Design Thinking Mindset with Tutti Taygerly
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I learned about the concept of Design Thinking many years ago when I was in the first iteration of my business. I had the privilege of working with the founders of an amazing design company that was growing quickly. They were really committed to being intentional about how they led and how they built their culture and they brought me in to help lay the foundation with them.
In the process of doing all the things, their receptiveness to experimentation became evident and sparked a conversation about this concept of design thinking. My experience up to then had been that many of the companies I worked with or pitched ideas to were hesitant to work with me because I didn’t have a singular patented process that could be replicated and “guaranteed” results (the same went for people I spoke to about coaching, which is another conversation for another day). When I would explain to them how no results are ever guaranteed and how it was better for them if what we created worked for them, their company and their people they would back away quickly and I’d never hear from them again.
And now here I was, in a situation where this company wanted to be part of the experiments, embraced the failure that inevitably came with figuring out what was best for them, and focused on each iteration of what we put together being better than the last. In fact, the opening sentence of their culture handbook ended up being: “The most important thing to remember as you read through this document is that it is a living and breathing entity and it will change, just as each of us will change over time.”
This was the secret sauce I’d been looking for all this time: design thinking.
I learned as much as I could about design thinking (without going to school for it, although I did consider a Master’s degree at one point in time) and then rolled up my sleeves and started using it in all the work that I do. I continue to find new and exciting ways to apply the principles with my clients, with my business–truthfully wherever I can–and I am forever grateful for having been exposed to the concepts when I was.
Tutti Taygerley, brilliantly compared crises to design constraints during our conversation. We spoke about how the key to dealing with design constraints and crises is to just keep going–to build momentum one step at a time and to trust the process.
It’s so easy for us to stop in our tracks or try to find a new, better, shinier way of doing things when we are faced with something that feels so unknown and overwhelming. But the more we can lean into the data, the process of design thinking, and continue to iterate and move forward, the more resilient we will become.
Also, let’s call a spade a spade here… getting to the data, in and of itself, can be a real challenge. We operate under so many assumptions day to day–whether personal, business, or on a societal level–that we often can’t separate the data from our beliefs, assumptions, or the stories we have made up. The great thing about design thinking is that it helps you get better at that process and makes it easy to be part and parcel of the work that you do, whether you have anything to do with design or not.
As Tutti put it, “designers are problem solvers.” It follows then, that design thinking is a methodology for solving problems. And, at the end of the day, isn't that something every leader and business owner wants to get better at?
There’s so much to learn about design thinking and Tutti is kind enough to share an easy to understand overview of the concept during our conversation. It’s definitely worth listening to and incorporating into your own approach to problem solving.
As an added bonus, Tutti also shares a lens on goal setting that actually blows my mind. Because, despite being a coach, I absolutely despise goal setting and don’t advocate for it with my clients at all.
At least, not until now…
To hear about this and more, I’d encourage you to listen to the whole episode
You can learn more about Tutti online at https://tuttitaygerly.com/. She is also on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (just search her name). And, you can check out her book at makespacetolead.com.