Key Takeaways Dylan Field is the CEO of Figma, a $19.45 billion design tool company used by 95% of the Fortune 500.
Before co-founding Figma in 2012, he had no experience being a manager.
Field describes himself as “bad at all of it” at first, but he learned how to be an effective manager over time.
Dylan Field found out the hard way that being a good leader doesn’t necessarily mean being a good manager.
The Figma CEO assumed that because he had always been a leader, he was automatically ready to manage — only to learn that management was its own separate skill set.
On an episode of the First Time Founders podcast that aired earlier this week, Field explained that he “definitely did not know” how to be a good manager at first. Before he co-founded Figma, a $19.45 billion design company used by 95% of the Fortune 500, he interned at companies like LinkedIn and Flipboard. He had never been a manager before co-founding the company in 2012. Figma now has a 1,600-person workforce.
“The good news is if you’re a first-time manager, it’s all very learnable,” Field said on the podcast. “It’ll feel like muscle memory eventually.”
Related: Instead of Cuts, This $28 Billion Dollar Design Company’s Response to AI Is To Hire More People
Field listed the managerial basics: knowing where his team was, running effective one-on-ones, building relationships, setting clear goals and holding people accountable.
“I think I was bad at all of it,” Field said.
... continue reading