Issue 1. The leadership art of being undone

One of the most formative experiences in my career as a design executive was the realisation that there’s no point when all the problems and challenges are resolved, yet you can still be alright.

As a leader, you constantly face problems, and that’s the essence of the role. The problems come in different shapes and forms, but they are always there: people, processes, products... If there’s one truth I embodied about it, that’s the following:

After these problems,
The new will come,
So
You’ll never be “done“.

There’s no magical point of “release“or escape when the tension you sense will completely disappear. Most of the time, after the temporary relief, the pressure will dislocate itself to the new intricate areas of your responsibility.

How does it make you feel?

It might be difficult at times to accept this part of the leadership job. The math makes it trickier. If you have a team of 20+ people, and each of them has at least one problem per month, it feels like a new challenge awaits you daily—on top of projects and processes.

When I was the Head of Design at Miro, I co-wrote the organization's Career Framework. The framework states that a higher level of seniority correlates with a higher stress level, and embarking on that journey is a personal choice.

The name of the book suggests…

The shift from individual contributor to leader

I suspect there’s a reason for that “undonenness”. Many of us begin our careers as individual contributors (ICs), where the work is project-based, with clear starts, finishes, and outcomes. Satisfaction comes from a state of completion.

Once you transition to a more senior role, the amount of hands-on work decreases and, at times, completely disappears. You are left with meetings, documents, and slide decks, constantly “providing feedback and input.”

‘Let’s face it. We’re undone by each other. And if we’re not, then we’re missing something’
Judith Butler

While the nature of work is shifting faster than our adaptation and coping mechanisms evolve, we might be left with a joyless feeling of chasing the end of the endless to-do list. This requires rewiring our brains and adopting a new mindset regarding the leadership role.

The psychology of no perfect partner

One intricate framing I’ve learned from psychology is that there’s no such thing as a perfect partner. In fact, by choosing a person, you are choosing a set of problems to deal with. The only question is how well you can deal with those problems. In other words, how compatible are you with those problems in the long run?

The same goes for your role.

Is that the right set of problems for you?

As a leader, you're responsible for many things. The product can always improve. The process can be more efficient. People can perform better. The team structure can be optimized. Everything can always be better. If you're honest with yourself, you realize there are always flaws and areas needing improvement. At any given moment, you face a combination of challenges, and your mind may wishfully think that after finishing one, you’ll get a break. But leadership is like climbing a mountain—there’s always another peak beyond the current one.

Constant progress in leadership

When you're focused on what can be improved, you risk stealing from yourself the joy of what you’ve already accomplished. This puts you in a difficult position—trying to balance contentment with pursuing more. It’s almost a philosophical mindset, similar to Buddhism's idea of being happy with what you have while striving for more.

Maintaining this delicate balance is an art of being undone.

I’ll write more about tactics and tips for gaining resilience in the upcoming issues.