Changying (Z) Zheng - Connecting Teams Through Ops

Changying (Z) Zheng brings calm thinking to DesignOps — showing how clarity, storytelling, and ruthless prioritisation help design teams thrive .   ======   Episode Chapters:   00:00 – Why Design Needs to Prove Its Value 00:30 – Welcome and Introduction 02:30 – From Graphic Design to Design Ops Leadership 05:40 – Running a Dairy-Free Dessert Business and Learning Calm Leadership 10:00 – Leading Without Drama and Seeing Multiple Perspectives 13:00 – Design Ops as Service Design for Design Teams 16:00 – Storytelling, Outcomes, and Speaking the Language of Business 18:45 – Earning and Keeping a Seat at the Table 21:00 – Moving from Ticket Taking to Strategic Design Work 26:00 – Saying No Kindly and Introducing Office Hours 32:00 – People, Process, and Platform as Core Pillars 36:00 – Becoming the Connective Tissue Across Orgs 42:00 – Growing Into Product Ops at Cloudflare 55:00 – Communication as the Connective Tissue of Ops 1:10:00 – A Two-by-Two Framework for Career Development     ======   Who is Changying (Z) Zheng?   Changying (Z) Zheng is a Director of Product Operations at Cloudflare, where she’s scaled the operational backbone of one of the internet’s most recognisable infrastructure companies .   She has:   Started as a team of one and built thriving design and research operations   Worked in agencies, higher education, and at companies like Akamai, VMware, and Nasdaq   Founded and ran her own retail business   Delivered talks at The DevOps Conference and DesignOps Summit, shaping how people understand DesignOps in technical environments   ======   Find Changying (Z) Zheng here:   LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/changyingz/ Website → https://www.changyingart.com/  

======

Subscribe to Brave UX

Like what you heard?   🎙️ Subscribe to Brave UX for more conversations with world-class voices in UX, design, and product leadership. Your support helps others discover the show!

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/brave-ux-with-brendan-jarvis/id1552607805   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7j2ocni6A00fzgHkj6TtCK   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSpaceInBetween Podbean: https://braveux.podbean.com/

======

Follow Brave UX for more great content!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brave_ux   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/

======

Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/   The Space InBetween Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/