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The UX Manager Survey

I'm researching what it's really like to go from a UX individual contributor role to people management.
I'm especially interested in the challenges people don't always feel comfortable talking about; the messy stuff. What you weren't prepared for, what you second-guess, and what you wish someone had taught you.

This survey is completely anonymous. No name, company or email address is required.

How long have you been managing people?

How supported did you feel when you first became a manager?

0 - I felt completely alone; 10 - I was fully supported

What did your company provide to prepare you for management?

When you first became a people manager, what parts of the job made you feel the most uncomfortable or unsure of yourself?

Think about specific situations or responsibilities you dreaded, avoided, overthought, or weren't sure how to handle.

Which parts of managing people have been the hardest for you?

Giving constructive feedback

Managing someone who isn't meeting expectations

Delegating instead of doing things myself

Handling conflict between people

Managing people who used to be my peers

Setting expectations and holding people accountable

Managing different personalities/work styles

Advocating for my team while managing expectations from leadership

Managing my own workload while managing everyone else's

Hiring

Something else

Tell me about a recent situation as a manager where you genuinely weren't sure what to do.

What happened? What made the situation difficult? You don't need to include names or identifying details.

When you don't know how to handle a management situation, what do you usually do?

Ask my manager

Ask another manager/colleague

Ask a friend or mentor

Search Google

Ask ChatGPT/another AI tool

Use resources provided by my company

Trust my instincts and figure it out myself

Avoid/defer the situation until I know what to do

As a people manager, what is something you wish you were better at?

This could be a skill, a type of conversation, a situation you struggle with, or anything else that comes to mind.