Early in my career as a UX designer I regularly encountered colleagues dismissive of my efforts to think critically and long-term.

They’d argue it made things ‘too complicated’ or tell me to ‘skip the intellectual part’ and ‘stop being so negative.’ It took me years (and one particularly insightful manager) to understand that my critical thinking and the ability to link micro and macro levels were not a flaw. Rather, it’s a skill that helps teams avoid shortsightedness and unintended consequences.

This was almost two decades ago…