Today’s challenges – complex, fast paced and interconnected – demand new problem solving strategies and hence a different leadership mindset. According to Maria Giudice, it is the DEO who is best suited to overcome these challenges. A DEO (Design Executive Officer) acts differently from traditional business leaders and brings a set of qualities to the table that have long been missing at the C-level.

The characteristics of a DEO

In Maria’s experience, creative leaders have one thing in their DNA: “Getting shit done!” But this is just one of the characteristics of a DEO. They are also:
– change agents,
– happy to think outside the box,
– eager to take risks,
– systematic thinkers,
– socially intelligent,
– intuitive, and
– driven by curiosity and creativity.

What appears to be a job description … really is a job description! It’s one that doesn’t require a formal education in a specific field, but rather a mindset that embraces lifelong learning.

Treating every problem as if it were a design problem

“A DEO is not necessarily a trained designer,” says Maria – and she embodies that fact herself. Before finding her superpower – the ability to bring people together to achieve something great – she was open to change and a hybrid of ideas. Interested in hand-lettering and calligraphy at an early age, and fascinated by the idea of becoming an artist, she went to Cooper Union, “coming in as a painter and leaving as a graphic designer.” Afterwards, working as a freelancer, she soon grew too busy and “did the natural thing, hired friends, and later on founded a company”: Hot Studio, based in San Francisco and NYC.

Maria tells this story with such ease, proving that her approach makes things fall into place. By treating every problem as if it were a design problem, she applies design problem solving methods to a much broader context. And that is what made “someone with a degree in fine arts be so successful in business.” It also helped her find her bearings during her “Thelma and Louise moment”, when Facebook asked to acquire her company. She decided to trust her intuition, take a big risk, disrupt the status quo and jump off the cliff. Simply put: she took the actions of a DEO.

In times where UX and customer experience are the differentiators for successful businesses, DEOs and organizations are equally challenged to create environments where ideas can grow and a leadership that is brave enough to take the right decisions can develop. From her own experience she provided the audience with five tips.

5 DEO Tips:

1. Change your mindset about design and designers.
Design is an active verb. Design is an investment in the future. Design is change. And change demands leadership.

2. Value WE, not me.
Celebrate diversity in disciplines, points of view, gender, ethnicity and experience, and collaboratively learn from each other.

3. Put the people first.
Truly human centred organisations have happy employees that translate to happy customers that translate to sustainable business success. Start with a positive attitude every single day.

4. Champion creative culture.
Creating the right culture is the key to success. Embrace creative chaos. Share a meal. Take a break.

5. Iterate and evolve.
Be open to change. Understand that this journey is only 1% finished. Fail rapidly and try to not take it personally. And always stay a practitioner. Get your hands dirty. Participate in hackathons and brainstorming sessions.

To sum it up: be the authentic you and have the courage to be different! And every now and then, go in for a big group hug.