An Holistic Framework for Shared Design Leadership

A framework for effective collaboration between Design Managers and Lead Designers using a biological organism metaphor. The approach divides team health into three systems: nervous (people & psychology, managed primarily by Design Manager), muscular (craft & execution, led by Lead Designer), and circulatory (strategy & flow, shared responsibility). Rather than creating territorial divisions, both roles work together as caretakers of different aspects of the same healthy design team, with clear primary responsibilities but overlapping support roles.