Leading in Design

I am a relentless servant leader. Supporting, challenging, and empowering creative professionals is at the core of my philosophy. Every day I look forward to the growth I gain learning from the talented people on my teams.

Photo by Josh Rose on Unsplash
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Servant Leadership

As a design leader, it is important to focus on the people before the work. When designers truly feel supported and challenged in their roles, they can do amazing things. All of my work begins with a people-first approach.
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Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash
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Accessibility

Creating experiences that are usable by any person is not just good business but our duty as designers and human beings. In my role at Ascension I have been spearheading an initiative to create a true practice of accessibility in every aspect of our work from research to engineering.
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Photo by Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash
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Design Ops

As teams mature it becomes increasingly important to establish repeatable operations resources that scale effectively with them. Over the last decade I have defined and implemented tools and processes to enable the success of my teams and organizations.
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Photo by Fausto García-Menéndez on Unsplash
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Be a Servant Leader

by Ryan Spanswick | Mar 2022
Read my article on Servant Leadership
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Care Deeply

by Ryan Spanswick | Dec 2021
Read my article on Caring Deeply
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Learning from Fear

by Ryan Spanswick | Dec 2019
Read my article on Learning from Fear

Additional Work

This section is under construction. While you wait for new content to be released, you can download a PDF of my leadership and design work from the last 17 years.

Download PDF - 9mBPhoto by Josh Rose on Unsplash
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About Me

I am a seasoned design leader with deep experience in enterprise-level product design, a true passion for servant leadership, a relentless drive for growth, and a proven record for maturing design organizations.

I have been successful in fostering effective and successful teams by investing in the individuals and relationships that live at the heart of them. I’ve found that creating opportunities, challenges, and pathways for people to grow into the leaders and crafters they aspire to be inspires them to do the same for others. I'm fortunate to support the success of creative professionals at all levels.

My Leadership Values

Care Deeply
About your team | About people | About
yourself | About your work
Servant Leadership
Support others | Practice what you preach |
Cultivate future leaders | Be an advocate
Authentic & Clear
Be honest | Be vulnerable | Be transparent |
Drive alignment | Create clarity
Empower & Guide
Be a coach | Make room for risk and
innovation | Help others on their journey |
Create psychological safety
Inspire & Challenge
Have a growth mindset | Never settle | Find
your passion | Drive vision | Push outside of
your comfort zone