Changing the Future with Good Design (with Kevin Bethune)

Commander Divine speaks with Kevin Bethune, Founder & Chief Creative Officer of dreams • design + life, a "think tank" that delivers design & innovation services using a human-centered approach. In this episode, Kevin discusses the power of design and innovation, and how it can help us face the challenges we have today.

Key Takeaways:

How to mitigate conflict in diverse teams. We all come from different disciplines with varying thought processes. When leading diverse teams, the very first step is to get everyone to openly talk about where they’re coming from, how they like to work, and what their triggers are.

Finding a balance in servant leadership. The leader of any team has to strike a balance between articulating the vision and making sure the team feels like they’ve helped inform the vision. It’s up to the leader to carve up the work that needs to be done to give the team the runway, role clarity, and license to own the pieces of that collective vision.

The power of quiet leadership. Leadership isn’t always about carrying forward as a facilitator to constantly serve and unblock a team. Sometimes the team needs to see the leader do the work, too. There are many opportunities to provide quiet leadership while you get your hands dirty alongside your team. These are the moments that build better trust and enable the team to hit the ground running on their own.

What does growth look like for your business? Every organization has to think about what growth actually looks like for them – it’s not one-size-fits-all. There might be parts of the business that are maturing or are out of date, and they need to be refreshed, renewed, and rejuvenated. This can lead to a new source of business growth. Ideally, that growth is respectful and considerate of both the environment and the people who are part of the engine.

Design is young at the strategy table. Strategy is currently still predominantly biased toward business and technology. When considering building more multidisciplinary teams moving forward, design needs to be prioritized and meshed into problem-solving culture.

We should appreciate where we've come from, but be honest...

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