Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

In a time of global disruption it may feel that things are going backwards, and that whether we like it or not, a bullying style of leadership is prominent once again on the world stage.

At the level of business, many still look to The Art of War by ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu as a guidebook for success, with its focus on military cunning to destroy any opponent. Yet while a belief persists that bullies are strong leaders, what we advocate for at PARK is a different model of strength. With a multidisciplinary approach that combines designing for humanity with a business’ long-term strategy and goals, the design leaders of today can work with even the most difficult partners, using collaboration over conflict for win-win outcomes.

But where does that leave a design leader who finds themselves in a boardroom of a multinational today? Faced with CEOs, CFOs, and CMOs who may be operating with a mindset shaped by combative, top-down command strategies, they might feel they have brought a pencil to a gunfight.

Beyond traditional leadership

We’re not saying there is no value in The Art of War – for ideas to resonate 2000 years later they must have some merit – but we should be able to aspire to a form of leadership today that has moved beyond leveraging military strategy in order to eviscerate its ‘opponents’.

A previous generation of business leaders may have trained on such texts during MBAs in the 1990s and early 2000s, at a time when the field of design leadership was only in its infancy. Before PARK was founded 27 years ago, there were only a few academic programs at schools such as the Stanford d.school, Delft University, and the University of Westminster, (where PARK founder Frans Joziasse completed an MBA in design management), which were starting to mature ideas around what design leadership could be. But in industry, it took longer to spread, remaining the preserve of a few CEOs who already had this sensibility.

Fast forward to today, and design is strongly associated with ideas of balance, regeneration and holistic vision, as seen in initiatives such as the UK Design Council’s ‘Design for Planet’, the World Design Organization’s ‘Design for a Better World’, and the work of global charity Design for Good. All of this can be used by design leaders to address the complex problems of the present, but to really succeed, a design leader needs a multidisciplinary approach balancing the skills of their profession with those more familiar to the boardroom.

We developed our Design Leadership Triangle to illustrate this balancing act, which brings together three types of intelligence: creative intelligence (CQ); business intelligence (BQ); and emotional intelligence (EQ):

When confronted with old-style leaders, this combination of intelligence allows design leaders to disarm, charm, and persuade the others in the room to achieve outcomes that work for all. To do this, designers should remember they have a number of tools to hand – like the pencil, or the sketchbook – that may be humble, but are powerful too. As one of our clients, a design director of a leading medical equipment company, once said to us, if a picture is worth a thousand words, designers should remember that what takes them a matter of seconds and a few strokes of a pen is something no-one else in the boardroom can do.

Maturing and empowering design leadership

While both MBA and design education have progressed in recent years to encompass a more multidisciplinary approach, there is specific expertise to be developed for managing and leading through design. With close to 2,500 PARK Academy alumni, and hundreds of clients across almost all industry sectors, we have seen the impact design leadership can have on an organization, whether in automotive, medical tech, hospitals, CPG, pharmaceuticals, or toys.

There is a wealth of data to support this, including the Design Management Institute’s Design Value Index, which showed design-centric companies outperforming the S&P 500¹ by 211%, and McKinsey’s Business Value of Design 2018 report, which showed that companies which excel at design grow revenues and shareholder returns at nearly twice the rate of their competitors.

Thanks to growing recognition of this evidence, in certain industries design-led business feels almost systematized as a route to success. Yet the formula is not so easy. Even as a design leader equipped with knowledge, tools, and skills, the challenges are often specific to the industry and organization. Careful consideration of context can help a design leader unlock where design can have maximum impact in their business.

It is important to first consider the existing level of design maturity in an organization. There are numerous models to measure this, such as the Danish Design Ladder, and Marty Neumeier’s Ladder of Design Leverage, or the DMI maturity matrix. At PARK, we have been using our own:

At the lowest tiers of design maturity, design is considered styling, if at all. But even as you move further up the steps there remains a risk that design’s inclusion in the boardroom is a token gesture. To be taken seriously in these rooms, design leaders need more than credentials. They need the language, tools, and mindset to connect design to business value.

You’re in the room as a design leader. Now, how can you be heard?

Being in the boardroom is only the first step. To be heard and have meaningful influence, design leaders must speak the language of strategy, demonstrate business impact, and show how design contributes to value creation.

As consultant and educator Peter Drucker said, “what gets measured, gets managed.” If design leaders are not evaluated using metrics that matter at board level, their voice risks being sidelined. Design’s contribution must connect with the wider business strategy and show results.

At LEGO, when PARK’s James Hall was Senior Design Director, the design team operated within a larger multidisciplinary organization tasked with delivering growth drivers every two years as part of the company’s turnaround. Their remit was strategic: to drive innovation and growth without cannibalizing existing lines. This way of working helped inspire PARK’s 3+1 goal structure. Goals 1 and 2 focus on an individual’s core role, goal 3 develops a new or existing capability that benefits the wider team, and goal +1 supports personal growth. It is a practical framework for making design leadership visible, accountable, and influential at the highest level.

Another key to being heard is understanding the different ways design creates value, and being able to flex between them. Through our work, PARK has identified a set of Value Modes of Design and Design Leadership. These are distinct ways in which design can drive change, enable business outcomes, or serve as a stakeholder super connector. Recognizing and combining these modes helps design leaders adapt their influence to different contexts and priorities, building credibility, traction, and ultimately, impact. These modes form the foundation for more complex leadership challenges, as outlined in our 4 Horizons model.

Different situations = different Value Mode combinations

Leadership for a complex world

As design maturity grows in a company, design leaders are enabled to tackle ever more inter-connected and complex issues – but this comes with greater responsibility. PARK developed its 4 Horizons of Design for Humanity, in which greater internal change corresponds with greater external impact.

To give an example, in April 2024, PARK launched Chains of Sustainability, a three-year program with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Slovenia (GZS) to help its member businesses prepare to meet the requirements of the European Green Deal and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Informed by PARK’s 4 Horizons, the program not only helps businesses navigate these legal requirements, but to also see sustainability as an opportunity, preparing them to unlock EU funding directives and future-proof their businesses. Participating Slovenian companies are already seeing reduced costs, waste and CO2 emissions, while user-centered innovations that answer sustainability demands provide additional revenue streams and business resilience.

Design for Humanity – The 4 Horizons

Future design leaders have a fabulous opportunity to master and lead what PARK calls the 4 horizons.

In conclusion: an exciting moment for design leaders

The challenges facing humanity today, and by extension companies and the design leaders within them, can seem daunting. But as Dutch historian and Rutger Bregman argues in his new book Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference, these are the kinds of problems that those with the ambition and skills should be tackling. Our 4 horizons model shows how design can have this kind of significant impact.

Despite the examples of leaders operating through brute force, we believe design leaders have an opportunity to enact a model that is just as powerful, but better for business and the world. Whether through our consulting, mentoring, PARK Academy, or retreats, we want to empower design leaders to leverage their unique skills – from technical competencies, to the creative and emotional power of a pen and sketchbook – to find and own the solutions needed today.

Remember:

Design’s KPIs should connect with, and have a chance to influence the strategies of the business as a whole.

Any change must be given time to permeate an organization and its culture, or it can too easily fail. In my work on long-term projects for IBM and Dassault Systems, a quote was “culture eats strategy for breakfast”.

And, have courage. Design has the tools and critical thinking to cut through the louder voices in the room. For an example on the world stage, consider former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ahern’s example of leadership, outlined in her new book A Different Kind of Power, where she favored consensus over conflict, and showed that empathy and compassion can be compatible with strength.

The pencil is still relevant – when used with intelligence, empathy, and purpose. Now is the time for design leaders to pick it up and lead with it.

^[1] Stock market index of 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the US