Mindaugas Petrutis
1 Dec 2024
“I feel stuck. I’m not sure this is where I want to be anymore.”
I recently caught up with a friend, a Principal Designer, who’s been with the same company for nearly eight years. From the outside, it looks like everything’s going well: steady role, leading a team, respected by peers. But during our conversation, they opened up about something I hear more often than you’d expect: they’re questioning whether they want to keep moving up in design leadership at all.
Here’s how the conversation went (edited for clarity and confidentiality):
Principal Designer: “I feel stuck. I’m not sure this is where I want to be anymore.”
Me: “That’s surprising. From our previous conversations, you’ve built a solid career. What’s been on your mind?”
Principal Designer: “It’s hard to explain. I feel like I’m managing a process more than I’m solving real design problems. Deadlines, handoffs, stakeholder demands, it’s like the design work has taken a backseat to just keeping the machine running.”
Me: “So, you’re spending more time managing than designing?”
Principal Designer: “Exactly. I miss the days when I could really dive into the craft, focus on design strategy and vision, and lead by example. Now I spend most of my time in meetings or putting out fires, dealing with deadlines, handoffs, and stakeholder demands. It's like my role has slowly shifted from being a Principal Designer to more of a Design Manager without the title change, and that's not the direction I want my career to take.”
This feeling is common among senior designers, especially those in leadership roles. It’s not burnout but a sense of disconnection from the creative work that originally drew them into the field. The big question they’re facing is: what’s next?
Here’s what we discussed:
→ Recognise when your role has shifted into something that no longer energises you.
→ It’s normal to miss hands-on design work, even as your career grows in prestige.
→ Career progression isn’t always about moving “up”, sometimes it’s getting comfortable making lateral moves that align with your passions.
The other side of the challenge came out when they said this:
Principal Designer: “I don’t even know if I’m capable of going back to hands-on work. I feel so out of practice. I tinker with side projects but they’re not enough to keep my skills fresh.”
Me: “That’s totally understandable. You’ve been in this for a long time, but those skills are still there. The question is, what’s stopping you from making that shift?”
Principal Designer: “Fear. Fear of stepping down in responsibility, fear of what people might think, and fear that maybe I won’t be as good as I used to be.”
Me: “It sounds like you’re not afraid of failing, you’re afraid of what it looks like. But this isn’t necessarily about stepping backward. It could be about redefining your role to find what fullfills you again.”
How many others feel stuck, with no clear path forward? And how many are hesitant to talk about it because they don’t know where to turn for support?
Have you ever found yourself in this position, feeling disconnected from the work that used to drive you? What did you do to find your way forward? I’d love to hear how others are navigating this.
If this resonated, continue the conversation in a Coho peer group. Every two weeks, meet with 5 peers (senior to director) who help you tackle what's next. Get nuanced advice from designers at Spotify, Meta and Hubspot.