Thought Partnership
You're probably the only person at your company who's ever had your job.
Your boss doesn't have a design background. Your peers don't either. And the challenges you're navigating — reorganizing your team, building credibility with executives, defining what quality even means, figuring out how to lead through ambiguity — don't come with a manual.
That's where I come in.
I work with Directors, VPs, and Chief Design Officers as a dedicated Thought Partner: a senior practitioner with deep experience across dozens of design organizations who's entirely in your corner. We work through your hardest problems together, using frameworks and approaches you can put to work immediately.
This isn't generic coaching. I bring specific expertise in design leadership — org design, team structure, career pathways, stakeholder dynamics, communicating business value — so our conversations go deep fast.
How it works
We meet one-on-one, typically once or twice a month, for an hour at a time. Engagements run six or twelve sessions, with cadence set by what you need. You bring the challenges; I bring perspective, frameworks, and candor.
I've supported design leaders running teams of 7 to 450, across fintech, retail, SaaS, hardware/software, healthcare, and even rockets to space 🚀!
What we work on
Thought Partnership sessions have helped clients:
- Restructure and reorganize their design teams
- Define and articulate standards for quality
- Build stronger relationships with peers and executives
- Communicate design's value in business terms
- Establish career pathways and DesignOps practices
- Clarify their own role, mandate, and vision
You can see examples of the work in this video:
What clients say
"I needed to completely transform my experience design organization. It was daunting. Within the 20,000-person company where I work, nobody had ever tried this exact org model shift. When I partnered with Peter on it, I suddenly could profit by all his experience with similar transformations at other financial institutions. We could marry his experience with my understanding of our design org and the systems and internal partners we collaborate with every day. It was a terrific partnership. I can't recommend Peter highly enough."
Todd Keith, EVP, Head of UX, Regions Bank
"The thought partnership with Peter came at a pivotal moment in the evolution of our design organization and proved incredibly valuable. Peter brings a rare combination of deep experience and a broad perspective on how other leaders approach similar challenges. Through deep listening, thoughtful challenge, and recognition, our sessions were both energizing and thought-provoking. I highly recommend working with Peter to any design leader."
Sander Viegers, Head of Design, Rabobank
"Working with Peter is very different from working with other coaches. He takes a very hands-on tactical approach. I would bring specific challenges to our sessions and he would work through them with me using frameworks and tools that I could implement immediately. He helped me with things like: the structure of my design team, communicating design impact through business metrics, and navigating stakeholder relationships. I recommend Peter to anyone looking for a partner who can work through the nitty gritty of day-to-day design leadership."
Kim Cullen, VP Product Design and Research, Included Health