The Design Leadership Playbook: How to Hire, Onboard & Manage a High-Impact Design Org

When we at The Review get introduced to someone as "one of the most talented leaders I've ever worked with," we start paying close attention. So when that ringing endorsement came in for design leader Hareem Mannan, we jumped at the chance to pick her brain.

Digging into her background, Mannan's had a rapid rise so far. She joined Segment, a customer data platform, back in 2018, quickly climbed the ranks as the company grew. Her impressive trajectory includes stints as an individual contributor designer, design manager, Head of Product Design, and eventually Director of Design and Product in just three years. After Twilio acquired Segment, she became Senior Director of Product, Enablement and Design. The acquisition also brought on a hearty dose of introspection. “All sorts of folks on the Segment side really took a step back to reflect on how we got to this achievement and what made each team at the company special,” says Mannan.

Amidst her journey up the career ladder at Segment, she partnered with folks all over the org chart, from different product areas, career levels and growth stages, giving her a close-up lens on some of the biggest challenges facing high-impact design teams. The through-line in Mannan's approach, whether operating as an IC or a Senior Director, is problem hunting. "When I first got to Segment, I got the advice that the job will be as big or as small as you make it. I’ve taken that to heart and tried to be a heat map to the biggest problems I could solve in any given moment," she says.

In this exclusive interview, she ties all the threads together from each role at Segment and delivers tailored advice — from IC to manager to director. From the high-level perspective of what makes for a great design leader, to the tactical suggestions around the slide that needs to be in your portfolio presentation, Mannan shares useful advice for every stage of a designer's career.

Thanks, as always, for reading and sharing!

-The Review Editors

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