Running a design team

Part 1 - the critique ritual

Quality can’t depend on one senior person being in every review. A ritual makes good feedback repeatable and lets the team keep its standard whether or not the lead is in the room:

• Frame - the designer states the goal and the one decision they want feedback on. No open-ended “thoughts?”
• Silent read - reviewers absorb before reacting, so the first comment isn’t just whoever formed an opinion fastest.
• Structured feedback - against the team’s own principles, not personal taste. This is where a documented design system earns its keep - it gives critique a shared reference.
• Decision + owner - every critique ends with a call and who carries it. No review is allowed to end in “let’s think about it.”

Part 2 - hiring & leveling

The strongest manager signal on this site, because it’s the part of the job that’s hardest to fake:

• The interview loop - structured around the same signals a manager portfolio should show: ownership of outcomes, systems thinking, and how a candidate handles ambiguity, not just polish.
• The leveling rubric - a shared, written definition of what each level looks like, so growth conversations are about evidence against a rubric instead of a vibe.
• Onboarding - the first 30/60/90 days mapped against the same rubric, so a new hire knows exactly what “good” looks like from day one instead of inferring it from the room.

The throughline across both halves: neither should require me personally in the room to hold the standard.