Welcome to The Inspirational Leaders Series, a collection of short interviews with sharp, impactful leaders I know and respect—because the business world needs more refreshing people like them.
Meet Jose Coronado, Executive Director, Global Head of Design Operations for Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB) at JPMorgan Chase & Co. One of many things that impresses me about Jose is his deep commitment to cultivating effective design leadership skills within JPMorgan and the design community at large. I’ve seen this through his investment in training designers at all levels in storytelling, influence, and business strategy skills, as well as how generously he shares his own leadership lessons on the design speaking circuit. This interview is chock full of gems that will help you expand your own leadership approach (i.e., Broaden your recognition language).
AS A DESIGN LEADER, WHAT DO YOU FIGHT FOR?
I advocate for people first and then for the work. As leaders, we need to strike a balance. If we take care of the people and let the work take care of itself, we will have serious issues creating value for the organization and its clients. At the same time, if we take care of the work but don't take care of the people in our team, we will have a disengaged team that does not feel seen or valued.
As design leaders, we need to speak the different languages of recognition. We need to be flexible in the way we recognize people in our teams. I acknowledge that I have fallen short in this area, by recognizing people in just a couple of dimensions. As I have grown in my career, I have done more. I have learned to leverage encouraging words – both in public and in private; rewards – like title and compensation; time – investing time in 1:1s or supporting the public speaking engagements for folks in my teams; autonomy & empowerment – by recognizing their expertise and trusting them to drive initiatives in an independent manner; and with visibility – by highlighting and connecting their work with the overall strategic impact in the organization.
WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU’D KNOWN EARLIER IN YOUR LEADERSHIP JOURNEY?
I wish leadership came with a manual or book of instructions. As leaders, we have to identify the key needs of the organization and understand how we build our teams with the right skills to solve business problems. We are dealing with people at different levels, and depending on what kind of profile they have, we have to adapt our approach and our message delivery to connect with them. For example, a “Driver” personality type would expect only the minimum information and understand the actions you will take. Conversely, an “Amiable” individual will expect you to invest time in building the relationship, listening, and showing care, before tackling the problems.
One important lesson I learned: as leaders, we have to take action with negative or underperforming members of the teams we lead early and decisively. We have to face these difficult decisions with empathy and compassion. If we avoid this, we will hurt the rest of the team and we will end up investing an incredible amount of time in a manner that is neither fair nor equitable.
WHAT DO YOU THINK PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT LEADERSHIP?
Many new and aspiring managers think that leadership is about managing people. It is not about that; it is about using your knowledge and your experience to help people grow and develop. In parallel, we need to understand the business goals and align our team to meet them. In many instances, it is not about command and control. It is about paving the way for the people in our team to have the information they need to tackle the business problems at hand. It is about removing obstacles at different levels and providing the support they need to be successful.
HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR OWN ENERGY, GIVEN ALL THAT YOU MUST JUGGLE AS A LEADER?
Over the last few years, especially through the pandemic, I have encouraged the people in my teams to take care of themselves. I am also pushing myself and other leaders I advise to recharge our own batteries. If we let our emotional and physical selves deplete, we will not be able to take care of ourselves, our families, and our teams.
We underestimate the importance of time off and fully disconnecting ourselves from work. Before the pandemic, it used to be a badge of honor to work and plow through a cold or the flu. Now, with the rising awareness of potentially getting people around us sick and the growing support for hybrid and remote work, I encourage the people in my teams to stay home, rest, and recover over “working through illness.”
As design leaders, we must put our oxygen masks on first, before helping others. We need to be healthy and strong in order to be there for ourselves, our families, and our teams.
IF YOUR LEADERSHIP APPROACH WAS EXPRESSED IN A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD BE IN IT? WHY?
Ever since I was an undergrad in Colombia, I liked impressionist painting and sculpture, especially Edgar Degas. He was a studious painter and sculptor who was fascinated by movement. Some of his themes were racehorses and ballerinas. When you look at some of his paintings he captures movement, balance, and specialized skills. Some of them show a leading figure, while others show a group, a team. All of these elements are applicable to a design leader. We have to strike a balance between design, business, and strategy. We have to adapt to different levels of people in the organization and always be able to adjust to the context in which we move in. Sometimes, we have to make tough decisions alone, while most of the time, we rely on our teams to achieve the results we are all striving for.
* Kate Dill wrote a great article that provides a recognition framework.
To connect with Jose:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josecoronado/
Twitter: @jcoronado1
Medium: https://medium.com/@jcoronado1
