What’s stopping your work from shipping? It’s probably not the design itself. This week, I chat with Guy Segal about the soft skills that make the biggest difference—giving feedback, earning trust, and aligning with your team when things get tough.

What if the biggest reason your designs aren’t making it to production has nothing to do with design?

You know your work is solid. You’ve put in the hours, iterated on the flow, and covered every edge case. But when it comes time to hand it off or get sign-off, something breaks. It stalls, gets picked apart, or falls flat. Sound familiar?

In this episode, I sit down with Guy Segal—design leader and host of Design Downtime—to talk about why “soft skills” are the hardest part of UX, and how improving them can be the difference between your designs shipping or collecting dust. We cover how to give better feedback, how to handle misalignment without blowing things up, and what it actually means to be someone your team wants to work with.

This conversation is a must-listen if you’ve ever felt like good design work wasn’t enough. Because it isn’t. The way you show up—how you talk to people, how you build trust, how you respond to tension—is what moves the work forward.

Topics:
• 00:00 – Introduction: The Human Side of Software
• 00:37 – Welcome to Beyond UX Design
• 00:44 – Promotions and Sponsorships
• 02:31 – The Importance of Relationships in Software
• 02:57 – Interview with Guy Siegel: Building Great Relationships
• 04:09 – Challenges in Team Dynamics
• 05:26 – Empathy and Communication in Teams
• 13:00 – Feedback Framework for Better Team Collaboration
• 28:58 – Aligning Team Goals and Values
• 32:45 – Establishing Team Values and Hiring Practices
• 33:27 – Importance of One-on-Ones and Setting Expectations
• 35:06 – Empathy and Communication in Design
• 36:08 – Feedback and Continuous Improvement
• 37:09 – Challenges in Designer-Engineer Collaboration
• 38:21 – Managerial Insights and Team Dynamics
• 43:09 – Building Strong Work Relationships

Helpful Links:
• Design Downtime
• Connect with Guy on LinkedIn

—

Thanks for listening! We hope you dug today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you really enjoyed today’s episode, why don’t you leave a five-star review? Or tell some friends! It will help us out a ton.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear.

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get a FREE audiobook AND support the show⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out show transcripts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Stitcher⁠⁠

Understanding how power works might be the most underrated UX skill. Thomas Wilson shares ways to navigate power, bridge generational gaps, and influence decisions, even when you don’t have direct control.

Why do some designers influence major decisions while others get ignored? The answer might come down to how well you understand power.

You can’t influence what you don’t understand. In this conversation, I sit down with Thomas Wilson to discuss the invisible structures that shape what gets built, who gets heard, and why some designers consistently seem to gain traction, even without a fancy title.

We unpack what it means to navigate power inside organizations, how to build trust with people who don’t think like you, and what “pushing back” looks like when done with empathy and strategy. Thomas also challenges the notion that power is something to be avoided or rejected. Instead, he frames it as a neutral force—one you can learn to work with instead of around.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, sidelined, or frustrated by decisions that don’t make sense, this episode will help you rethink how you operate—and show you that power, used well, can actually be a designer’s ally.

Topics:

• 03:51 Understanding Power Dynamics in Organizations

• 05:44 Types of Power in Business

• 08:22 Strategies for Leveraging Power

• 19:39 Tools for Influencing and Negotiation

• 28:12 Power Mapping and Stakeholder Management

• 36:47 Influence and Interest Matrix

• 37:43 Generational Dynamics in the Workplace

• 38:57 Diversity of Thought and Communication Styles

• 41:34 Building Relationships and Trust

• 43:41 Handling Workplace Conflicts

• 48:48 Resources for Understanding Power

Helpful Links:
• Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn

—

Thanks for listening! We hope you dug today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you really enjoyed today’s episode, why don’t you leave a five-star review? Or tell some friends! It will help us out a ton.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear.

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get a FREE audiobook AND support the show⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out show transcripts⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our website⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Spotify⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Stitcher⁠⁠

Freelancing doesn't have to mean chaos and burnout. In this episode, we explore how to scale your freelance business without hiring a team by getting smarter with tools, strategy, and specialization.

What if you could scale your freelance business without hiring a team, just by using the right tools?

Most freelancers hit the same wall: they think going solo means doing it all. But today’s guest, Maciej Konarzewski, shares how that belief almost held him back, and how flipping the script helped him build a successful one-person business that runs on his terms.

In this episode, Maciej shares how he went from building his first site for his wife’s cleaning business to becoming a certified Wix Studio partner and full-time business owner. We talk about ditching the hustle mindset, building smart systems, and saying no to distractions (and even clients) in order to say yes to better work.

If you’re a designer trying to escape the 9–5 grind or scale your freelance business without burning out, this episode is for you. We dig into tools, pricing, niching down, and how community and relationships can unlock opportunities you didn’t even know were possible.

Tune in and learn how to build a thriving freelance business—without hiring a single employee.

Topics:
• 02:44 The Reality of Freelancing
• 03:08 Interview with Maciej Konarzewski
• 04:17 Maciej’s Freelancing Journey
• 14:30 The Importance of Specialization
• 25:33 The Reality of Job Security
• 26:09 The Hardest Decision: Changing Jobs
• 26:42 You Are Your Own Backup Plan
• 27:41 Selling and Marketing Yourself
• 30:34 The Mindset Shift in Sales
• 36:46 The Importance of Community and Specialization

Helpful Links:
• Connect with Maciej on LinkedIn
• Vision Marketing

—

Thanks for listening! We hope you dug today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you really enjoyed today’s episode, why don’t you leave a five-star review? Or tell some friends! It will help us out a ton.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear.

• ⁠⁠⁠Get a FREE audiobook AND support the show⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠Check out show transcripts⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠Check out our website⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Spotify⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Stitcher⁠⁠