Over the past decade, I’ve worked as a Senior User Researcher across a range of sectors, including academia, government, and the private sector. It now feels like the right time to start considering the natural progression to a Lead User Researcher role.
Looking at current vacancies on platforms such as LinkedIn, the key differences between Senior and Lead roles seem to fall into three main areas:
- Leading and mentoring a team, often with Senior User Researchers reporting in
- Contributing to the strategy and vision of the research function, including shaping OKRs
- Advocating for the value of user research among senior stakeholders and leadership
Reflecting on my own experience, I’ve taken some time to assess where I’m already strong and where I need to develop further.
In terms of mentoring (point one), I’ve supported several junior researchers. For example, I mentored Claudia Bruen, who went on to conduct innovative and impactful research that resulted in a publication in Elsevier’s Transportation Research journal. Similarly, I worked with Callum Bradley on research into personas and journey mapping, which we published in a leading human–computer interaction journal. I’ve also supervised PhD students, one of whom has recently become an Assistant Professor. Alongside this, my teaching and supervision of Master’s students has given me further experience in supporting and developing others, as I described on a page about a module I taught.
However, when it comes to the other two areas – shaping research strategy and advocating for user research at a senior level – I recognise that my experience is more limited. In many organisations, Senior User Researchers don’t always have a seat at the table, which makes it difficult to have a voice and influence strategic direction or engage directly with C-suite stakeholders.
This creates something of a catch-22: progressing into a Lead role requires experience on design strategy and evangelising stakeholders, yet those opportunities can be hard to obtain while operating at Senior level.
To address this, I’ve taken a proactive approach to my development. I’ve invested in training through books and online courses to strengthen my understanding of research strategy, leadership, and organisational influence – some of the books that I read are listed on the Book Comments section. While much of this learning is theoretical, I believe it will position me well to take on greater responsibilities in my current roles, or to step into a Lead position in the near future.