How I unlocked team trust and performance by redesigning roles
Contribution
Built a global design system adopted across four functions, enabling consistent delivery and faster execution at scale
Role
Led in partnership with senior leadership
Scope
Internal and Cross Functional Process Improvements
Takeaway
Transformed a design system into infrastructure that teams relied on to move faster and ship with clarity
The Challenge
As the pandemic hit and business scope narrowed, downsizing and uncertainty reshaped the team’s structure. Remaining roles were unclear in the new normal, handoffs were inconsistent, and our processes were still being rebuilt. The team had been designed as a group of specialists, structured for large, orchestrated initiatives with long timelines. But we were now facing fast-moving, constantly evolving work—and we weren’t equipped for it. I began framing the issue as a structural gap. The problem wasn’t effort. What we lacked was role redundancy, shared ownership, and a more flexible, collaborative way to solve the right problems together. At a time when the business could afford inconsistent delivery the least, even our strongest designers struggled to break through silo inefficiencies.
My Response
I recognized that building for the future meant doing more with less. So I restructured the team from segmented UX-only and VIS-only roles into a unified product design model, staffed by junior generalists. I coached them to own the full design process, from early framing to final delivery, and supported them with scalable design system tools. The shift didn’t just maintain output. It created flexibility. We could reassign resources as project needs changed, scale work more efficiently, and pivot without bottlenecks. Instead of relying on handoffs between specialists, the team operated as a collaborative unit—delivering faster and aligning product and engineering more effectively.
The Win
What began as a survival constraint became a structural advantage. Junior designers, supported by clear expectations and strong systems, delivered the same caliber of execution once handled by senior specialists, but with greater speed, fewer dependencies, and stronger alignment across teams. As the nature of work shifted from urgency to strategy, their growth kept pace. Execution strength evolved into collaboration strength. Designers began contributing to cross-functional planning, clarifying intent, and influencing direction. The team hadn’t just adapted. It had elevated—a success that inspired a new ask: mentoring front-end developers in India as they transitioned into product design.
Key Outcomes
Improved handoffs by unifying roles and increasing shared ownership
Shifted to a junior-led model with faster, more flexible execution
Improved morale through clarity, autonomy, and visible impact
Enabled organic growth into cross-functional collaboration roles
Extended impact by mentoring new talent in an adjacent region
Strategic Insight
Strategic clarity improves when team structure adapts to modern constraints:
Traditional roles slow execution in ambiguous, high-velocity work
Shared ownership enables distributed accountability and faster pivots
Systems and mentorship extract value from junior talent without slowing down
Team design becomes a growth lever—resilient, responsive, and cost-efficient
leadership approach