Dear Danielle,
“What are UXers good at?”
When this question is asked, people will often say UXers are good at doing research, running workshops, making Figma prototypes, or writing content in products.
All true. But I also know that UXers will agree with me those are a very narrow interpretation of the unique skills we have, that can be applied to much more than just the discussion guides we write or design specs we ship.
Being good at doing research means we know how to ask good questions and tease out the right insights. Being good at running workshops means we know how to facilitate large, cross-functional conversations, ensure all voices are heard, gather inputs from different stakeholders, and synthesize large amounts of information down to actionable steps.
Being good at making Figma prototypes means we deeply understand our customers, and we’ve spent years honing a craft to produce a product that solves that customer’s problem — and then sell that product internally to get buy-in. Being good at writing content means we speak the language of our customers and are able to get product benefits across in a clear, concise manner.
And look, I think all UXers need to lean into those skills and really own them.
Because building alliances with the right people only gets you so far. You also have to be known for something. Something that’s uniquely yours, that you can apply your particular set of skills to help your stakeholders solve problems.
Here’s how.
Start by paying attention to problems going on in your organization. Not just in your immediate functional areas, but also areas that you may not have traditionally thought you could partner with — like the HR team or the Sales organization. Figure out what problems they are facing, then assess where your skills match their problems.
For example, if the HR team is looking to run annual engagement surveys and you happen to be good at doing surveys (which many UXRs are), then embrace it. Be the “survey person.” If you’re hearing the sales team is looking to brainstorm ideas on ways to turn customer requests and escalations into a product roadmap, be the “workshop person” and offer to facilitate a brainstorm session. Reach out to the right folks in those orgs and pitch your skill to help them understand how it can be applied to solve their problems.
Does it sometimes create extra work for you and your team that is outside of your “job description”? Yes absolutely. But building a personal brand rarely draws clean lines. Throughout my career I’ve spent countless hours helping stakeholders and teams outside of my immediate functional areas — reviewing internal surveys, analyzing data, putting together dashboards, and partnering on key initiatives that normally don’t fall into the research space. And I’ve never regretted spending time on them.
The point is — double down. Lean into your skills. Be proud of them. Use them to do more than what you normally would.
Ownership starts with owning your niche.
From sending a half-baked prompt prematurely,
Dave