Design Leadership Doesn’t Start with a Title—It Starts with You

One pattern I’ve noticed—especially in corporate settings and among early-career designers—is a tendency to hold back.

Waiting for the brief. Waiting for clarity. Waiting for someone to tell them what to do.

I get it.

Nothing is more intimidating than staring at a blank canvas and trying to figure out where to start. But it's the designers who take initiative, who start sketching even when things are unclear, who put in the effort to make sense of the mess—those are the ones who move projects and ideas forward.

They’re the ones who make the biggest impact. They build credibility. They become valuable partners in the process. And over time, they grow into leadership—not because they waited to be told what to do, but because they showed up and started shaping the work.

So here are a few things I’ve learned that can help you avoid getting stuck in the ambiguity—and help you show up in a way that builds trust, earns respect, and positions you to contribute meaningfully, no matter where you are in your career.

Lean in to make sense of the mess

Designers bring a unique set of tools to the table—visual thinking, human-centered problem solving, and the ability to clarify complexity through making. When things feel unclear, these are the skills that can help everyone get unstuck.

So instead of waiting for the perfect brief or the fully defined problem, start where you are.

Sketch what you know. Map out what doesn’t make sense yet. Diagram the system. Write out hypotheses.

Use your design process—not to jump to solutions, but to understand the problem more deeply.

This kind of work doesn’t have to be polished. It's not about presenting the final answer.

It’s about thinking out loud in a way that’s visual, tangible, and collaborative. That’s how you help your team see the space more clearly—and that alone is incredibly valuable.

Making is momentum

In a world full of ambiguity, the act of making is what moves things forward. Rough sketches, early frameworks, quick flows, or even just a few notes can start conversations, invite feedback, and get people aligned.

You don’t need to wait until everything is “figured out” to make something. In fact, making is how you figure it out. When you start drawing or prototyping or even scribbling messy ideas on a whiteboard, you turn abstract thinking into something real—and that gives your team something to react to, build on, and shape with you.

Progress doesn’t always start with a perfect plan. Often, it starts with someone being willing to explore, to try, and to share.

Drive toward clarity

Even when you're doing all the right things—sketching, thinking, exploring—there will still be moments when you're blocked. When the ambiguity is just too thick and you genuinely need more direction. That’s totally normal.

And that doesn’t have to be where the momentum stops.

When you feel stuck, drive toward clarity. Reach out. Ask the questions.

Schedule time with your manager or a teammate to talk it through. Bring a rough diagram, a list of unknowns, or even just a few thoughts on what’s unclear.

Sometimes the act of trying to explain where you're blocked is exactly what helps you (and your team) start to untangle it.

Working with your partners—PMs, engineers, researchers, or other designers—can also help. Collaborate to define the edges of the problem. Share what you know and what you're still figuring out.

Most people will appreciate that you’re trying to move things forward, not just waiting for someone else to sort it out.

Asking for clarity doesn’t make you look unprepared. It shows you care enough to get aligned and keep the work moving.

Proactivity builds trust

One of the best ways to grow as a designer is by being proactive—not just in making things, but in showing that you care about the problem, the user, and the outcome.

That might mean pulling together a quick sketch to spark a discussion, or sharing a point of view on how a user flow could be improved. It could be asking thoughtful questions, reframing a challenge, or creating a diagram that helps everyone see the bigger picture.

That said, not every environment encourages initiative.

In some teams—especially those with rigid hierarchies or unclear power dynamics—taking action without direction can feel risky. If that’s the case, look for low-risk ways to contribute early ideas or questions, and invite collaboration rather than pushing a solution. Sharing a draft-in-progress or asking, “Would this be helpful?” can open the door without overstepping.

When you take initiative, you start becoming someone people trust—not because you have all the answers, but because you’re helping to move the work forward.

That trust compounds over time.

And it’s one of the most important things you can build, regardless of your title.

Intuition matters—use it

Design isn’t just logic and process. It’s also feel. Sometimes, you just know when something is working.

That kind of intuition comes from experience—but it also comes from engaging deeply with the work.

You won’t build that instinct by sitting back and waiting for instruction. You build it by exploring. By trying things. By noticing patterns, asking questions, and following your curiosity.

Plus, you build confidence the same way you build intuition—by staying curious, trying things, and trusting your process.

The more you practice this, the more you’ll start to trust your gut—and that’s a key part of your growth as a designer.

Start where you are

You don’t need to be part of design leadership to lead through your work. You don’t even need to be a senior-level designer to contribute meaningfully. What matters is that you start—start thinking, start sketching, start engaging with the problem in front of you.

It's the designers who start messy, early, and without waiting for all the answers, gain influence, trust, and momentum. They show up in ways that move the work forward—whether or not they have the title.

You have more tools than you think. You have perspective. You have process. You have the ability to ask great questions and turn ideas into something people can actually see.

So use those skills. Don’t wait for permission. Don’t aim for perfection.

Just start.

That’s how progress happens. That’s how designers grow. And that’s how you build the kind of impact that moves both the work—and your career—forward.