Being the Maverick: Why Your "Different" Perspective is Your Greatest Asset
As designers, we’ve all felt it. You walk into a room full of stakeholders, and suddenly you realise you’re the only creative at the table.
It’s intimidating. You’re surrounded by people talking about commercials, ROI, and delivery timelines. It’s easy to feel outnumbered and under pressure to "speak business" just to fit in. While I agree that understanding the commercial side of things is a benefit, I want to challenge you to do something else:
Be the Maverick. Don’t try to hide your creative identity to blend into the boardroom. Lean into it. Your ability to think in systems, to zoom in and out, and to champion the user is exactly what the business needs—even if they don’t know it yet.
The Power of the Different Angle
In most senior meetings, the conversation naturally gravitates toward money and speed. "How quickly can we ship?" "What’s the revenue impact?"
This is where you come in. You don’t need to be a financial whiz to shift the room. Often, the most powerful thing you can do is ask a simple, user-centric question.
"We know this works for the business, but do we know if the user actually has an appetite for it?"
"Based on our research, what is the current sentiment around this feature?"
Just by asking the "Why," you change the angle of the entire conversation. You remind the room that a "good business idea" only works if a customer actually wants to buy it.
Using Visuals as a Mirror
Have you ever been in a meeting that’s just going in circles? People are talking over each other, and no one is actually aligned.
That is your Maverick moment. Open up a Miro board or walk to the physical whiteboard. Start visualising the conversation.
When you map out a journey flow or a user’s context in real-time, you’re holding up a mirror to the group. You’re taking abstract, messy ideas and turning them into a system. It forces everyone to look at the gaps and the friction points. It’s a superpower that only you have in that room – use it to stop the "going in circles" and start moving toward a solution.
Beyond the Screen: Vibe Coding and Facilitation
Lately, I’ve been leaning into "vibe coding" with product people and stakeholders. It’s not about high-fidelity, polished designs. It’s about quickly visualising requirements and pain points to validate an idea before anyone spends a cent on development.
By facilitating these types of workshops, you aren't just "the person who makes things look pretty." You are the researcher and the strategist who ensures the requirements actually solve a problem.
Final Thoughts: Own Your Power
We as designers have a unique way of looking at the world. We think about the whole experience. We can zoom into the tiny detail of a button and zoom out to the entire ecosystem of a brand.
That perspective is rare in a company.
So, next time you feel like the odd one out in a room full of suits, remember: you aren’t just there to take notes. You are the Maverick. You are there to think differently, to challenge the status quo, and to keep the user at the heart of the business.
Lean into it.
