Design Team Career Matrix

Product Design Career Matrix

Brand and Marketing Design Career Matrix

Manager Track

Behaviors for Success

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Manager Track

How Design Managers are evaluated

Design Management Philosophy

We believe that the best Design Managers are those who also possess the skillset to ‘do the work.’ This is why we hire managers with a proven track record as IC Designers. We expect Managers to be able to meet the criteria outlined on L4 for the IC Track in addition to the criteria for the Management Track.

Why we adopt this philosophy:

Craft and quality are crucial attributes for our team’s success. Managers who have experience executing can provide guidance and mentorship for teams.

As a growing company, Managers may be called upon to ‘roll up their sleeves’ and do hands-on work on projects. We see this as an opportunity for Managers to continue honing their design skills and further their connection with our brand, product, and team.

Leadership ≠ Management

You don’t need to be a manager to be a leader. It is a common misconception that leadership is strictly affiliated with supervising other people, but it is not an essential characteristic of leadership. Leaders exist at all levels of an organization.

⁠

Here’s an article⁠

on this distinction.

Transitioning from IC to Manager

Different from an IC track, where your output determines your progression in the matrix, transitioning into management requires that two conditions are met:

You demonstrate that you are ready for management (you are at least L4 in matrix and demonstrate aptitude for People Management skills)

There is a business need that requires for a new management position to open

At LP, internal mobility is important, and we strive to promote internally to the extent possible. Even if you full-fill the criteria outlined in #1, this transition can only be made if there is a clear need for a new manager in the team (ex: new team being formed, existing manager leaving, etc.)

Themes:

There are the themes used to evaluate Managers:

💫 Vision and Strategy — The ‘why’

Can you articulate a compelling vision for your team?

Does your team understand the ‘why’ behind their work?

💥 Team Impact — The ‘what’

What is the impact of your team’s work?

Is your team meeting their goals?

👫 Guidance — The ‘how’

Are designers in your team growing under your guidance?

Are you holding yourself and your team accountable to high bar of quality and delivery?

🎯 Team Enablement — The ‘how’

Are you enabling your team to do their best work?

Are you implementing processes that help empower and accelerate the team?

Are you able to attract, hire, and retain A+ talent on your team?

📢 Communication and Advocacy — The ‘how’

Are you embodying and exemplifying our company values in your actions and behaviors?

Are you proactively working with stakeholders from other departments to set the vision and problem solve?

Are you advocating for the Design team within the Company and outside the Company?

Are you keeping your team adequately informed on what’s happening in other departments across the company?

Manager Track Career Matrix:

Note: The expectations of each level are additive (i.e.: as a Sr. design Manager, you are also expected to meet criteria for Design Manager.)

Name

Title

Design Manager

Senior Design Manager

Design Director

Senior Design Director

WHO YOU ARE

You manage a small team of designers.

You are an experienced manager. You manage a larger team of designers and/or manage a complex business area for the company.

You are an experienced manager with a proven track record in leading effective teams. You are able to manage managers in addition to ICs.

You a senior leader and expert people manager. You are able to manage managers in addition to ICs, and are able to act as GM (managing a business unit comprised of multiple disciplines) if required.

💫 STRATEGY AND VISION

You articulate a compelling vision for your team. Your team clearly understands the why behind their work.

You establish and communicate strategy and vision with your team and stakeholders. You can motivate stakeholders to implement strategies.

You exercise excellent critical thinking and have a proven record for good judgement on strategy and execution.

You increasingly spend time creating and refining strategy, connecting the dots and observing important trends and patterns at a high level.

💥 TEAM IMPACT

Your team executes well defined work assignments that are subject to a moderate level of control and review.

Your team delivers on major initiatives on clear timelines. You are building a successful record of project execution.

You develop a holistic perspective on the organization, its vision and its activities. Your team’s impact is deeply felt within the Design team.

You excel at getting the team to focus on the highest impact projects. Your impact is felt outside of the Design organization.

👫 GUIDANCE

You meet regularly with direct reports. You provide guidance so that tasks are completed as specified.

You mentor, coach, and deeply contribute to the career development of your team and others.

You perfect the traits of a

Multiplier

⁠

You possess a strong ability to delegate and coach for performance.

You have excellent track record of developing and growing Designers.

🎯 TEAM ENABLEMENT

You continuously challenge and motivate the team to do their best work. You help the team identify blockers and work with them to find solutions. You ensure processes and best practices are being deployed in your team.

You pro-actively identify process gaps and work with the team to implement solutions. You frequently solicit, synthesize, and deliver nuanced feedback.

You lead recruiting efforts and develop headcount for the team. You identify gaps in processes across departments, and work with cross-functional leaders to address these. You help individuals set goals and work to ensure team growth.

You have a proven track record for attracting, hiring and retaining a team of A+ players. You help other managers and leaders uplevel their teams.

📢 COMMUNICATION AND ADVOCACY

You create a strong culture of communication and psychological safety for the team. You ensure team communicates on timelines, scope and milestones with stakeholders.

You regularly meet with cross functional partners to problem solve.

You proactively look for ways to establish stronger team culture and relationships within the Design team and between Design and the broader organization.

You are a model advocate for the LP culture, values, and brand. You manage up and down the chain — keeping Design Team informed of broader company initiatives and challenges and vice versa.

There are no rows in this table

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