What if you could grow your influence and your impact, without giving up the work you actually love doing? In this episode, Filippos Protogeridis shares why traditional UX career ladders don’t always work and how he carved out a leadership path that didn’t require a team of direct reports. |
What if becoming a manager isn’t the upgrade you’ve been led to believe?
The job market for UX and Product Design is brutal right now.
Layoffs. Hiring freezes. Teams being asked to “do more with less.”
If you’re waiting for that clean next step, like a manager title or a promotion, you might be waiting a long time.
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But here’s the thing no one tells you:
❌ You don’t need a big team or a fancy title to be a leader
❌ You can grow your influence, even inside a leaned-out org
❌ You don’t have to give up the work you love to do it
This week on Beyond UX Design Podcast, I chat with Filippos Protogeridis, who’s built a leadership role that blends hands-on design, vision, and strategy, all without chasing headcount or titles.
We talk about:
⇢ Why “become a manager” is broken advice in 2025
⇢ What leadership looks like on a team of 3 (or 300)
⇢ The importance of vision when roles are blurry
⇢ And how to thrive in “founding designer mode,” even in a scale-up
If you’re watching the org chart shrink and wondering what’s next, this episode is for you.
🎯 Here are some key takeaways from our chat |
1️⃣ You don’t have to give up hands-on work to be a leader: Many designers fear that becoming a manager means leaving design behind. But leadership isn’t binary. Filippos built a path where he still jams in Figma, prototypes future-state concepts, and joins workshops while leading a team. The key is balancing strategic vision with tactical involvement in a way that energizes you and serves your team.
2️⃣ Great leadership starts with hiring right, not micromanaging: Letting go is tough, especially when quality is on the line. But hiring the right people makes delegation not only possible, it makes it enjoyable. Instead of doing everything yourself, invest in hiring team members who are stronger than you in key areas.
3️⃣ You can be a leader without being a manager: Not all leadership roles require direct reports. The "super IC" path—staff, principal, or similar roles—lets you shape vision, influence direction, and mentor others without taking on performance reviews or HR responsibilities. If you're great at craft and not excited about management, advocate for these paths early.
4️⃣ Vision work is a high-leverage leadership activity: Helping your team see what “great” looks like doesn’t mean dictating every pixel. It means clarifying the north star through vision prototypes, future-state flows, and shared artifacts. This clears up ambiguity and builds alignment across product, engineering, and design, without drowning in daily check-ins.
5️⃣ The best leaders embrace ambiguity, and act without waiting: Founding designer mode isn’t about title. It’s a mindset. You don’t wait for permission or perfect clarity—you ask hard questions, propose ideas, and take action. This kind of ownership makes you invaluable, regardless of company size.
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They don't teach this stuff in school
Learn the things they left off the syllabus.
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