I am the product - PHIL RIEHL

I recently read a post on LinkedIn. This person stated she did not enjoy interviewing designers because they’re pixel pushers and order followers. She stated she would prefer to interview candidates that lead projects based on their understanding and desire and passion…

She wants something more.

She wants people that are translators of needs, bridge-builders across disciplines, problem solvers. She needs designers that don’t wait for prompts, they guide the conversation, frame the problem, tell the story, surface insights, and ask smart, challenging questions.

This expectation might be nice, but it’s unrealistic. Also, it might be a good goal for designers, but it’s not always feasible. Allow me to explain why.

IF SUBORDINATES DO NOT DO AS THEY ARE COMMANDED, THEY WILL BE REPRIMANDED.

Designers are not in control. Managers are. Designers have duties, responsibilities and commitments to complete. We have stories in the sprint. People leaders make the decisions. How do I know? because we are measured. We are held to a standard. There are expectations. If we don’t meet those expectations, we are relieved of our positions at said company or corporation.

THEY MADE US THIS WAY, YET EXPECT SOMETHING MORE

I perform the actions I am commanded to perform. I am the sum of the tasks I am directed to compete. I am the product.

You’re right to feel frustrated — your reaction is absolutely valid, and you’re not alone in feeling this tension.

Here’s the truth:

Designers are often held accountable for outcomes we don’t have the authority to change.

We’re told to “think big” but constrained by Jira tickets, timelines, and the whims of product managers who already made the big decisions in a meeting we weren’t invited to.

You read a post that romanticizes the ideal designer — a strategic visionary who asks bold questions, reframes the problem, leads the room. That sounds inspiring. But in most organizations? That person gets sidelined, told to “just get the designs done,” or punished for “not staying in their lane.”

🔍 Let’s unpack the disconnect:

1. “Pixel pusher” is a symptom, not a flaw.

If designers are only pushing pixels, that’s because:

They’re not included early enough.
They aren’t empowered to push back.
Their performance is measured by output, not impact.

2. You can’t hold someone accountable for initiative and creativity in a system that discourages both.

Companies can’t say “be proactive” while giving you no decision-making power, no context, and penalizing you for overstepping.

3. Leadership rhetoric ≠ organizational reality.

It’s easy for someone in a leadership position — often removed from day-to-day grind — to preach about what designers should be. But designers in the trenches know:

You’re measured by your velocity, not your vision.
You’re told what to build and judged on how quickly you build it.
Strategic initiative, if uninvited, is often interpreted as defiance.

🤯 Here’s the real misalignment:

Leadership wants designers to be “problem solvers.”
But middle management just wants problems off their desk.
Leadership says “ask better questions.”
But when you do, you’re told you’re being difficult or slowing things down.
They want leadership from design — until you actually try to lead.

🛠 What can you do?

You’re not wrong to want more. But here’s how you might protect your sanity while still staying aligned with your integrity:

Document your constraints. When expectations are unrealistic, name the misalignment and explain why. Not defensively — factually.
Advocate for change upstream. If you want to lead, start by influencing the conversation about how design is measured.
Pick your battles. You can’t be the hero in every sprint. But you can plant seeds for better collaboration and earlier involvement.
Look for orgs that mean what they say. A company that values design leadership empowers it structurally — not just rhetorically.

💬 Final Thought:

That woman on LinkedIn might want leaders — but are her company’s systems built to support or suffocate them?

Until designers are empowered with authority, autonomy, and trust, they will continue being treated like executors — not strategists. And that’s not a design problem. That’s a leadership problem.

You’re not broken. The system is.

“Designers shouldn’t just be pixel pushers.”

I read a post recently where someone said they don’t enjoy interviewing designers who simply follow orders. They want strategists — translators of needs, bridge-builders, proactive leaders who ask better questions and shape the direction of the work.

That sounds great. But here’s the hard truth:

💡 Designers aren’t broken. The system is.

We are measured by deliverables, not discoveries. We’re assigned tickets, not trust. We’re given deadlines, not decision-making power. And when we do step up — ask bigger questions, reframe the problem, challenge assumptions — we’re often told we’re “slowing things down” or “not staying in our lane.”

We’re held to standards we didn’t write. We’re accountable for outcomes we didn’t decide. And when we simply do the work we’re assigned, we’re dismissed as “order-takers.”

This is the misalignment.

You want leadership from designers? That doesn’t happen through inspiration posts. It happens when:

Designers are included at the start, not the end.
Success is measured by impact, not output.
Teams create room for strategy, not just talk about it.

We don’t need more LinkedIn posts shaming designers for surviving the systems they’re placed in.

We need better systems.

Until then, don’t mistake obedience for lack of vision. Many designers could lead — if you’d let them.

#uxdesign #productdesign #leadership #designculture #truthbomb #userexperience #realTalk