There are a number of wonderful things about being a design leader. Some of the best parts of the job include hiring and working with incredible people, building great products, and tangibly improving customers’ daily lives in small but meaningful ways by making their software experiences smoother.

But my number one favorite part of my role is helping people find their next bridge.

Every designer at some point in their career (but likely, at multiple points) will hit a ceiling or dead end. They get stuck, and sometimes can’t find their way through.

This could be a designer who has exhausted the realm of the product area they’re working in, or a designer who has up-leveled beyond the needs of their current role, or a designer who can’t figure out what skills they needs to get there.

Being useful in those moments is my favorite part of my role. Last week, I ended my time at Webflow, and when I look back on what I’m most proud of during my tenure, it’s those moments where I showed a designer the bridge they needed to get to the next phase of their role or career.

For example, when a strong designer seemed underutilized on a product area that ran out of complex problems, I opened a door for them to another role in the org. When a designer with a ton of potential felt like they were plateauing, I expanded their scope and shared specific feedback on how they could grow in areas they hadn’t thought of before. When a designer was drowning in ambiguity, I helped them create a plan to carve their way out one piece at a time. When a designer was ready to try out management, I assigned them hiring manager tasks and stepped aside.

This short post isn’t to brag about doing this well—in fact, I could fill a book, not just a blog post, with the times I’ve failed to do this when I needed to or times when I did it poorly. But it’s simply a reminder for myself of how my time is most valuable and the part of my role that I find most enjoyment in.