Dive Club 🤿 Catt Small - How staff designers build influence and lead as ICs
Sep 12, 2025
Catt Small, a staff designer with a rich background at Asana, Etsy, and SoundCloud, shares her insights on building influence as an individual contributor. She discusses the importance of storytelling and communication in conveying ideas effectively. Listeners will discover strategies to foster strong relationships and engage stakeholders early in the design process. Catt highlights how to create impactful product visions and navigate the complexities of design momentum, making her insights invaluable for aspiring designers.
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Influence Is Social Capital
- Influence is measurable through trust signals like leaders soliciting your feedback and ideas traveling without you.
- Social capital is the currency that lets you share risky ideas and gain traction across teams.
Audit Relationships And Energy
- Survey your workplace relationships and map who you know across peers and leaders.
- Focus energy on problems you want to be known for and cut low-ROI glue work to build credibility.
Book Regular Time With Leaders
- Schedule recurring time with leaders who connect to your projects and show up with questions.
- Ask what's top of mind, offer help, take notes, and follow up to build trust and reliability.