“I’m Just Being Helpful” – How Designers Accidentally Come Across as Disagreeable (and What to Do About It)
A lot of designers, especially those with a strong systems-thinking mindset, pride themselves on being rigorous problem-solvers. We stress-test ideas. We poke holes in weak assumptions. We say things like “That won’t work because…” or “The problem with that is…” and we think we’re doing our job — helping move the team forward, protecting users, flagging risks.
But let’s be honest: a lot of the time, we just come across as… difficult.