This document provides guidance for UX professionals aspiring to become Vice Presidents of UX. It describes the responsibilities of a UX VP, which include increasing revenue through design improvements, making UX a competitive differentiator, and leading diverse teams. It acknowledges there are fewer VP opportunities and discusses overcoming barriers such as a lack of confidence. The document recommends gaining deep expertise in areas like information architecture and becoming a "master translator" who can communicate UX value. It emphasizes the importance of serving one's team as a VP rather than focusing on individual projects or design work. The honest truth, the document notes, is that a leadership role involves taking responsibility for failures and no longer getting to work on the most interesting projects directly

1. Are you cut out to be a VP of UX?
© 2018 Andrew Schultz LLC

2. We’ll Cover
UX VP Details
Personal Barriers
Find your passion
Become a master translator
Serve your team
The honest truth
Getting Confidence
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3. What does a VP of UX do?
● They increase revenue through UX and design improvements
● They make UX a competitive differentiator in the company through
project execution
● They institute design processes, technologies and platforms to
optimize workflow
● They lead diverse teams of inhouse designers, researchers,
copy/production specialists, frontend developers and vendors
● They transform the culture to be collaborative, customer-centered
and metrics driven balanced between qualitative & quantitative data
3

4. Available Jobs on Indeed
6,011
UX Manager
positions
Practice lead
Manage Projects
2,578
Sr. UX Designer
positions
Practice mastery
Heavy hands on
1,440
UX Director
positions
Practice Manager
Manage Resources
312
UX VP
positions
Manager of departments
Manage Managers
4
There are fewer opportunities, be open to relocating, and longer length in finding a new position.

5. Salary & Skills
5
https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Vice_President_(V
P)%2C_Design/Salary

6. Personal Barriers

7. “Confidence is born
after you achieve it”
- Dan Sullivan
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8. Personal Barriers
● Lack of confidence
● Lack of internal UX support
● No clear upward mobility path
● Limited view to opportunities
● Adverse to managing people
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9. Find your passion

10. “ ...you have to have credibility before
being a manager. People should
spend time becoming an expert in a
particular area first.”
- Catherine Courage, User Experience VP
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11. Gain deep knowledge
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● Information Architecture
● User-centered design research/Usability Moderation
● UX Strategy
● Service Design
● UX Developer
● Interaction Designer/Visual Designer

12. And grow your leadership skills
● Do executive level tasks (e.g. lead & projects)
● Learn to coach and serve others
● Ask inquire-based questions by observing leaders
● Desire to make UX a business dependency
● Deep urge to go beyond being a contributor
● Volunteer to run projects building on past wins
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13. Become a Master
Translator

14. “I’m a translator. That’s a great word
to describe what I do: a translator of
business problems into design
opportunities.”
- Sara Ortloff Khoury, User Experience Design Director
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15. Master Communications
● Embrace public speaking internally
& externally
● Translate design value throughout
the different levels of an
organization
● Tie business requirements to
strategic initiatives delivered with
clarity to teams & contributors
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16. Listen & learn to ask smart questions
● Ask inquiry- based questions to
learn and understand
● Ask exploratory questions to seek
solutions not currently addressed
● Challenge current thinking to
motivate teams to achieve higher
results
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17. Adapt Communication Styles
1. Adopt other department’s lingo (e.g. Technical Debt)
2. Learn what other executives value
3. Consider tone and cadence
4. Know your audience and keep it simple
5. Rehearse any important messages
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18. Serve your team

19. “... I couldn’t just concentrate on
designing products, but on the
program that would enable great products to
be designed. My focus in now on designing
teams and processes, as well as product strategies.”
- Matthew Holloway, User Experience Design VP
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20. It’s not about you anymore
● You have to be able to let go
of the spotlight
● Elevate your staff to shine
and give them tools to
succeed
● Protect your team and accept
responsibility when things so
south...and they will
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21. Aptitude Set
Source: Mark McCormick, SVP Customer Experience, Wells Fargo
Aptitude for Service
how to develop people
rather than projects
Aptitude for Business
explain the value the
organization receives from
user experience design
Aptitude for Process
how things come together
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22. The honest truth
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23. “...When you get promoted to
manager, you no longer get to work
on the coolest projects. You get to
pick up the pieces.”
- Rochelle King, UX and Product Services VP, Netflix
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24. Leaders Vs. Managers
Manage means to bring about, to accomplish, to
have responsibility for, to conduct
● Executes direction
● Administers
● Maintains
● Focus on projects
● Production interest
● Relies on control
● Short-range view
● Asks how and when
● Imitates
Lead is influence, guide in a direction, set a
course of action and opinion
● Sets direction
● Innovates
● Develops
● Focus on people
● Forensic interest
● Inspires trust
● Long range view
● Asks what and why
● Challenges status quo
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25. Be honest with yourself
● Can’t give up the spotlight and the details
● Not interested in helping others advance their career
other than your own
● Not interested in managing multiple project timelines
and monitoring progress
● Won’t enjoy the role change associated with being a
manager or executive
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26. How to Start
● Explore and volunteer for
leadership assignments prior to
committing yourself to the
leadership route
● Like a good UX Designer, test
and measure the results
● Start with something you can
achieve - small wins breed
success
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27. 18
Getting confidence

28. Thoughts are things
● Regularly think about
being in the position and
the joy in it
● Thoughts are things, the
more you think about it
the more natural it
becomes
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29. I think you guys
are ready to be
UX VPs!
Make it happen!
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30. THANK YOU - Q & A
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Andy Schultz (consulting services available)
ande.schultz@gmail.com
Text Me - 312.961.5189