UX Design Manager,
Contact Center
Remote • April 2022 - Current
Senior UX Design Manager,
Data Science
Senior UX Design Manager
Remote • October 2020 - April 2022
Lead UX Designer
Sandy, UT • April 2019 - October 2020
UX Design Manager
Lehi, UT • June 2017 - January 2019
This is the story of how I re-established trust in UX, hired a great-fit designer in half the time, and helped reduce test creation time on Target's internal testing platform by 56%.
This is the story of how I guided a strategic pivot resulting in $27M labor cost savings, a 175% reduction in onboarding time, and a 530 % reduction in Time To Insights.
Most would agree that the image of a boss yelling instructions at his team is not helpful nor effective leadership. However, I also believe that the image of the leader in the trenches at the front of their team is not the right one either. I've seen too many leaders try to demonstrate high quality work by attempting to be the team lead in addition to the manager. That mentality is the source of an incredible amount of problems, inefficiency, and turnover.
I prefer the mental model of a leader building and holding up a bridge for their team. A leader should inspire. They should set a clear vision. They should make connections for their team. They should clear obstacles. Most importantly, they should enable their team to do the best work of their lives. But the responsibility for doing the work belongs with the team, not the manager. Giving autonomy while requiring accountability is one of the hallmarks of great leaders.
I have found that it is through transparency, accountability, teamwork, and ownership that winning teams are created and maintained. The best way I've found to create a culture of innovation that is scalable is to push decision making & accountability as far down the chain as possible. This creates an entire team of leaders rather than followers.
Most would agree that the image of a boss yelling instructions at his team is not helpful nor effective leadership. However, I also believe that the image of the leader in the trenches at the front of their team is not the right one either. I've seen too many leaders try to demonstrate high quality work by attempting to be the team lead in addition to the manager. That mentality is the source of an incredible amount of problems, inefficiency, and turnover.
I prefer the mental model of a leader building and holding up a bridge for their team. A leader should inspire. They should set a clear vision. They should make connections for their team. They should clear obstacles. Most importantly, they should enable their team to do the best work of their lives. But the responsibility for doing the work belongs with the team, not the manager. Giving autonomy while requiring accountability is one of the hallmarks of great leaders.
I have found that it is through transparency, accountability, teamwork, and ownership that winning teams are created and maintained. The best way I've found to create a culture of innovation that is scalable is to push decision making & accountability as far down the chain as possible. This creates an entire team of leaders rather than followers.
Most would agree that the image of a boss yelling instructions at his team is not helpful nor effective leadership. However, I also believe that the image of the leader in the trenches at the front of their team is not the right one either. I've seen too many leaders try to demonstrate high quality work by attempting to be the team lead in addition to the manager. That mentality is the source of an incredible amount of problems, inefficiency, and turnover.
I prefer the mental model of a leader building and holding up a bridge for their team. A leader should inspire. They should set a clear vision. They should make connections for their team. They should clear obstacles. Most importantly, they should enable their team to do the best work of their lives. But the responsibility for doing the work belongs with the team, not the manager. Giving autonomy while requiring accountability is one of the hallmarks of great leaders.
I have found that it is through transparency, accountability, teamwork, and ownership that winning teams are created and maintained. The best way I've found to create a culture of innovation that is scalable is to push decision making & accountability as far down the chain as possible. This creates an entire team of leaders rather than followers.
Most would agree that the image of a boss yelling instructions at his team is not helpful nor effective leadership. However, I also believe that the image of the leader in the trenches at the front of their team is not the right one either. I've seen too many leaders try to demonstrate high quality work by attempting to be the team lead in addition to the manager. That mentality is the source of an incredible amount of problems, inefficiency, and turnover.
I prefer the mental model of a leader building and holding up a bridge for their team. A leader should inspire. They should set a clear vision. They should make connections for their team. They should clear obstacles. Most importantly, they should enable their team to do the best work of their lives. But the responsibility for doing the work belongs with the team, not the manager. Giving autonomy while requiring accountability is one of the hallmarks of great leaders.
I have found that it is through transparency, accountability, teamwork, and ownership that winning teams are created and maintained. The best way I've found to create a culture of innovation that is scalable is to push decision making & accountability as far down the chain as possible. This creates an entire team of leaders rather than followers.
CLAIRE MASON
Senior UX Manager
(Current Manager)
CLAIRE MASON
Senior UX Manager
(Current Manager)
Senior UX Manager (current manager)
"Jeremy is a rare combination of true industry thought-leader and caring, team-first people leader. Jeremy joined The Home Depot to lead a relatively new team that was experiencing some growing pains. I was looking to Jeremy to stabilize the team and establish foundational design practices. Jeremy delivered faster than I would ever have expected and moved well beyond stability to a thriving, facilitating growth for the team that is now marked by its collaboration, efficiency, and maturity. It is clear that this growth is directly tied to Jeremy’s incredible talent for developing people and activating strengths, starting by establishing trust through genuine care for people.
Jeremy also has so much to contribute to the overall maturity of any design operation. His passion and expertise in design systems and optimizing work processes would mature any organization. He does not “stay in his lane” but is constantly looking for ways to support and bring value.
Having worked closely with him over the past year, I can also say that Jeremy is an absolute pleasure to work with. Knowledgeable, kind, and exceedingly capable, Jeremy is a gem. I could not recommend him more highly!"
"Jeremy is an amazingly talented UX professional. He fully invests himself in his work, and is one of the best people I have ever worked with. He is a great collaborator, and seeks to gather as much information as he can from end users. He is constantly seeking better ways to improve the end user experience, and always manages to create an elegant experience that solves user pain points. He is a tremendous asset, and I couldn't recommend him more highly."
"Jeremy is an amazingly talented UX professional. He fully invests himself in his work, and is one of the best people I have ever worked with. He is a great collaborator, and seeks to gather as much information as he can from end users. He is constantly seeking better ways to improve the end user experience, and always manages to create an elegant experience that solves user pain points. He is a tremendous asset, and I couldn't recommend him more highly."
STEPHEN THROWER
Senior TA Partner
STEPHEN THROWER
Senior TA Partner
Senior Talent Acquisition Partner
"Jeremy is human-centered and it's clear to see because of his actions. Jeremy always communicates with me proactively whether it is about his own journey joining our team or hiring for Jeremy directly to grow his team - the level of partnership here is what Talent Acquisition looks for in a true Hiring partnership. Jeremy carries a wealth of knowledge and experience within UX and I'm lucky to work with such an amazing leader! If you are contemplating working with Jeremy in any capacity I encourage you not to hesitate!"
"Jeremy is an amazingly talented UX professional. He fully invests himself in his work, and is one of the best people I have ever worked with. He is a great collaborator, and seeks to gather as much information as he can from end users. He is constantly seeking better ways to improve the end user experience, and always manages to create an elegant experience that solves user pain points. He is a tremendous asset, and I couldn't recommend him more highly."
"Jeremy is an amazingly talented UX professional. He fully invests himself in his work, and is one of the best people I have ever worked with. He is a great collaborator, and seeks to gather as much information as he can from end users. He is constantly seeking better ways to improve the end user experience, and always manages to create an elegant experience that solves user pain points. He is a tremendous asset, and I couldn't recommend him more highly."
SARAH ALBINDA
Senior Product Designer
SARAH ALBINDA
Senior Product Designer
Senior Product Designer
"Jeremy is definitely one of the best UX managers I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Not only does he excel at being a UX evangelist, he also has no problem doing the design work if necessary. Jeremy leads by example and many people at Target found his strategic thinking and design mentorship both inspiring and motivating. Despite our differences in thinking, we had a great connection and excellent working relationship; I value all that he taught me during his time at Target. He empowered me to create great products while simultaneously delighting users. He is an excellent UX leader and coach, and I will always hold him in the highest esteem."
"Jeremy is an amazingly talented UX professional. He fully invests himself in his work, and is one of the best people I have ever worked with. He is a great collaborator, and seeks to gather as much information as he can from end users. He is constantly seeking better ways to improve the end user experience, and always manages to create an elegant experience that solves user pain points. He is a tremendous asset, and I couldn't recommend him more highly."
"Jeremy is an amazingly talented UX professional. He fully invests himself in his work, and is one of the best people I have ever worked with. He is a great collaborator, and seeks to gather as much information as he can from end users. He is constantly seeking better ways to improve the end user experience, and always manages to create an elegant experience that solves user pain points. He is a tremendous asset, and I couldn't recommend him more highly."
NATE EVANS
Director of Product
NATE EVANS
Director of Product
Director of Product
"I have worked with many people, but few more closely than Jeremy Bird. Jeremy revolutionized UX at ArbiterSports. His designs and, more importantly, his processes are here to stay. His first objective when he arrived was to get to know customers, to talk to them, to ask questions, and to be a good listener. And he turned that understanding into truly great designers that jumped our product forward 20 years! It's a great legacy to leave."
"Passion, dedication, and wisdom! Jeremy is a very talented UX pro that genuinely loves finding the best solutions to complex problems. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the discovery and planning processes. Jeremy also loves to teach and mentor others within the company. He took the initiative to start and run bi-weekly, company-wide meetings called design trust. He would show mock-ups to get feedback or run UX exercises. These UX exercises run by Jeremy led us to great solutions in the towing and roadside industries."
"Passion, dedication, and wisdom! Jeremy is a very talented UX pro that genuinely loves finding the best solutions to complex problems. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the discovery and planning processes. Jeremy also loves to teach and mentor others within the company. He took the initiative to start and run bi-weekly, company-wide meetings called design trust. He would show mock-ups to get feedback or run UX exercises. These UX exercises run by Jeremy led us to great solutions in the towing and roadside industries."
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