I just dropped my latest Glaringly Obvious interview clips with Dennis Hambeukers, who offers thoughtful takes on how design maturity really works.
Dennis doesn’t talk about maturity in terms of job titles or career ladders. Instead, he shows how designers grow by taking on different roles (like Architect, Scientist, Visionary, Connector, and Producer)and building the skills that support them.
It’s a shift from chasing promotions to building capacity. From proving design’s value to actually driving impact.
In the episode, Dennis breaks down how personal growth and organizational transformation are tied together through systems thinking. He combines Senge’s five disciplines with five design roles to show how people can evolve within their teams and help others grow too.
He lays out a few big takeaways:
- Roles are mindsets, not job titles – You don’t have to be “the visionary” to act with vision. These roles are overlapping and flexible.
- Prototypes create shared language – Even a rough prototype can get business, design, and tech speaking the same language.
- Designers are connectors – Maturity isn’t about perfection. It’s about using design to bring people together early and often.
- Growth starts messy – Stop waiting for polish. Use your early thinking as a way to drive feedback and collaboration.
“Everybody’s something of everything. Everybody’s a designer. Everybody has vision.”
This perspective fits perfectly into how we think about UX metrics. The roles Dennis describes map directly to how we gather data, build shared understanding, and lead meaningful design change.
The Scientist uses data to test and learn.
The Connector creates alignment across teams.
The Visionary brings clarity to what’s possible.
Discussion
Which role do you find yourself growing into most often? Where do you want to stretch next architect, scientist, or connector?