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I’m the founder of the Human Centered Design Network and the creator of This is HCD, the leading human-centered design podcast with over 1.5 million downloads. We empower organisations worldwide with expert design training and coaching for executives, designers and teams.
Part 4 of 4 - Sustaining Yourself and the Team
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Hello Reader, Series contents Hello Reader, We’ve walked through the arc: the mindset shift (Part 1), the tactics to enable others (Part 2), and the messy reality of leadership (Part 3). Now comes the hardest part: sustaining yourself and your team over the long run. Leadership isn’t about making a single leap into management — it’s about learning how to keep going, to lead in a way that endures without grinding yourself or your people into the ground. Why Sustainability Matters Leadership can feel like an endless treadmill. There’s always another project, another fire, another demand on your time. If you don’t actively build ways to sustain yourself, you’ll burn out — and when you do, your team feels it tenfold. People notice when you’re running on fumes, when you’re more reactive than thoughtful. Sustainability isn’t a luxury; it’s a responsibility. Managing the Internal Conversation For me personally, it has meant building more time for intentional disconnection. Over the last five years, I noticed I was burning out more often, and I had to start managing the internal conversation with myself. That meant creating a healthier relationship with my own mental health and energy levels — recognising when to push and when to step back. In practice, this looks like a simple rule: if I find myself drifting in work and unable to complete a task, I’ll give it one or two real attempts. If it’s still not flowing, I step away. I allow myself to disconnect — to walk, stretch, even just pause — and then return with fresh energy. It’s a small discipline, but it protects my health and keeps my output sustainable. Protecting Space in the Workplace In the reality of a workplace, this principle becomes even more critical. If you’re constantly in back-to-back meetings, always going, always “on,” and never giving yourself space to disconnect, you’re doing yourself and your role a disservice. My suggestion is simple: enforce calendar placements for reflection. Unlike accountants, our work as design leaders isn’t just transactional — it’s knowledge work. It requires mental space to let ideas breathe, to let our default mode network do its work. As Mike Parker of Liminal Coaching explains, it’s in those moments of apparent downtime that we make connections, see patterns, and unlock system-level insights. That’s the real value of design leadership — and our secret power. So here’s a practical experiment: try this for four weeks. Don’t block hours a day. Start with 15-minute breaks sprinkled through your week. Step away from your desk. Go for a short walk. Let yourself truly disconnect — not by scrolling YouTube, but by shifting gears completely. Then notice what happens when you come back. Creating Team Rituals Sustaining a team is less about perks and more about rhythms. Honest retrospectives where people can speak freely. Check-ins where listening matters more than fixing. Celebrating the tiny wins, not just the flashy launches. These rituals aren’t fluffy extras — they’re the glue that holds a team together when pressure is high and energy is low. Resilience Over Heroics In the reality of a workspace, sustainability often comes down to pacing yourself — knowing which fights are worth picking, and which you can let go. Leadership isn’t about constant heroics. It’s about making sure you and your team have the energy to go the distance. If you take breaks, set boundaries, and ask for help, you give everyone else permission to do the same. Wrapping Up the Series That brings us to the end of this four-part journey into design leadership. We’ve moved from the mindset shift of leaving craft behind, to the tactics of enabling others, through the messy middle of leadership, and finally, to sustaining yourself and your team for the long haul. I’ve shared some of my own lessons — both the wins and the hard-won realisations — but leadership isn’t a one-way street. Every team, every context, and every leader brings something different to the table. So I’d love to hear from you. What resonated most for you in this series? Where did it challenge your thinking? And what did I miss that you believe is crucial for design leaders to hear? Hit reply to this email and let me know. Your feedback will help me shape where we go next. PS: I read every email that comes back from this newsletter — even if it takes me a little time to reply. So if something sparked a thought, I’d genuinely love to hear it. Maybe you might be able to can help me?If you like what I do, there are a few things you can to help me. I am 100% independent. This means, I work for myself and have availability for one more training project in 2025. I work internationally and if you feel like there might be an opportunity for us to collaborate by training your design team, please do get in touch by replying to this email. Lastly, if that isn't possible, please leave a review for my podcast here. Have a great week!
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Join 3000+ Designers worldwide who are empowering organisations to transform how they are designing and delivering services.
I’m the founder of the Human Centered Design Network and the creator of This is HCD, the leading human-centered design podcast with over 1.5 million downloads. We empower organisations worldwide with expert design training and coaching for executives, designers and teams.