LinkedIn Design

LinkedIn's UX Research team has been busy building the bridge between AI and UXR, enabling our company to have immediate access to research studies and guidance. Read Marieke McCloskey's post below to learn more and tune-in next week to UXinsight's Think Tank session where Marieke and Brandi A. will share more in a deep dive! Join the virtual event here: https://lnkd.in/eb5TiA2P #LinkedInDesign #UXResearch #AI #ResearchRepository #UX #Glean

Grateful for the opportunity to meet and engage with our LinkedIn members in Bangalore and Jaipur last week. Thank you Deepak Kumar Jain for taking the time to be one of our participants in LinkedIn's UXR interviews in Jaipur. Appreciate you sharing your firsthand experiences and feedback with the global LinkedIn team. We learned so much about both what's already working and how we can improve the LinkedIn app for our members in India 🇮🇳 Loving the team selfie to commemorate the last session of our immersive learning trip! cc: Pooja Chhabria,Yuko Watt, Katherine O'Hara, Colin Doody

Leadership isn’t always tied to titles or positions. It’s about your ability to influence, inspire, and uplift others, no matter your role. Here are a few foundational principles I follow: Expertise is a starting point for leadership whether in a skill or subject matter. It earns credibility and opens doors for opportunities to lead because people are more likely to follow someone who is knowledgeable and capable.  Leadership isn't confined to a role. Whether you're an individual contributor or a manager, the power to lead comes from your ability to lead by example, influence others, and inspire change. Titles and leadership traits are not the same. A title might give you authority but doesn't automatically equip you with leadership qualities. True leadership transcends hierarchy and job titles. Regardless of your position, it's about how you guide, support, and empower others. Leadership is a choice, not an obligation. Everyone has the capacity to lead, but not everyone chooses to, nor everyone should. This is perfectly fine. Leadership is not a constant state. Even those who consider themselves leaders must recognize the value of being students from time to time. Growth often comes from stepping back, learning, and adapting. Are there any others that stick out to you?

Today is our first day of “Return to office” for LinkedIn Design. Our team has been finalizing desk assignments, and creating office collaboration spaces that inspire our team to do their best work together. I also put together a basket of items we may need in office - phone chargers, hand sanitizer, tide wipes, advil/pepto and more. What would you add in your RTO emergency kit?

Last week, I had the pleasure of giving a guest lecture at California State University - East Bay to a group of Masters students looking to break into Product Design. I talked about my journey breaking into UX Design - pivoting from my business and consulting career. I also had the opportunity to talk more about my role at LinkedIn as a Senior Design Manager and the responsibilities of things that my team does to create quality products. People ask me often why I give back and how I find the time to carve time out of my incredibly busy schedule. It's because when I was pivoting to design, seeing role models that I could look up to made the journey feel less daunting. Influencing the next generation is so important as they will be the next set of innovators and creators. Thank you Ian Pollock for inviting me for this opportunity and for all the students who showed up with some wonderful questions. Onwards and upwards to a new beginning in your UX journey! 🚀 #linkedinlife #linkedindesign #studentsofdesign #productdesign #userexperiencedesign

✨ Last Friday, Black by Design, one of our Design Community Groups, hosted a career panel event focused on UX Research, Product Design, and Product Management! We had over 80 attendees both virtual and in-person at LinkedIn HQ. 💼 Our panelists, Harrison Wheeler, Khalida Nicole Sebree, Daniel Kelley, and Abhijit Kher shared their journeys, challenges, and successes of breaking into tech. Their stories were a powerful reminder of the importance of community, representation, and resilience in shaping our careers. 🌱 Gratitude goes out to the organizers, Khalida and Daniel, for creating a space that empowers individuals to dream big, break barriers, and uplift one another. Thank you to our Design leaders, teammates, and HR partners who joined the event!

✨ Last Friday, Black by Design, one of our Design Community Groups, hosted a career panel event focused on UX Research, Product Design, and Product Management! We had over 80 attendees both virtual and in-person at LinkedIn HQ. 💼 Our panelists, Harrison Wheeler, Khalida Nicole Sebree, Daniel Kelley, and Abhijit Kher shared their journeys, challenges, and successes of breaking into tech. Their stories were a powerful reminder of the importance of community, representation, and resilience in shaping our careers. 🌱 Gratitude goes out to the organizers, Khalida and Daniel, for creating a space that empowers individuals to dream big, break barriers, and uplift one another. Thank you to our Design leaders, teammates, and HR partners who joined the event!

Black by Design, our LinkedIn Design Org community group, hosted an inspiring early career panel for over 80 students and career pivoters online and in person last Friday. It was a fantastic 90 minutes filled with thoughtful questions and impactful discussions about career journeys in product design, research, and product management. The attendees brought some of the most thoughtful questions I’ve ever heard, and I have no doubt they’ll make their mark across the industry. I can’t help but think that these talented individuals will be the senior and staff designers, researchers, and PMs walking through our doors in the next 3-7 years. I’m excited to witness the impact they will have on the industry. Honored to have been invited to take part of this event organized by Khalida Nicole Sebree and Daniel Kelley! Looking forward to seeing where this journey takes us all. Be sure to follow LinkedIn Design for a recap coming soon.

Competency models aren't a new concept, but it's a valuable framework to consider when addressing skill gaps. This progression consists of four steps: Exercise, Practice, Application, and Intuition. Central to this journey is understanding the product, audience, leveraging past research, fostering relationships, and recognizing the historical context within an organization to navigate internal politics effectively. Here are some ways to think about it: Exercise - Methods for the sake of doing them. This step is about practicing methods without a specific goal or intention, just getting familiar with them. Practice - Methods with intention. Here, you're practicing with a clear purpose and a solid grasp of the desired outcome. Application - Methods applied within context. This involves applying methods in specific situations to achieve a desired result. Intuition - The result of applying methods across various contexts combined with situational awareness. Over time, through repeated practice and application, actions become unconscious and intuitive. These principles can be applied to all sorts of skill building; design, research, problem solving, decision-making, you name it. In our professional journeys, embracing these concepts helps us understand where we are on the spectrum and make more meaningful investments to grow in these areas.

📚 Another outstanding global event added to the books! Earlier this month, our Communication Design team supported LinkedIn's Global Talent Organization annual offsite, #GTOTogether. TV show themed, the team was able to merge playful creativity with our company branding to create a bespoke experience for the org. #LinkedInLife #CommunicationDesign #LinkedInDesign