Mentorship
Helping product designers build stronger judgement, confidence, and careers.
I mentor product designers and emerging design leaders who want thoughtful feedback, practical guidance, and a clearer way to work through difficult decisions. I share what I have learned across product design, leadership, design systems, marketplaces, fintech, and large product organisations, but I do not expect someone to simply follow my answers.
Why I mentor
Some of the most useful moments in my career came from people who gave me context rather than instructions. They helped me ask better questions, challenge my assumptions, and develop my own judgement.
That is the kind of mentorship I try to provide.
I am less interested in telling someone exactly what to do and more interested in helping them understand the problem, consider the trade-offs, and make a decision they can defend. The goal is not dependence on a mentor. It is stronger judgement over time.
How I mentor
I ask before I prescribe
I want to understand the context, constraints, and decisions already made before offering an opinion.
I share context, not formulas
What worked in one organisation may fail in another. I explain the reasoning behind an approach so you can decide what applies to your situation.
I will challenge your thinking
Good mentorship should not simply confirm what you already believe. I will ask questions, test assumptions, and point out gaps when I see them.
You own the decision
I can offer experience and perspective. You remain responsible for deciding what is right for your career, team, or product.
What we can work through together
Product design
Working through complex product problems, design decisions, research, accessibility, design systems, product quality, and collaboration with product and engineering.
Product thinking
Design critique
Design systems
Accessibility
Portfolio case studies
Career growth
Making clearer decisions about where you are now, where you want to go, and what needs to change to get there.
Career direction
Portfolio positioning
Interview preparation
Role transitions
Promotion readiness
Design leadership
Developing the judgement and behaviours needed to lead people, influence decisions, and create stronger conditions for design.
IC to leadership
Coaching and feedback
Stakeholder management
Managing up
Decision-making
Organisational challenges
Working through problems that are rarely solved by redesigning another screen.
Design maturity
Operating models
Governance
Role clarity
Cross-functional alignment
Choose the support you need
45 minutes · One session
Product design career and leadership review
A focused session for a specific problem, decision, or piece of work you want another perspective on.
- Portfolio or case-study feedback
- Career decisions
- Leadership situations
- Stakeholder challenges
- Design critique
- Interview or promotion preparation
6 sessions · Fortnightly
Product design growth mentorship
A longer mentoring relationship for designers who want to work through a development goal over time rather than solve one immediate problem.
- Career progression
- Moving into leadership
- Building confidence and judgement
- Developing strategic thinking
- Strengthening communication
- Working through recurring organisational challenges
Come with something to work on
You do not need to have the answer. You should have a question.
- Bring a real problem, decision, or goal.
- Share enough context for us to understand it.
- Be open to questions and constructive feedback.
- Decide what you want to act on afterwards.
For longer mentorships, we will agree on a development focus early and use each session to build on the last rather than treating six meetings as unrelated conversations.
What mentees say
Yuki Tsuji
Product designer
Michael consistently provides thoughtful, relevant, and practical guidance. Rather than simply providing answers, he guided me toward finding the right solution while encouraging me to develop my own thinking.
Bring me the problem you are working through.
You do not need a perfect question or a finished plan. Bring the context, what you are trying to achieve, and where you feel stuck. We can work through the rest together.
(Sessions are booked and managed through ADPList.)