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This Human by Melis Senova

🧭 Navigating Access and Role Power in Project Leadership

Published about 1 year ago • 1 min read

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"Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge."

Simon Sinek

The ability to decide who is included or excluded from a project—both those who do the work and those who inform the work— is a significant aspect of design leadership. This encompasses decisions about:

  • Team roles
  • Recruitment
  • Participant selection
  • Leadership assignments

These are all influenced by access and role power. This influence extends beyond project setup and continues to shape the design process as it unfolds.

Design, by its nature, is emergent, and as the process progresses, we gain new insights that inform our subsequent decisions. Those who have the power to make these decisions can steer the project in new directions, thus shaping the outcome, while others without such access may not have the same influence.

This power dynamic is especially evident at points of convergence when critical decisions are made, often on behalf of people who are not present. These decisions highlight the importance of access and role power in determining the direction of a project.

Tips for Dealing with Access and Role Power:

  1. Awareness: Be mindful of who is not in the room when making decisions. Consider the perspectives and impacts on those absent.
  2. Inclusivity: Strive to include diverse voices and perspectives in the decision-making process to ensure a more holistic approach.
  3. Transparency: Clearly communicate the rationale behind decisions to all stakeholders, ensuring that those not present understand the reasons and implications.
  4. Deliberation: Consciously decide when to proceed with or without certain individuals present, recognising the potential consequences of both actions.

In Practice: It is impractical to have all affected parties present during decision-making, but it is practical to acknowledge their absence and proceed with awareness of the implications. This conscious approach is preferable to proceeding without such awareness.

You've got this.

Love,

PS. Next week we'll look at another facet of power: Goal Power. Shoot for the stars... ✨

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This Human by Melis Senova

Helping designers lead.

Enabling senior design professionals to be more influential within their organisations. ✨ Author of this human and design character, published by BIS Publishers.📚

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