Context
When I joined Lime at the end of 2019, the company was coming off a wave of hype around micromobility. The business was adjusting—RIFs, re-orgs, and then the pandemic. Despite all of that, I was optimistic. I believed in the mission, the trends in urban mobility, and the potential for great design to shape the future of transportation. That optimism was important for me to model to the team, which at the time, was loosely organized and just four people strong (one of whom resigned my first week).
Challenge: Build a strong, strategic design team—fast.
We needed to become a team. We needed a culture. We needed a shared definition of quality. We needed safety and structure. And we had to do all that while still shipping.
Approach: Phase-based, people-first.
I didn’t try to fix everything at once. I took a phased approach that met the moment. I focused first on building trust, then infrastructure, then scale.
Phase 1 – Stabilize and connect
- Design Weekly: A standing Monday team ritual to discuss work, culture, and company happenings. During the pandemic, this became a grounding touchpoint for all of us.
- Design Critique: A safe and structured space to share work, give feedback, and cross-pollinate across the org.
- 1:1s: Weekly by default, customized by need. These weren’t happening before I joined, and I prioritized them relentlessly.
- Culture tools:
- Matt’s README to help everyone understand how I work.
- How We Critique doc to define how we give and receive feedback.
- Designer 1:1 interviews so I could learn how best to support and coach each person.
Phase 2 – Infrastructure: Leveling and hiring
- Created a leveling matrix grounded in industry benchmarks and adapted for Lime. This became our shared source of truth for performance and growth.
- Designed an interview process mapped directly to the competencies in the matrix. We focused on signal clarity, consistency, and candidate experience.
- We started hiring again—and hired well. Our process gave us confidence, and candidates left feeling respected and understood.
Phase 3 – Career development
- Every designer had a career development plan. We set long-term goals and met monthly to track progress.
- These conversations turned career development into a shared responsibility—not a once-a-year event.
- Performance reviews became smoother and more aligned with actual growth.
Output: A respected team and strong culture
We built a team culture that was tight-knit, growth-oriented, and focused on quality. Design became a strategic partner—no longer just the people who made things look nice, but people you wanted in the room early.
Outcome: Real impact on people and product
- We shipped higher-quality work, more consistently.
- We celebrated great design, no matter who it came from.
- Designers grew their careers, and we built a strong alumni network.
- By the end of my run, the Design team was running with clarity, purpose, and pride.
