So far in this series, we've been shifting your role from implementer to advisor. You've worked hard to win trust, define a strategy, and begin shaping the way your organization approaches user experience.

But, just because people agree with your strategy doesn't mean they're ready to run with it.

Most stakeholders are busy. Many aren't confident doing UX themselves. And now, you're asking them to take on tasks you used to handle like research, testing, or prototyping.

That can feel like a lot.

If you want others to embrace user-centered practices, you need to make it as easy as possible for them. That's why one of your most valuable contributions as a UX leader is to create resources that lower the barrier to entry.

These resources act like stepping stones. They make it easier for people to do things the right way without needing to start from scratch or second-guess themselves.

In my experience, four types of resources offer the biggest return:

A design system helps teams move faster and more confidently. It bakes UX best practices into the UI itself, making consistency and usability the default. It's an especially powerful tool for anyone prototyping pages or building new features.

We'll go deeper into this one in the next email.

Your colleagues don't have time to research survey platforms, testing tools, or recruitment services. Save them the hassle. Offer a curated list of tools that are easy to use and fit your organization's context. Even better, give them a bit of guidance or training to get started.

This helps people act quickly and correctly without needing to consult you every time.

Sometimes stakeholders simply can't do the work themselves. That's okay. But when they turn to external help, they risk choosing vendors who don't share your UX standards.

A vetted list of trusted suppliers ensures quality, avoids procurement headaches, and saves everyone time. It also reinforces your role as a strategic advisor, not just a service provider.

If people are running their own projects, they need to start with some understanding of who your users are. Providing a library of existing research segmented by audience, goal, or product line gives them a head start. It helps avoid duplicate effort and ensures that teams aren't working in the dark.

They'll still need to run project-specific research, but this foundation gives them something solid to build on.

I know this can sound like a lot. But don't worry we're going to unpack each of these in the coming lessons.

For now, think of this as the blueprint for your next phase of influence. These resources are how you go from supporting a few projects to shaping how your entire organization delivers user experience.

They're also the key to breaking the bottleneck. If you've been stretched thin trying to "own UX" on every touchpoint, this is your way out.

In the next email, we'll dive into the first resource on the list: your design system. It's often the easiest place to start and can have an outsized impact very quickly.

Until then, take a moment to reflect:

Which of these resources already exist in your organization and which ones could you start sketching out?

Drop me a reply if you're unsure where to start. I'm happy to help you think it through.

Talk soon,

In the last email, I talked about shifting your role from implementer to advisor. I know that can feel uncomfortable, maybe even a bit risky. Letting go of direct control means trusting others to do UX work, and let's be honest, at first they probably won't do it as well as you would.

But, they don't have to be perfect. What matters is that they start. Because once you begin enabling others, equipping them to think about users and make smarter design choices, you move from influencing individual deliverables to shaping the broader user experience across your organization. That's how real change begins.

So how do you support that shift in practice?

Let's talk about the kinds of strategic services you can offer that allow you to touch more projects, without becoming a bottleneck.

One of the biggest challenges I see is that projects often launch without proper validation. They're built on assumptions rather than user needs. And if the foundation is flawed, no amount of UX polish will save it.

That's why I often recommend introducing something I call SUPA: Strategic User-driven Project Assessment. Yes, the acronym is slightly cheesy but it works.

SUPA is your entry point. It's a lightweight assessment that helps determine whether a project is even worth pursuing from a user experience point of view. Think of it as a UX pre-flight checklist that keeps bad ideas from taking off.

Here's what it covers:

• Audience: Is there a clearly defined, high-value group the project serves?
• Needs: Does the project solve a real user problem or meet a known goal?
• Feasibility: Are there the UX resources and planning needed to execute it well?
• Design Risks: What could go wrong, and how can we reduce that risk?
• Recommendation: Should the project go ahead and if not, what needs fixing?

SUPA doesn't replace traditional business analysis. It complements it by adding a crucial user-centered lens. If you're in a large organization, this might sit nicely alongside what business analysts are already doing. And if you're in a smaller team, this can be your way of steering things before they get too far down the wrong path.

The other half of your service offering is ongoing coaching, being a supportive presence on projects without needing to be in the weeds every day.

You could provide:

• 1:1 coaching with project leads, offering regular check-ins and advice.
• Group coaching across projects, where teams learn from each other's challenges.
• UX reviews and audits, where you dip into projects periodically to keep them aligned with best practices.
• Office hours, using tools like Calendly so anyone can book time with you.
• Targeted workshops, when a team hits a UX roadblock and needs help unblocking it.

This isn't about inserting yourself into every decision. It's about creating space for others to grow their UX capabilities while you stay focused on higher-level guidance.

By offering services like SUPA and coaching, you stop being the person who just "does UX stuff" and become the person who shapes how UX happens across the organization.

You also avoid the burnout that comes from being pulled into every project. You're no longer fighting a losing battle trying to control every touchpoint. Instead, you're building a system that scales, one that allows you to have a bigger influence with less stress.

In our next lesson, we'll explore how to support these services with the right resources and tools, so your colleagues can start doing UX work with more confidence and less friction.

Until then, think about this: If someone from another team asked for your help tomorrow, what kind of support would you want to offer? What would make the most impact without dragging you into execution?

Let's get you out of the weeds and into a role where your influence can really take root.

In the last email, we talked about sketching out your UX strategy. Not a polished final document, but a draft that clarifies your direction and invites collaboration.

But that strategy is only useful if people buy into it. And that means you now need to switch hats: from strategist to storyteller.

That's what this week is all about: how to present your vision in a way that gets your colleagues and leadership on board.

The biggest mistake I see people make is showing up to stakeholders with a "here's what I'm going to do" approach. Instead, try:

Here's what I'm thinking. What's your take?

That small shift does two powerful things:

• It invites others into the process, giving them a sense of ownership.
• It makes it harder for them to say no later because they helped shape it.

A strategy that's co-created is much more likely to be supported and championed. But to create something together effectively, you need to truly understand who you're working with.

We're great at user research. We'll run interviews, analyze data, and build personas to understand end users.

But when it comes to internal stakeholders? We often just... guess. Or worse, we get frustrated when they don't see things our way.

So flip the script: do your research. Talk to stakeholders one-on-one. Ask them what their priorities are. What challenges they're facing. What success looks like for them this quarter or this year.

Then map your strategy to those things. This leads us to an important realization: your strategy needs to be flexible enough to speak to different audiences.

When it comes time to share your strategy, don't use the same pitch for everyone.

A marketing lead wants to hit quarterly targets. A finance director cares about cost savings. A project manager is drowning in dependencies and missed deadlines.

So don't talk generically about improving the user experience. Talk about:

• Reducing churn (for marketing)
• Cutting support call volume (for finance)
• Smoothing collaboration (for project management)

Make your strategy speak their language. The more personal the value, the more likely they'll back your plan. And speaking of personal value...

Another powerful approach is to speak directly to pain points.

If your UX team is seen as a bottleneck, talk about how your strategy empowers others to take on basic UX tasks themselves. If product managers are stressed about missing targets, show how better UX will help users complete key tasks faster.

The question to answer is: what's in it for them? And sometimes, the best way to answer that question is through storytelling.

Let me give you a quick example. I once watched a waitress struggle to take our order on a clunky app. It took ages. So I started calculating: how many seconds lost per table? Per day? Per restaurant? Across the entire chain?

It added up to hundreds of thousands in wasted wages.

That's the kind of story you can tell. You're not just saying "bad UI wastes time." You're showing how much money is on the table.

If you can connect your UX strategy to tangible outcomes (even if they're estimates), it will land so much better with management. But remember, while stories are powerful, timing is everything.

Let's be honest. Most leaders are focused on next quarter's results, not next year's vision.

So give them both.

Yes, your UX work might improve retention or reduce churn, but also talk about what you can do now. Can you run a quick usability test that reduces support tickets? Can you tweak a key flow that lifts conversion rates?

Make it clear your strategy delivers both immediate impact and long-term value. Now, let's put all of this into action.

This week, identify 2 to 3 key stakeholders.

Book a quick chat with each one. Ask what they're working toward. Listen for pain points.

Then write down:

• What they care about
• How your strategy helps
• The best way to frame your pitch to them

We'll build on this next time when we dive deeper into how to present your ideas to management effectively, especially when things get political.

In previous lessons, we've discussed aligning your UX role with organizational goals and understanding your current position. Today, let’s explore the tangible resources you already have. Many UX leaders instinctively request more people, budget, or time. While there’s a place for such requests (which we'll cover later), effective UX leadership begins by honestly recognizing what's achievable within your existing means.

I understand this exercise might initially feel discouraging, particularly if resources are limited. But the goal here isn’t to uncover hidden opportunities immediately; rather, it’s about having a clear and honest appraisal of your current situation. This will enable you to set realistic expectations with senior leadership and articulate your needs more effectively.

Start by assessing your current budget honestly. Can you directly purchase tools, or do you always need approval? If you require approval, how supportive is your manager, and roughly how much per year can you typically spend without causing friction? Knowing your financial constraints and managerial support is essential for realistic planning.

Clearly identify the tools already available to you, from user research platforms and design tools like Figma, to analytics platforms. Evaluate if you're spending effectively on these tools; could you reduce spending on applications you only occasionally use and reallocate that budget to areas of greater value? This clarity reveals immediate opportunities for optimization and highlights critical gaps.

Next clearly understand what internal or external teams are already at your disposal. Make an honest assessment of their strengths and weaknesses, identifying how you can maximize the value of your current staff or partners. Consider how AI tools could augment your team's capabilities and improve efficiency, rather than immediately requesting additional headcount.

Evaluate existing opportunities for professional growth. Do you have current access to training, webinars, or coaching? Using these resources effectively will fill skill gaps without waiting for additional investment.

Reflect honestly on your current autonomy. Do you have the authority to set policies relating to user experience? Do you get to decide and prioritize your own work? Can you influence broader approaches that teams use when developing products and services? Identifying the boundaries of your current influence helps you strategically expand it over time.

Identify your current supporters within the organization. Who already values UX? Building and nurturing these relationships is critical. Regularly engaging with your advocates, encouraging their support, and ensuring they see the positive impact of their involvement can significantly amplify your effectiveness, even with limited resources.

Take 10 minutes today to jot down honest bullet points under these resource categories. Recognizing what you already have is crucial for practical planning. When you’re finished, reply to this email sharing one surprising strength or unexpected gap you uncovered. Your insights help me shape what we cover going forward.

In the next email, we'll explore how to effectively present your findings to management. Don’t worry, we'll also revisit resources and influence later in the course, ensuring your strategy is as impactful as possible.