My leadership philosophy is built on a simple foundation: empower talented people, establish clear processes, and relentlessly connect design's impact to business success. I don't just manage designers, I cultivate a culture of strategic partnership, operational excellence, and continuous growth.
My leadership philosophy
I lead with empathy, clarity, and a deep-seated belief in the power of collaboration. For me, a successful design organisation is one where every team member feels a strong sense of ownership, psychological safety, and a direct connection to the customer. My core principles are:
Building & scaling teams
Building a high-performing design team is my passion. It's a deliberate process of identifying the right talent, defining clear roles, and creating an inclusive environment where everyone can contribute their unique strengths.
Hiring & Onboarding: At Prozis, I built the UX design practice from the ground up, hiring and onboarding an 8-person distributed team. I developed a structured hiring process that assessed not just craft, but also collaborative spirit and strategic thinking.
Mentorship & Career Growth: I believe in growing leaders from within. I establish regular 1:1s, personalized development plans, and skill-based workshops. I successfully mentored senior designers into lead roles, strengthening the team's overall capability.
Structuring for Success: As UX Manager at OutSystems, I helped structure a large, 80-person design and research organization. This involved defining clear responsibilities for sub-teams like Design Systems and Research Ops to ensure we could operate effectively at scale.
Fostering cross-functional collaboration
Design cannot succeed in a silo. I act as the connective tissue between design, product management, and engineering, ensuring we operate as one cohesive product development team.
Design operations & systems
Creativity needs a framework to be effective at scale. I specialize in building the operational backbone that allows design teams to deliver high-quality, consistent work efficiently.
Made with by Sónia Gomes @2024
Get in touch! +351 917 373 380
hello@soniagomes.me
Get in touch! +351 917 373 380
hello@soniagomes.me