Design Thinking Mindsets
(What is it, and can it change how we work?)
Popularised by IDEO, design thinking is a set of tools, methods and habits.
It puts empathy, co-design and experimentation at the centre of how we solve problems.
It’s a simplified version of how designers work.
Something anyone can learn and apply.
The promise is appealing:
Think like a designer, and you unlock new possibilities.
More creativity. Better collaboration. Faster learning through experiments.
All good things.
But can it really deliver all of that?
Thinking like a designer can shift some unhelpful defaults.
It encourages us to understand the people who use our services, rather than assuming we already know what they need.
It creates space for optimism.
You start by asking what could be possible, not just what constraints you face.
It also makes room for ambiguity.
Instead of jumping to the first good idea, you stay open and explore more options.
This can change behaviour.
People become more open, more curious, more willing to try things out.
Those who felt excluded get brought into the process.
And you don’t have to be a designer to do this.
You just need to adopt some of these habits.
It sounds powerful.
Almost too easy.
Thinking styles, diversity and inclusion
The way people think is personal.
And we should be careful about telling others how they should think.
Imagine asking introverts to act like extroverts.
Or asking someone with autism to “show more empathy” (if they struggle with that).
Or asking someone with depression to “be more optimistic”.
That approach can exclude people rather than include them.
Real inclusion works differently.
It adapts to people, rather than forcing people to adapt.
Useful thinking
That said, some ways of thinking are more helpful than others in certain situations.
Some mindsets create space.
Others shut things down.
We’ve all experienced both.
So the aim isn’t to say one way is always right.
It’s to offer options.
Ways of thinking you can try when they fit the context.
Training helps people engage
Shifting how we think takes time.
Training can help.
It has a few advantages:
People are open to it. Most want to learn and improve.
It gives a safe space to try things out.
It starts with the basics and shows where to go next.
Good training builds confidence without overwhelming people.
From design thinking to discovery mindsets
Over time, I’ve moved away from trying to define “how designers think”.
It can feel a bit arrogant.
As if better outcomes come from everyone thinking like designers.
In reality, every way of thinking has its own biases.
Designers are no exception.
We often focus on individuals (and their devices), not groups (and their wider interactions).
We look to impose consistency in messy systems, even when this doesn’t matter as much as we might think!
We default to digital solutions, even when other options might work better.
We’re in as much need of better, broader mindsets as anyone else.
Discovery mindsets
Through my work at Healthia, we developed a set of 45 “discovery mindset” cards.
They’re simple prompts.
Things like:
Nurture collective confidence
Help people participate fully
Visit your users
Share before it’s finished
They’re not rules.
They’re invitations.
Each one asks you to look at a situation differently.
To challenge your default thinking, just for a moment.
Reminders, not rules
Most of these ideas aren’t new.
We’ve all come across them before.
The problem is we forget.
Or we don’t apply them when it matters.
These cards act as reminders.
They help you pause and choose a different approach.
That’s important when you’re trying to discover something new.
Old habits tend to lead to the same outcomes.
A way to shape how we work
The cards also help teams agree how they want to work together.
They can set the tone for a workshop.
Or act as a shared reference point during a project.
Not rigid rules.
More like gentle prompts.
They make it easier to say, “let’s try this instead”.
Not about fixing people
This isn’t about correcting others.
It’s easy to point at someone else and say they have the wrong mindset.
It’s harder to look at your own habits.
These prompts work best when you apply them to yourself first.
They open up conversations.
They don’t close people down.
Mindsets depend on context
No mindset works all the time.
Some are useful in one situation and unhelpful in another.
“Listen, really listen” is usually good advice.
But not when you’re joking with friends or blowing off steam.
The point is to choose what fits the moment.
When to use them
These prompts are useful whenever you want to shape how a group works:
forming a team
starting a project
running a workshop
doing research or co-design
handling a tricky moment
reviewing work
Any situation where the way you work matters.
A more grounded way to think about change
So I’ve come to see this differently.
Change doesn’t come from adopting one “right” way of thinking.
It comes from creating the right conditions.
Sometimes that means trying a different mindset.
Sometimes it means inviting others to do the same.
Not forcing.
Just offering.
A small shift in how you think can change how you act.
And that can change how a team works together.
That’s usually where the real impact happens.