The UX 0.1% and the Silence of the Room: Rethinking Power in the Era of Conscious UX Design and Leadership

Rethinking Power in the Era of Conscious UX Design and Leadership

Inspired by my ramblings last night at 11pm to my 60-something parents.

In nearly every boardroom, strategy session, or product critique, power often flows in one direction, upward. It gravitates to the 0.1%, those at the top of the hierarchy: the executives, the founders, the ones who carry influence in title and tone. These are the decision-makers, the narrative-setters, the ones who most often speak first and last. We still cling to a structure that muffles the majority in a world enamored with innovation and equity.

But what if we turned the system on its head?

Imagine a room where power is not held but shared. Leadership is not defined by how loudly one speaks but by how deeply one listens. Where the youngest intern, the fresh graduate, the newly hired voice can start the dialogue, not as a symbolic gesture but as a structural shift. What might emerge if we empowered the 99.9%, the ones who build, design, support, and serve, to have ownership of decisions?

Too often, feedback loops are closed before they begin. We call it efficiency. We label it alignment. But what we sacrifice in speed, we might gain in collective brilliance. Imagine a feedback session that begins with the person with the least perceived power, the one with no political armor, no strategic agenda, only perspective. Fresh eyes. Honest words. A chance to say, “I don’t think this feels right,” before the dominant voices define what “right” even means.

This isn’t just a call for inclusivity. It’s a reframe of what it means to lead.

When hoarded, power creates walls. But when distributed, it becomes a current, carrying more people forward. When we amplify the voices of the overlooked, we don’t dilute excellence; we refine it. We bring new questions, bolder truths, and more human-centered decisions into the heart of what we create.

It begins with small changes: who speaks first in meetings, who gets the first review in a design critique, and who leads a retrospective. These subtle signals shape culture. They either reaffirm the hierarchy or redistribute belonging.

The 0.1% will always hold influence, but what if their greatest legacy was in how they made space for others?

True leadership in this era is not about guarding the mic. It’s about passing it. And listening deeply when the next voice begins to sing.

#uxleadership #ai #consciousux #uxforai #aiforux