Podcast Summary: Insights Unlocked Episode Title: How staff designers can lead without being managers with Catt Small
Date: February 23, 2026
Host: Jason Giles (VP of Design, UserTesting)
Guest: Catt Small (Staff Product Designer, Game Maker, Author of The Staff Designer)
Producer: Nathan Isaacs
Duration: ~43 minutes

Overview

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, host Jason Giles delves into the nuanced role of the staff designer with guest Catt Small, author of The Staff Designer. The discussion explores how senior individual contributors (ICs) can drive organizational influence and critical change without moving into management roles. Catt and Jason discuss the mindset shifts from hands-on craft to broader influence, how to make invisible work visible and valuable, strategies for managing energy and impact, and advice on navigating design’s evolving landscape—especially in the AI era.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catt Small’s Career Trajectory and Motivations

• Catt’s path blends art, technology, and games. From programming dress-up dolls as a child to organizing conferences for game developers of color, Catt’s experience has always sat at the intersection of creativity and technology. (02:02–05:29)
• Primary driver: Fascination with people—how they think, work, and communicate. Catt’s work, both in games and design writing, often originates from self-inquiry and a desire to start conversations within the community.
  • “I’m just so fascinated by people and how they think and how they work.” —Catt [05:47]

2. Defining and Demystifying the Staff Designer

• The staff designer role is often misunderstood or mystified, yet crucial.
  • Catt realized the lack of clarity around this role when seeking progression beyond management.
  • Early influences included observing and learning from peers like Jessica Harley at Etsy. (07:37–10:59)
• Influence ≠ Management: Staff designers lead by influence, not authority. The conversation surfaced the industry’s lack of language and resources around this.
  • “Managers knew what influence was to them, but I didn’t know what it meant.” —Catt [07:37]
• Invisible work: Contributing beyond visible output, engaging in “glue” or “relationship” work that holds teams together but is often undervalued. (11:56–15:28)

3. The Reality and Value of Invisible Work

• Intentionality: Staff design impact often comes from energy invested into cross-functional relationship building, understanding stakeholder fears, and tailoring communication to priorities.
  • “There was a period in 2021... [where] Brian Lovin... interviewing people... was the only resource that I had had at any point that actually talked about staff design.” —Catt [10:59]
• Staff designers must strategically choose which “invisible” work moves the needle for the business and their own professional visibility.
• Mindset Shift: Moving from executing tasks (“being told what to do”) to diagnosing what truly matters, and shifting the manager-employee dynamic to that of a partnership.
  • “My manager is kind of my partner.” —Catt [11:56]
• Notable Anecdote: Catt describes connecting colleagues from separate teams after overhearing related challenges—demonstrating the real value in broad relationship networks. [15:28]

4. Navigating Organizational Politics and Power Structures

• From “allergic to politics” to understanding its necessity: Designers must reframe “politics” as the art of aligning stakeholders and managing “vibes”—emotions, fears, and perceptions. (17:04–21:11)
  • “Politics are part of the process... how can I learn how it works and figure out a little bit more in detail about ways that I can still operate with integrity and transparency?” —Catt [17:04]
• Communication as design: Catt used improv, books on feedback, and leadership coaching to improve how information is received and embraced within teams.
  • “A lot of politicking is just managing people’s emotions.” —Catt [21:11]

5. Managing Personal Energy and Time: The Energy Audit

• Awareness of energy cycles: Staff designers must recognize their own rhythms and structure their days accordingly for both meetings and focus work. (23:09–26:51)
  • Use of calendar color-coding and meeting “chunking” strategies (attributing to Lara Hogan) to manage energy drain.
  • Advocates for proactively discussing workload balance and energy distribution with managers like trusted partners.
• Designing your own workflow: Treat your time and calendar as a design problem—identifying what gives versus drains energy, and advocating for the right balance.

6. Coaching Others: The Fidelity Trap and Shared Understanding

• Leading other designers: Catt warns against jumping to high fidelity solutions too early; instead, use the right artifact fidelity for the conversation’s phase. (28:59–34:33)
  • “Directing the energy of the room to the right thing is key; if you go high-fidelity too soon, you narrow the conversation and can distract from the real problem.” —Catt [28:59]
• Visualization beyond UI: Sometimes, the clearest way to create a shared understanding is with abstract diagrams, not saturated interfaces.

7. The Staff Designer in the Age of AI

• AI as a tool, not a replacement: Treat AI as a “powerful intern” for efficiency, but always be the creative director—retaining critical it-based and discerning decision making. (35:13–37:42)
  • “AI is a great tool... to help us experiment and learn potentially faster. Sometimes it’s also slower.” —Catt [35:13]
  • Cautioned against letting AI drive the creative or critical process without human oversight.

8. Mindset Shifts, Confidence, and Final Reflections

• Biggest surprise writing the book: The centrality of trusting one’s intuition and stepping into discomfort—senior ICs must build and lean into inner confidence.
  • “The more that you trust yourself and put your perspective forward, obviously in a respectful way, that’s when people see, ‘Oh, wow, this person’s a leader.’” —Catt [39:04]
• For managers: The book helps leaders better understand, support, and champion staff-level ICs.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [05:47] Catt Small: “I’m just so fascinated by people and how they think and how they work.”
• [07:37] Catt Small: “Managers knew what influence was to them, but I didn’t know what it meant.”
• [15:28] Catt Small: “There’s essentially an investment of sorts in relationships so you have information from across the company...”
• [17:04] Catt Small: “Politics are part of the process... how can I learn how it works and figure out a little bit more in detail about ways that I can still operate with integrity and transparency?”
• [21:11] Catt Small: “A lot of politicking is just managing people’s emotions. I just thought it was stabbing people in the back and that, I don’t like."
• [23:09] Catt Small: “We have waves of energy that ebb and flow... you need to start to understand about yourself to make sure your calendar is designed in a way that makes you most effective.”
• [28:59] Catt Small: “Creating artifacts at the level of fidelity that reflects the fidelity of your current thinking.”
• [35:13] Catt Small: “AI is a great tool... to help us experiment and learn potentially faster. Sometimes it’s also slower.”
• [39:04] Catt Small: “The more that you trust yourself and put your perspective forward, obviously in a respectful way, that’s when people see, ‘Oh, wow, this person’s a leader.’”
• [42:01] Catt Small: “You can get the Staff Designer on Rosenfeld Media’s website... there’s a code where you can get 20% off of the book. And it’s just ‘usertesting’.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:02–05:29: Catt Small’s early journey, learning, and passion blend of arts and technology
• 07:37–10:59: The origin of her realization about staff designer gaps & learning from mentors
• 11:56–15:28: What “invisible work” is, the power of relationship-building, and the intentionality behind it
• 17:04–21:11: Navigating organizational politics, learning to communicate and manage with empathy and curiosity
• 23:09–26:51: Energy audits, calendar design, and workflows for sustained impact
• 28:59–34:33: Coaching others on design fidelity and aligning teams via the right artifacts
• 35:13–37:42: AI’s role for designers—tool, not threat; keeping human authority and creativity central
• 39:04–42:01: Reflections on writing the book; developing intuition and confidence as the core of staff-level leadership

Resources Mentioned

• The Staff Designer by Catt Small (Rosenfeld Media)
• Brian Lovin’s “Staff Design” interviews (staff.design)
• “The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership” by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp

Connect with Catt Small

• LinkedIn: Catt Small (C-A-T-T S-M-A-L-L)
• Website: catsmall.com
• BlueSky: @catsmall

Takeaways & Actionable Insights

• For aspiring staff designers: Success hinges less on technical craft, more on developing influence, relationships, and organizational insight—without sacrificing personal authenticity.
• Intentional “invisible” work matters: Prioritize activities for influence and impact, and learn how to communicate their value to peers and supervisors.
• Self-awareness and self-trust: Be proactive in designing your routines, workflows, and engaging in high-impact conversations.
• For managers: Support senior ICs by helping them clarify goals, recognize their invisible work, and move from directive to partner-based relationships.

For more show notes, curated clips, and future episodes, visit usertesting.com/podcast.