your manager, and outside, it could be folks you follow on LinkedIn or simply go on ADPList—don’t let proximity and time zone be the constraint
Here’s a great book on this subject — The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide by Leah Buley.
👋 Looking for a mentor? I run coaching workshops to help you get unstuck. More details here ⬇️
