Andy PolaineThe idea of servant leadership is quite popular, but in my design leadership coaching I often see coachees ending up in burnout martyrdom. Here is a different way of thinking about that — fill your cup first.
Every week I spend my days coaching design leaders and in these videos, I reflect upon that the common themes and questions that came up in the week.
== TIMESTAMPS == 00:00 Intro 00:16 The downsides of servant leadership 01:52 Compressors and noise gates 04:13 Fill your cup first 04:46 Outro
Servant Leadership or Burnout Martyrdom?Andy Polaine2024-07-01 | The idea of servant leadership is quite popular, but in my design leadership coaching I often see coachees ending up in burnout martyrdom. Here is a different way of thinking about that — fill your cup first.
Every week I spend my days coaching design leaders and in these videos, I reflect upon that the common themes and questions that came up in the week.
== TIMESTAMPS == 00:00 Intro 00:16 The downsides of servant leadership 01:52 Compressors and noise gates 04:13 Fill your cup first 04:46 Outro
It’s essential everyone recognises we’re criticising the work, attacking problem, not the person.
But there are language and cultural mismatches and a counterintuitive gotcha that I discuss in this video.
For more and my design leadership coaching practice, check the links below:
Website: polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Courses: courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/andypolaine.bsky.socialS5 Ep5: Lisa Bennett – Savor The WorldAndy Polaine2026-07-08 | Power of Ten: design at every level of zoom, from thoughtful detail to organisational and societal change, hosted by Andy Polaine.
In this episode, journalist and author Lisa Bennett, Harvard Fellow, co-author of Ecoliterate, and author of the forthcoming Savor the World: Why Wonder, Not Worry, Will Save Us, talks with Andy about restoring human agency in an overwhelming world. Drawing on a career spent studying how people rise to crisis, Lisa unpacks the E.B. White line that underpins her book: the daily tension between wanting to save the world and choosing to savor it. The conversation moves through the psychology of overwhelm and the "polycrisis," why humans aren't wired to care at global scale, AI's effect on trust and authentic communication, and why savoring with real presence and attention might be a more sustainable and more effective form of care than constant fighting.
The answer is because 90% of the work in any kind of Lead to Leadership role is people work. Design leaders don’t usually have design problems. They’re people problems.
So exploring how you do relationships helps you enormously in the context of the tactical at work. You’re not getting buy-in or credibility because of your work, but because people don’t trust you or your story isn’t landing.
In my coaching I’m exploring the situation with you, but also observing and reflecting back what I’m seeing about your response to it so that we can work on that, too.
Website: polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Courses: courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/andypolaine.bsky.socialMy Coaching Origin StoryAndy Polaine2026-06-16 | Why did I start coaching and how did it come about? From many conversations with designers and design leaders over the years. Here's the origin story and a key part of my philosophy of coaching.
Our conversation ranged across the history of interaction design (Zork, MUDs, branching narratives), Josh and Veronika's "four postures" of AI systems (tools, chat, agents, co-pilots), the dangers of leaning too hard on physical metaphors, the idea of "casual intelligence" as a counter to AI maximalism, and the responsibilities designers have right now to shape how this technology gets implemented before money and Big Tech make all the decisions for us.
Josh Clark (linkedin.com/in/joshclark) is principal of Big Medium (bigmedium.com) , a digital agency that helps complex organizations design for what’s next. Josh has over 30 years of experience in emerging technology, user experience, and design innovation. His projects include future-friendly interfaces for AI, connected devices, and websites for many of the world’s biggest companies.
Veronika Kindred (linkedin.com/in/vkind) is designer and researcher at Big Medium, where she defines and solves design problems alongside some of the world’s biggest companies. She travels internationally to lead Sentient Design workshops and speak to teams at startups and Fortune 100 companies alike. Her research has ranged from AI’s effect on user experience to mobile technology’s impact on African political engagement to the nuances of congressional climate hearings.
• YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineS5 Ep3: Martin Dowson – Service Design & LobstersAndy Polaine2026-05-04 | My guest in this episode is Martin Dowson, a design and transformation leader who’s passionate about elevating the role of design as a strategic force for business growth.
With over two decades of experience across Financial Services, Telcos, Media, and more. He’s built and led design teams, established Centres of Excellence, and guided organisations through complex transformations that align design with commercial outcomes.
Martin went from reading our service design book (rosenfeldmedia.com/books/service-design-second-edition) hoping to solve a logistics problem (you couldn’t order lobsters on a Wednesday at Sainsbury’s) to spending six years leading design strategy at Lloyd's Banking Group.
We talk about what happens when consultants go in-house, why experienced internal voices often get heard less than external ones saying the same thing, and whether AI has the same fundamental scaling problem as the car.
Timestamps 00:00 Intro — Martin's background across financial services, telecoms and media 01:00 How Martin and Andy first met at RBS in 2015, and reading Service Design to solve a lobster logistics problem at Sainsbury's 04:30 Going in-house after consulting — why your voice gets heard less the moment you cross the threshold 07:30 The question organisations never ask: why isn't this happening spontaneously already? 14:00 What it actually takes to embed design capability in a large organisation versus leaving behind blueprints and concepts 28:00 Measuring design's contribution to business outcomes — the gap between outputs and impact 45:00 Design leadership in the AI era — what changes and what doesn't 55:00 Why organisations mistake motion for progress, and how incentive structures block transformation 01:05:50 AI has the same fundamental problem as the car — it doesn't scale cleanly, and success makes the resource problem worse not better 01:10:30 The one small thing with outsized impact: our definition of success in education
Andy - Website: polaine.com (polaine.com) - Newsletter: pln.me/nws - Podcast: pln.me/p10 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Courses: courses.polaine.com (courses.polaine.com) - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Bluesky: https://andypolaine.bsky.social (https://andypolaine.bsky.social/) - YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineTell the story of yourself in interviews. Not just your work.Andy Polaine2026-04-14 | When you present your work in interviews, it's not really about the work. It's about you. The way you tell your story gives you a lot of control over what you want to highlight about how great you are. It's not the time to be hide your light under a bushel.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:33 Mistake #:1 Presenting your case study like project documentation 00:58 How to tailor your story to your audience 01:53 Problem, context, outcomes 02:10 Mistake #2: Saying the same thing twice. Kill your darlings! 02:52 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 Website: polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Courses: courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/andypolaine.bsky.socialS5 Ep2: Joel Bailey – The Role of AI in Social Media ManagementAndy Polaine2026-03-25 | My guest in this episode is Joel Bailey, (linkedin.com/in/joelbaileyuk) product and service director at Arwen.ai (arwen.ai) , a four-year-old marketing technology startup that uses AI to help brands to manage and moderate their social media comments at scale.
Joel brings 25 years of experience working in service design roles, leading change and building new stuff for a diverse range of organisations. We talked about his journey into Service Design, Service Design and AI, navigating AI and social media, the future of design and much more.
Note: Given the fast pace of developments in AI, I should point out that we recorded this in June 2025. I had a big backlog...
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to Service Design and AI 04:50 The Journey to Service Design 10:00 Understanding Service as an Outcome 15:08 The Role of AI in Social Media Management 20:11 Challenges of Moderation on Social Media 25:32 The Evolution of Business Models 26:36 The Role of AI in Startups 29:13 Navigating AI and Content Moderation 30:20 Understanding AI Bias and Ethics 31:43 Engaging with AI in Social Media 35:11 The Future of Design and AI 40:21 Creativity in a Fast-Paced Environment 44:56 The Importance of Service in Design
In this episode Andy Polaine speaks to design leader, Alan Colville, exploring the nuances of design leadership, the importance of embracing conflict, the dynamics of communication, and how small changes in how we communicate can lead to significant positive outcomes.
Andy ==== - Website: polaine.com (polaine.com) - Newsletter: pln.me/nws - Podcast: pln.me/p10 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Courses: courses.polaine.com (courses.polaine.com) - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Bluesky: https://andypolaine.bsky.social (https://andypolaine.bsky.social/) - YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineThe Importance of Project SunsetsAndy Polaine2026-02-11 | Project sunsets are critical for closure and reflection, and they're also important for feeding back to leadership. Every project is essentially a hypothesis when it comes to resourcing, but unless people know that it turned out well or into a grinding disaster, the mistakes will be repeated. Finally, case studies are useful for articulating the value of your work, pitching projects, and for onboarding new staff.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 The Importance of Project Sunsets 00:29 Projects are hypotheses 01:40 The value of case studies 02:39 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 Website: polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Courses: courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/andypolaine.bsky.socialS4 Ep14: Chui Chui Tan — Cross-Cultural InsightsAndy Polaine2025-12-23 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
In this episode Andy speaks with Dr. Chui Chui Tan a specialist in culturalisation strategies tailored for international growth. She leverages cultural insights to craft winning global business strategies, guiding clients to navigate international markets successfully. She is also the author of a new book, "Research for Global Growth: Strategies And Guidance For Cross-Cultural Insights".
In this episode Andy speaks to Carissa Carter, a designer, geoscientist, and the academic director at the Stanford d.school (http://d.school) . She is the author of The Secret Language of Maps: How to Tell Visual Stories with Data, and the co-author of Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future. Carissa teaches design courses on emerging technologies, climate change, and data visualization. Her work on designing with machine learning and blockchain has earned multiple design awards.
Andy ==== - Website: polaine.com - Newsletter: pln.me/nws - Podcast: pln.me/p10 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Courses: courses.polaine.com - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Bluesky: https://andypolaine.bsky.social - YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineThis, too, shall pass.Andy Polaine2025-11-25 | It’s easy to expend a little of energy and stress about everything at work. I know I have. But when you look back at old projects, mostly that’s all forgotten. So it’s worth remembering that whatever you are in the midst of right now will pass. And sometimes that thought in itself is enough to move you through it.
#work #stress #coaching #leadership #designLearning from couples therapy to resolve work conflictsAndy Polaine2025-11-24 | Stressed interpersonal dynamics at work are really common. How might we tackle these better by borrowing from couples therapy techniques?
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:29 Borrowing from therapy 01:33 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 Resolve work conflicts with these questions: youtu.be/nyyM7Y3Ovek Website: polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Courses: courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/andypolaine.bsky.socialCreative Direction or Micromanagement?Andy Polaine2025-11-03 | What is the right balance between direction and micromanagement? Sometimes overbearing creative direction can actually make your team's quality worse as they become helpless.
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 Resolve work conflicts with these questions: youtu.be/nyyM7Y3Ovek Website: polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Courses: courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/andypolaine.bsky.socialS4 Ep12: Francesa Cortesi — Passionate Product LeaderAndy Polaine2025-10-24 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
This episode's guest is Francesca Cortesi, a passionate product leader with over a decade of experience in scaling digital products that users love and that drive sustainable growth. She has worked with Europe’s fastest-growing companies, from startups to IPOs, delivering tangible results. Her most recent role was as Chief Product Officer at Sweden's leading property platform, Hemnet, and has just started her own consultancy.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:19 Emotions at work 01:00 What do you really want to say? 01:54 Try it! 02:21 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 Resolve work conflicts with these questions: youtu.be/nyyM7Y3Ovek Website: polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Courses: courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolainePolitics is not a dirty word in leadershipAndy Polaine2025-05-18 | Politics is not necessarily a dirty word when it comes to design and leadership. In this coaching reflections video, I make the case that it's actually at the core of what you need to do.
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 Resolve work conflicts with these questions: youtu.be/nyyM7Y3Ovek Website: polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Courses: courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaineS4E11 Meltem Naz Kaso - UX Career CoachAndy Polaine2025-05-15 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guest in this episode is my friend Meltem Naz Kaso, a Barcelona-based UX Career Coach with a background in UX Research. Her last full-time position was at Glovo, where she served as a UX Research Manager and Staff UX Researcher.
She works with Senior UX professionals to unblock their careers by boosting their leadership and communication skills.
Andy ==== - Website: polaine.com - Newsletter: pln.me/nws - Podcast: pln.me/p10 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Courses: courses.polaine.com - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine - YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineS4 Ep11: Meltem Naz Kaso - UX Career CoachAndy Polaine2025-05-15 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guest in this episode is my friend Meltem Naz Kaso, a Barcelona-based UX Career Coach with a background in UX Research. Her last full-time position was at Glovo, where she served as a UX Research Manager and Staff UX Researcher.
She works with Senior UX professionals to unblock their careers by boosting their leadership and communication skills.
Andy ==== - Website: polaine.com - Newsletter: pln.me/nws - Podcast: pln.me/p10 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Courses: courses.polaine.com - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine - YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineS4E10 Lisa D. Dance - Unpaid Customer LabourAndy Polaine2025-05-01 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guest in this episode is Lisa D. Dance, an experienced UX Researcher whose 10+ years of work has spans UX Research & Strategy to Interactive Prototyping & Usability Testing. She has created award-winning work for enterprise organizations and also helped small to mid-sized businesses improve their websites and apps so they do not frustrate or harm customers.
Andy ==== - Website: polaine.com - Newsletter: pln.me/nws - Podcast: pln.me/p10 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Courses: courses.polaine.com - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine - YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineS4 Ep10: Lisa D. Dance – Unpaid Customer LabourAndy Polaine2025-05-01 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guest in this episode is Lisa D. Dance, an experienced UX Researcher whose 10+ years of work has spans UX Research & Strategy to Interactive Prototyping & Usability Testing. She has created award-winning work for enterprise organizations and also helped small to mid-sized businesses improve their websites and apps so they do not frustrate or harm customers.
Andy - Website: polaine.com - Newsletter: pln.me/nws - Podcast: pln.me/p10 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Courses: courses.polaine.com - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine - YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineS4 Ep9: The Materials of Service DesignAndy Polaine2025-03-26 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guests in this episode are Johan Blomkvist and Stefan Holmlid who, along with Simon Clatworthy, wrote the book The Materials of Service Design, which discusses materials (broadly framed) as a means to explore what service design is and could be.
We often get into situations when we feel unheard or want to assert our opinion, especially when managing sideways to peers or upwards to folks more senior. This can lead to a kind of power struggle head on clash of opinion against opinion. The counter intuitive approach to moving past this is not to tell, but to ask questions.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:09 Dealing with opinion clash 00:34 On what basis are we building this? 01:35 Intent 02:14 Governance 03:08 The questions become part of the process 03:42 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 - Two tricks for gaining clarity and engaging stakeholders: youtu.be/LppYcvsmAk8 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Online Course: courses.polaine.com - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactDont Ask for Permission To Do Your JobAndy Polaine2025-02-13 | Sometimes doing your job means actually doing your job. In this week's coaching reflection, I want to talk about this idea of not asking permission to do the job you've actually be hired to do.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:11 Not asking permission 01:39 Dealing with blocking stakeholders 02:12 It is actually your job 03:20 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 - Learning to say no at work: youtu.be/LiXTHO5NQQ0 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Online Course: courses.polaine.com - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactYour time is a non-renewable resource. Spend it wisely.Andy Polaine2025-01-15 | Your time is the fossil fuels of your life. You don't know how much is left and it's never coming back. So it's really important to think about who deserves this most precious, non-renewable resource.
This small reframe can shift your relationship to unreasonable asks at work, how you approach interviews, avoid burnout, and shape what you want to do with your career and in life.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:12 Your time is a non-renewable resource 01:19 Our lives are just blips in history 02:38 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 - Learning to say no at work: youtu.be/LiXTHO5NQQ0 - Defensive calendaring and taking control of your time: youtu.be/ai-OSEgcqxs - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Online Course: courses.polaine.com - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactLearning to ask for what you wantAndy Polaine2024-12-13 | When we using indirect, hedging language and people please, we can actually end up being selfish by accident, because we're asking them to do the emotional lifting to decipher our request.
The topic of this week's Coaching Reflections video is learning to ask for what you want in direct language without being rude. It is definitely something you can practice and it also builds your confidence.
What are your tips for being candid without being abrasive?
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:19 Hedging Language 00:39 People Pleasing 01:23 Know Your Filler Words 01:43 Practice asking for what you want 03:10 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 - Learning to say no at work: youtu.be/LiXTHO5NQQ0 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Online Course: courses.polaine.com - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactHow the four seasons of design (and life) can help you avoid burnout.Andy Polaine2024-12-04 | It's important to build in a cadence of difference paces in your day, week, project and year. Without it, you risk burning out.
I like to think of this as the four seasons of design (and life). In this video, while walking through my own metaphor, I talk about what that looks like and how you might apply it to your work and life.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:26 The Four Seasons of Design 03:35 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 - The Four Seasons of Design is part of this presentation: polaine.com/2019/10/design-for-the-long-term - Servant Leadership or Martyrdom Burnout? youtu.be/Wsj7RwSByNc - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Online Course: courses.polaine.com - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactS4E8: Marzia Aricò - Design Leadership MaverickAndy Polaine2024-11-27 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guest in this episode is Marzia Aricò, an independent consultant for organisations seeking to integrate design strategically, and works as a design leadership coach for individuals aiming to advance in their design careers.
We talked about her journey to where she is now, service design and organisational change, the importance of diversity within organisations and how her guests on Design Voices Elevated have navigated their own journeys. And we talk about her new book, The Design Leadership Chronicles.
== TIMESTAMPS == 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:48 Marzia’s Background 00:06:14 Service Design and Organisational Change 00:14:03 Fear Anxiety 00:15:19 Design Leadership Chronicles 00:18:22 Coaching and therapy 00:21:53 Design Voices Elevated 00:26:57 Self Love Intentionality 00:35:37 Rethinking your future 00:42:25 One Small Thing 00:45:07 Outro
== Andy == Website: polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching Courses: courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineS4 Ep8: Marzia Aricò - Design Leadership MaverickAndy Polaine2024-11-27 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guest in this episode is Marzia Aricò (https://marzia.studio/) , an independent consultant for organisations seeking to integrate design strategically, and works as a design leadership coach for individuals aiming to advance in their design careers.
We talked about her journey to where she is now, service design and organisational change, the importance of diversity within organisations and how her guests on Design Voices Elevated have navigated their own journeys. And we talk about her new book, The Design Leadership Chronicles.
== Show Links ==
== Marzia ==
• Marzia’s personal site: https://marzia.studio (https://marzia.studio/)
• YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineIs the role of design leadership best placed as wise guide rather than the hero?Andy Polaine2024-11-21 | This week I'm teaching a masterclass on storytelling, pitching and getting buy-in for the Service Design Network Academy and we’re exploring classic story structures and also think about what journey our org or client is on.
Every week I spend my days coaching design leaders and in these videos, I reflect upon the common themes and questions that come up in the week.
This week I share some thoughts about design taking a role as wise guide rather than being the hero of the story (even though our egos might like the idea of the latter).
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:11 What story are you in? 00:40 The Hero's Journey 00:57 The Wise Guide 01:34 Design as the Guide, not the Hero 02:47 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 - Servant Leadership or Martyrdom Burnout? youtu.be/Wsj7RwSByNc - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Online Course: courses.polaine.com - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactDont underestimate your impact on the people around youAndy Polaine2024-11-06 | How do you think about your impact as a leader? Is it the bottom line of the business? The culture? Or is it on the people around you more individually?
I spend my weeks coaching design leaders and in this Coaching Reflections video, I talk about impact on a personal level.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:20 The Ripple Effect 02:15 Outro
I have very few coaching sessions about the actual design work. It's all about people.
In this week's coaching reflections video I invite you to consider that all that people and relationship stuff that seems to "get in the way" of you doing your work is actually the work, especially as you move into management and leadership. Considering it this way can help alleviate the sense of frustration and, instead, replace it with curiosity.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:21 - Companies are ephemeral 00:00:55 - The work is the people 00:02:03 - Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 - Managing Up and Fear & Anxiety: studio.youtube.com/video/cyuKiGhc0go/edit - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Online Course: courses.polaine.com - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactLearning to say no at workAndy Polaine2024-10-09 | If you're a people pleaser or self-identified high achiever, how good are you at saying no? This is something that comes up all the time in my design leadership coaching practice and is the topic of this week's coaching reflection.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Introduction 00:18 Trouble saying no 00:36 The no reframe 01:46 Completing the feedback loop 02:24 Saying no is being helpful 02:45 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Online Course: courses.polaine.com - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactS4E7: Julian Simpson - the life of a screenwriter/directorAndy Polaine2024-10-08 | My guest in this episode is Julian Simpson, a London-based writer and director who has worked in film, TV and audio for the past 25 years. He made his directorial debut annoyingly young in his mid-20s with The Criminal and more recently worked on Spooks, New Tricks, Doctor Who and more. He created the Lovecraft Investigations, the Aldrich Kemp audio series and the Pleasant Green Universe. He runs a writer-led company called Storypunk and writes an excellent newsletter about the screenwriting life called, Development Hell.
== TIMESTAMPS == 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:20 - Julian's journey to here 00:06:59 - Disruption 00:08:34 - Making the film many times over 00:16:18 - Actors and trust 00:22:38 - The rise of development desks 00:28:57 - Changes in the age of digital shooting 00:32:32 - Writing slowly 00:36:04 - Outlines, PKMs, and just writing 00:50:28 - AI and writing 00:53:51 - One small thing 00:56:33 - Outro
== ANDY == * Website: polaine.com * Newsletter: pln.me/nws * Podcast: pln.me/p10 * Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching * Courses: courses.polaine.com * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine * Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine * YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineS4 Ep7: Julian Simpson: The life of a screenwriter and directorAndy Polaine2024-10-07 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
Andy's guest in this episode is Julian Simpson, a London-based writer and director who has worked in film, TV and audio for the past 25 years. He made his directorial debut annoyingly young in his mid-20s with The Criminal and more recently worked on Spooks, New Tricks, Doctor Who and more. He created the Lovecraft Investigations, the Aldrich Kemp audio series and the Pleasant Green Universe. He runs a writer-led company called Storypunk and writes an excellent newsletter about the screenwriting life called, Development Hell.
== ANDY == * Website: https://www.polaine.com * Newsletter: pln.me/nws * Podcast: pln.me/p10 * Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching * Courses: https://courses.polaine.com * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine/ * Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine * YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineHow do your family relationships play out at work?Andy Polaine2024-09-20 | Our parents are the first people we encounter who are in charge around here. And so they're the first role models we have some kind of leadership. How can we become more conscious of how this plays out in our work relationships?
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:17 Parents 01:32 The stepmother moment 02:45 Journal it 03:30 Companies are not families 04:08 Outro
👇👇 LINKS 👇👇 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Online Course: courses.polaine.com - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactFeeling overwhelmed? Try a personal kanban.Andy Polaine2024-08-28 | If you're feeling overwhelmed and scattered because you feel like you are never getting through your to-do list, try a personal kanban instead. In this Coaching Reflections video I show you how to set up a very simple one.
⏱️⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:36 Personal Kanban Intro 00:47 Getting into the habit 01:01 Bandwitdh 02:10 Include personal tasks 03:00 Stop stressing your brain 03:25 Adding an item 04:02 The backlog 04:09 Always start with the kanban 04:24 The waiting column 04:52 Don't start anything until a doing slot is free 05:11 Enjoy the done moment 06:02 Extra optional columns 06:33 Keep it simple 07:31 Outro
==TIMESTAMPS== 00:00 Intro 00:27 OKR-ish format 00:56 Start at the end 01:30 Example 01:53 The Clark Rule 03:08 Outro
👇🏻👇🏻LINKS👇🏻👇🏻 - Dan Ward's book, F.I.R.E: http://www.thedanward.com/fire (or support me with the affiliate link here amzn.to/4cWeSsx) - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactDo everyone a favour in meetings full of jargonAndy Polaine2024-07-25 | If you've ever experienced someone say this kind of thing at work and wondered what the hell they're talking about, there's a simple trick you can use that everyone will thank you for.
Every week I spend my days coaching design leaders and in these videos, I reflect upon that the common themes and questions that came up in the week. And this week I want to talk about combatting jargon.
==TIMESTAMPS== 00:00 Intro 00:29 Jargon 01:15 If you don't understand, ask 01:34 A simple trick for cutting through jargon 02:07 Do everyone a favour 02:24 It's an opportunity to align 02:59 Outro
👇🏻👇🏻LINKS👇🏻👇🏻 - Two ticks for gaining clarity and engaging stakeholders: youtu.be/LppYcvsmAk8 - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactShape the Story of Your WorkAndy Polaine2024-07-19 | "I hate politics, the work should speak for itself." But the work never speaks for itself. You need to shape the story otherwise someone else will do it for you. And badly.
Every week I spend my days coaching design leaders and in these videos, I reflect upon that the common themes and questions that came up in the week.
== TIMESTAMPS == 00:00 Intro 00:13 The work never speaks for itself 01:26 Give your boss the mythology 02:25 Use video 03:26 Help me to help you 03:35 Storytelling course 03:45 Outro
Every week I spend my days coaching design leaders and in these videos, I reflect upon that the common themes and questions that came up in the week.
== TIMESTAMPS == 00:00 Intro 00:37 Caveats 01:45 Types of acting out behaviours 02:16 Your physical response 02:48 Fight, Flight, Freeze & Fawn 03:02 Fight 03:19 Flight 03:44 Freeze 04:12 Fawn 04:36 Questions to consider 05:38 Fear and anxiety 06:22 Resetting the conversation 08:03 What do you really want to say? 08:25 Vulnerability 09:09 You can always quit
==LINKS== - Servant Leadership vs Burnout Martyrdom - youtu.be/Wsj7RwSByNc - Managing Upwards, Fear & Anxiety and Skydiving – youtu.be/cyuKiGhc0go - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactS4E6: AI-accelerated environmental forecasts - Hansi SinghAndy Polaine2024-06-28 | My guest today comes from a very different field to design. Dr Hansi Singh is ia former Professor of physical climate science, University of Victoria. A US Department of Energy Office of Science fellow and awardee. Specialist in Earth system modeling and high performance computing. Working group co-chair of the Community Earth System Model, funded by NSF.
And she uses all those amazing skills as CEO of Planette, a company specialising in AI-accelerated environmental forecasts to help inform decision making.
Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
== TIMESTAMPS == 00:00 Intro 01:16 Hansi's Background 05:04 Crochet 08:19 Planette 25:36 How climate scientists run models 33:26 One small thing question 37:20 Outro
== ANDY == Website: polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching Courses: courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineS4 Ep6: Hansi Singh: AI-accelerated environmental forecastsAndy Polaine2024-06-28 | Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guest in this episode comes from a very different field to design. Dr Hansi Singh is a former Professor of physical climate science, University of Victoria. A US Department of Energy Office of Science fellow and awardee. Specialist in Earth system modeling and high performance computing. Working group co-chair of the Community Earth System Model, funded by NSF.
And she uses all those amazing skills as CEO of Planette, a company specialising in AI-accelerated environmental forecasts to help inform decision making.
== ANDY == Website: https://www.polaine.com Newsletter: pln.me/nws Podcast: pln.me/p10 Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching Courses: https://courses.polaine.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine/ Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaineDeveloping Presence & Confidence for LeadershipAndy Polaine2024-06-17 | How do you develop presence and confidence for leadership and presenting? Borrow the tricks of performers like David Byrne, David Bowie and Beyoncé.
Every week I spend my days coaching design leaders and in these videos, I reflect upon that the common themes and questions that came up in the week.
== Timestamps == 00:00 Introduction 00:24 Presence 01:05 On Stage 01:43 Personas - David Byrne 02:16 Personas - David Bowie 02:50 Personas - Beyoncé 03:09 Wear a costume 04:23 Don't lose yourself 05:16 Outro
Every week I spend my days coaching design leaders and in these videos, I reflect upon that the common themes and questions that came up in the week.
==TIMESTAMPS== 00:00 Introduction 00:24 Title vs Activities 00:55 Consider an Experience Portfolio 02:03 Using the Gaps to Qualify Opportunities 04:05 Outro
==LINKS== - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Online Course: courses.polaine.com - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactGiving great feedback on design work - Coaching ReflectionsAndy Polaine2024-05-31 | Rather than being constraints how can rules set you and your teams free? How can this help you give great feedback and raise the quality of design work from your team?
Every week I spend my days coaching design leaders and in these videos, I reflect upon that the common themes and questions that came up in the week.
== Timestamps == 00:00 Introduction 00:22 The Magic Circle 02:05 Feedback Structures - Rose, Thorn, Bud 02:41 Feedback Structures - Stars & Wishes 03:18 Don't bring finished work 04:15 No conversation without an artefact 05:27 Ask about intent 06:27 The danger of politeness
==LINKS== - Design Leadership Coaching: polaine.com/coaching - Andy's website - polaine.com - Subscribe to Power of Ten podcast - pln.me/p10 - Subscribe to Andy’s newsletter Doctor’s Note - pln.me/nws - Andy's YouTube channel - youtube.com/@apolaine - Andy's online courses - courses.polaine.com - Andy on Mastodon - https://pkm.social/@apolaine - Andy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/apolaine - Suggestions? Feedback? Get in touch! - polaine.com/contactUnderstanding your thinking and communication style – Coaching ReflectionsAndy Polaine2024-05-24 | A classic human bias is to assume that everybody else thinks the way that we do, but of course they don't. Understanding your thinking style and how you manage that when interacting with others is an essential, skill in leadership and also in life.
My name is Andy Polaine and every week I spend my days coaching design leaders. And in these videos, I reflect upon the common themes and questions that come up in the week.
==TIMESTAMPS== 00:00 Introduction 00:27 Thinking Types 00:44 Introverted Thinkers 03:29 Extroverted Thinkers 05:05 Knowing your type and those you interact with 06:22 Outro