Leadership
Give the Tools, Get the Trust
Hannah Marshall
Helping teams turn early ideas
into lasting design through clarity and care.
How I’m trying to lead by giving, not directing.
When I think about the best creative leaders I’ve worked with, they weren’t the ones calling the shots. They were the ones who created space — space to think, to try, to mess up, to get it right. They gave just enough structure to make you feel supported, and just enough freedom to make you feel trusted. That’s how I try to show up — for the designers I’m working with, and the ones still learning how to lead. I don’t believe leadership is about leading people. I believe it’s about creating the kind of environment where people can lead themselves.
Where they have the tools, the clarity, and the confidence to make decisions — and the safety to ask when they’re unsure.
That’s where toolkits come in. To me, toolkits are more than templates. They’re small systems of support.
Quiet ways to say: I’ve been where you are, here’s something that helped. They remove friction, offer structure, and build momentum.
I’ve been the junior designer guessing through layers.
The mid-level trying to reverse-engineer a naming system that didn’t exist.
The senior doing mental gymnastics to get buy-in.
Now, I’m the one who’s privileged to lessons, systems, prompts, and questions — and I’m doing my best to hand them back in usable form.
A good toolkit might be:
A Naming brief that asks the right questions
A Figma structure that actually saves time
A simple “what’s missing?” checklist before launch
A guide for running a smoother feedback session
A set of principles to gut-check decisions under pressure
It’s not about control — it’s about making good work easier to reach.
Because the best leaders I’ve known didn’t give answers. They helped me find my own.
That’s why frankie&toby includes not just the work itself, but the tools behind it — resources, templates, and process examples designed to support other designers and help the thinking carry through.
Because leadership, to me, isn’t about being in front.