Protect Your Energy at Scale, wit...
Protect Your Energy at Scale, with Theresa Slate
Catt's Corner: design leadership conversations with senior, ... by Catt Small
S1 · E3
Jul 14, 2026
47:04
Episode notes

Catt reconnects with Theresa Slate, a fellow Staff Designer. Theresa has spent the last two years fighting her way out of playing double duty as both staff designer and de facto design manager. She's finally built an operating model that actually protects her time, and has gotten to a place she describes as one of the proudest moments in her career. This episode is for designers who join every single team meeting and wonder why they can't find time for the strategic work they were hired to do.

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ℹ️ In this episode

  • How Theresa cut 40% of her meetings
  • Why "quick wins in a trench coat" is not a design strategy
  • How to be a good collaborator without being a doormat
  • What it took to get public cross-functional praise for the design team

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Keywords
staff designer
design career
ux career
design leadership
design thinking
design
product designer
tech
tech industry
women in design