Are you Drowning?

We had a change in schedule this week and because of that Brooke Scherer’s Design History, Tour through Europe has been rescheduled for the new year. Often times one of our best strengths as a designer is our flexibility.

Sometimes as a designer we are dumped on but still expected to pull out a win in the end. And usually we do. We are good at thinking on our feet, we are resourceful, and some of us actually do better working under pressure than we do if we had weeks to work on a project.

As a result of being a designer for 20 years, I have seen some strategies other designers have implemented and have chosen to emulate them in my business and life. These have helped me by 1. focusing on my strengths and 2. finding areas to work on in my life, especially when I feel like I am drowning in responsibilities.

A few things you can do if you feel like you are drowning are:

1. Reach out to others, and ask for encouragement and support.
2. Talk to a mentor or someone who motivates you and will lead you back to your focus.
3. Remember your strengths. If you can’t come up with a list then ask your friends, they aren’t your friends because you pay them. They like you for a reason, sometimes we just need reminding of those reasons.
4. Tell someone you are drowning.

Below is a list of a few characteristics that are most desirable in a designer to a co-worker, as an employee, and as a client. These are areas I am always working on improving.

The best designers possess these six characteristics and demonstrate them on a regular basis.

Flexibility

1. Designers need to be flexible. We need to have clear boundaries but need to be able to bounce around and move from one project to the next. We need to be able to pick ourselves up when life bends when we weren’t ready and we bounce back. We need to remain flexible in our skills, always growing and always improving.

Ability to Soar Under Extreme Pressure

2. This ability to not “just” cope, but when times get tight and pressures get high the best designers rise above, hunker down, and get the job done. Work colleagues and clients have often comment at these designers’ strength and calm under pressure. These are people we want on our teams. These are people we want to be like and acquire these characteristics. Ker Than, for National Geographic News reports in his article, “Highest Flying Bird Found; Can Scale Himalaya” that the bar-headed geese can fly at altitudes over 21,000 feet. Which is an accomplishment because the birds have to acclimate, like humans, to altitudes. These birds often take breaks but during their migration “but they appear to have flown over the Himalayan portion of their journey in a single effort.” (Than, 061011, National Geographic News).

These birds, like designers can not be held to that pressure on a daily basis but are able to unexplainably acclimate and thrive at times of high pressure.

Resourceful

3. The best designers can do a lot with a little. Instead of requiring all the bells and whistles, we sometimes do our best work under tight constraints. Solving problems with limited budgets and resources. We play, we find alternative methods of getting the message across, we do the unconventional, we take a different approach. I love this campaign about saving a local library.

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Grit

4. Not giving up, even when the outcome takes more time, more money, or more effort (or all three). Daniel Pink describes grit in his book Drive as the ability to persevere passionately towards a long-term goal. I overwhelmingly recommend this book.

This book was filled with insight on how people are motivated but I gleaned a lot about why some designers succeed and why others give up or give in instead of striving for the dreams and goals they dream of.

Positive Attitude

5. It feels cheesy to say, but in reality most people would rather have someone who was positive working with them on a campaign or project rather than a person that focuses on the negative. And someone with grit usually always possesses a positive attitude. They go hand-in-hand. One can be a positive person with a positive attitude but can not possess the characteristic of grit, but one can not possess grit without having a positive attitude. And I mean positive when things are looking bleak. That ability to keep trudging on, the ability to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Willingness to Help Others While Expecting Nothing in Return

6. This attribute is held by many successful entrepreneurs and leaders. It is actually a characteristic of all good leaders. Leaders guide others through a journey whether it be a professional endeavor or personal/spiritual growth. A good leader has a willingness to help others despite the sacrifice it requires, understanding that they may never see fruit from the seed they are planting. But plant the seed anyway knowing that someone, someday will reap the benefits from the guidance and effort you put in the building up of others.

Recently at a local AIGA meeting, Marcus Neto of Blue Fish Design talked about leading his team of designers and developers. Instead of thinking only about what they can give to his company, he builds them up and prepares them for their next job, essentially preparing them and building them up to leave. He states that he focuses on “creatively developing others.”

These six characteristics are markers of great designers. And great designers are great leaders, no matter the size of their “village.”

I would love to know your comments, please comment below and let me know what you think.

Than, Ker. “Highest Flying Bird Found; Can Scale Himalaya.” National Geographic News, 10 June 2011. Web. 29 September 2015.