The Hobby Effect: How Personal Passions Fuel Exceptional Design Leadership

The Hobby Effect—a concept often overlooked but incredibly powerful. When designers transition from hands-on design to leadership roles, the daily act of creating often diminishes. The focus shifts from crafting beautiful interfaces to strategic planning and team management. This change, while necessary, can sometimes leave us yearning for that direct creative outlet.

I’ve been in the design field for more than a couple of decades, with 15 of those spent in leadership. Transitioning from the thrill of hands-on design to guiding teams wasn’t without its challenges. One of the most significant was the reduction in day-to-day creative design work. It’s easy to feel a bit disconnected from the process that first sparked our passion.

Here’s where hobbies come into play. They are not mere distractions but essential activities that keep our creative juices flowing and help relieve stress.

Take Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, as an example. He is an avid yachtsman, and his passion for yachting is well-documented. It’s more than just a leisurely pursuit. The strategic and competitive aspects of sailing translate well into his business strategy, fostering a sense of adventure and determination that drives his leadership (source: [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2016/10/14/larry-ellisons-5-biggest-luxury-purchases/?sh=7e1be6f249ae)).

Hobby offers multiple benefits

Stress Relief

Leadership comes with its own set of pressures. Engaging in a hobby allows you to decompress. It’s a mental reset button, clearing your mind and reducing stress. Participating in an activity you love provides a much-needed break from the daily grind, offering a fresh perspective when you return to work. Moreover, hobbies provide a sense of accomplishment and joy that is often missing from routine work tasks, enhancing your overall well-being and making you more resilient to stress.

From a cognitive and behavioural psychology perspective, engaging in hobbies can activate the brain’s reward system, releasing neurotransmitters like dopamine, which contribute to feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. This activation not only improves mood but also enhances cognitive functions such as memory and problem-solving skills.

Regular engagement in enjoyable activities can also reduce cortisol levels, the stress hormone, leading to improved physical and mental health. Hobbies can create positive routines and habits, serving as a form of mindfulness that helps you stay present and focused. This is crucial for managing the multifaceted responsibilities of leadership. By providing a structured outlet for relaxation and creativity, hobbies can also improve emotional regulation, making it easier to navigate the challenges and pressures of leading a team.

Innovative Thinking

Hobbies can significantly enhance your innovative thinking. Engaging in different activities often requires trying new combinations of techniques and skills, fostering a mindset of experimentation and risk-taking. This innovative approach leads to dynamic and forward-thinking solutions.

Hobbies often involve troubleshooting, whether adjusting techniques that didn’t work out as planned or balancing different elements. This problem-solving aspect directly applies to design leadership, where finding solutions to unexpected challenges is a daily task. Crafting something through a hobby requires attention to detail—every step and element matters. This precision helps maintain high standards in design work, ensuring every aspect of a project is well thought out and executed. Moreover, engaging in hobbies requires creativity, which helps in brainstorming sessions, generating unique ideas, and approaching problems from different angles in the workplace.

As Pablo Picasso said, “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” Hobbies, much like art, refresh our minds and spirits, making us better equipped to tackle the challenges we face in our professional lives.

Everyone finds similar benefits through a variety of hobbies. Some engage in the strategic challenge of a game of chess, honing their tactical thinking. Others immerse themselves in photography, capturing the world through a different lens and refining their attention to detail.

For me, cooking became my go-to creative escape. I threw myself into the culinary world, whipping up recipes for bread, cheese, and sausages. It all started with a yearning to recreate nostalgic flavours from my old country and gather family and friends around the table. I spent years tweaking and perfecting these recipes, driven by memories and the hunt for that familiar taste. It wasn’t easy — there were plenty of trials and errors along the way. But just like we do in design, each attempt taught me something new, bringing me closer to the perfect creation.

I understand that moving from a fully creative job to a leadership position can be daunting. You might feel like you’re losing touch with the hands-on work that you love. But here’s the thing—leadership is its form of creativity. It involves designing visions, crafting strategies, and nurturing a creative environment. Your role is to inspire and facilitate creativity in others, which is a deeply fulfilling challenge.

Everyday Creativity Substitutes

• Mentoring: Guiding others in their creative journey is a profoundly creative act. It requires empathy, insight, and a strategic mindset.
• Strategic Planning: Designing processes, workflows, and team structures engages your problem-solving skills.
• Personal Projects: Keep a side project that excites you. Whether it’s cooking, painting, building something, or even playing chess, ensure it brings you joy.

To all my fellow design leaders, I urge you to embrace a hobby. Find something that reignites your passion and keeps your creative spirit alive. It could be as simple as cooking a meal from scratch or as intricate as crafting the cheese you can call your own. These activities will not only keep you balanced but also enhance your effectiveness as a leader.

Remember, a well-rounded leader who actively engages in personal passions is more creative, empathetic, and capable. So, let your hobbies fuel your journey in design leadership.

Happy hobbying!