428: Teaching vs Micromanaging

428: Teaching vs Micromanaging

Author: Brian Lovin, Marshall Bock February 10, 2022 Duration: 26:02

This week, we talk about teaching versus micromanaging, or how to give feedback as a manager in a productive and growth-oriented way. In the Sidebar, Marshall shares his tips and tricks for organizing icon systems in Figma.

Golden Ratio Supporters:

Zeplin lets designers spend more time on design, and less time prepping design files for the team. Effortlessly build user journeys with native connectors, flow groups, and text labels — no more maintaining extra layers in your design tool. Zeplin is so much more than just specs — get started for free to see why.

The Sidebar:

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to bonus content going forward! Sign up at patreon.com/designdetails.

Latest VIP Patrons:

  • John Casey
  • Francis Wu
  • mayra pulido
  • usrnk1
  • Michael Olson
  • D
  • Stacey Peterson
  • Justin Haldane
  • Dian Chen
  • Declan Reilly-Gordon
  • Alex Blanco
  • Phoebe Hogeland
  • TL
  • Justin Buckamunth
  • Sudhanshu Gautam
  • Martin Banuelos
  • Adam Stanford
  • Tara Kirkland

Main Topic:

This week, we talk about teaching versus micromanaging, or how to give feedback as a manager in a productive and growth-oriented way.

Anonymous asks:

I’ve been promoted to a lead, and I’m managing a few entry-level designers working on small features. When discussing UX flows and sketches, they seem fine. But I randomly popped into their Figma files and noticed that their files are not as organized, and their UI work has some issues with padding, margins, decimal values, etc.

I feel like this is something easily trainable, since it’s UI related. I could jump on a call with them to educate them and show some examples of how to do things. But I have a tiny doubt about if I’m micromanaging, since this role is new to me.

Am I micromanaging if I jump into their files and do padding checks? If yes, how do I do this right? If not, what’s the difference between managing and micro managing?

Cool Things:

  • Brian shared Slopes, a fantastic app for skiers and snowboarders to track their runs and compete with friends. It’s a lot of fun, and has some really interesting design patterns to learn from.
  • Marshall shared the Ember mug, a game-changing quality of life improvement that keeps your hot drink at the perfect temperature. A bit expensive, but worth it.

Design Details on the Web:

Byeee!


Every week, Brian Lovin and Marshall Bock settle in for a thoughtful, often meandering chat that pulls back the curtain on how things are made. Their Design Details podcast lives in the rich space where technology and the arts intersect, focusing less on polished case studies and more on the real, sometimes messy, work of design. You’ll hear them dissect the nuances of product decisions, debate the evolving culture of creative teams, and share personal stories from their own experiences in the industry. It feels less like a lecture and more like eavesdropping on a conversation between two deeply knowledgeable friends. The discussions regularly venture into the philosophical side of craft, examining why certain choices resonate and how design shapes our daily interactions with the world. For anyone curious about the thinking behind the pixels and interfaces, this show offers a consistent, grounded perspective. Tuning in provides a sense of community and a candid look at the process, making it a staple for designers and creators who appreciate substance over flash.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Design Details
Podcast Episodes
444: Writing Effective Self-Reviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:03
This week, we share our tips for writing better self-reviews during performance review season.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month…
443: Design Systems Interviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
This week, we talk about interviewing for roles in design systems, what to prepare, and how many different kinds of skills are relevant in the field.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon…
442: It Doesn't Have to Be Right [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:00
This week, we share stories and lessons from some of our most memorable mentors.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to…
441: WWDC 2022 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:12
This week, we recap all of our favorite...design details...announced at this week's WWDC.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for a…
440: Don’t Call It a Design Critique [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:47
This week, we talk about how to make design critiques more fun, and how to encourage teams to share their work-in-progress more often.Supported by:Play — Play is the first native iOS design tool built for creating mobile…
439: Config 2022 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:59
This week, we cover all of the exciting new releases from Config 2022, and do a deep dive into the new version of Auto Layout.Supported by:Clay — Clay is the beautiful and private home for all your relationships. Populat…
438: Dissecting Substack’s Podcast Player [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:18
This week, we dissect Substack’s new podcast player design, talking about both the pixels and the strategic advantage of sharing craft-specific content on Twitter. In the Sidebar, we talk about the nature and risks of cr…
437: Scaling Design Critique [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:34
This week, we talk about methods to scale design critiques with a growing team. In the Sidebar, we dig into the...details...of Figma's latest UI changes which added file type icons to file tabs.Golden Ratio Supporters:Ze…
436: Reclaiming Your Focus [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:25
This week, we share our tips and strategies for reclaiming our focus to do deep design work. In the Sidebar, we revisit last week's conversation about the value of ideas and finding the right time to share an idea with t…
435: New Feature Launch Checklist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:40
This week, we share the checklist that we use when launching new features to make sure we’re not missing certain states, flows, or edge cases. In the Sidebar, we talk about working in public and the risk of people steali…