Instead of expecting every senior designer to juggle everything, what if teams were structured around three distinct focus areas:

Captain: Leadership & Strategy

Handles stakeholder management, presentations, high-level vision, and organizational navigation. This is the "show horse" role—the person who excels at polished decks, executive communication, and strategic positioning. They translate design work into business language and create space for other designers to do deep work.

Core: Execution & Craft

Lives in the sprint cycle, shipping features consistently. This designer focuses on the actual design work—the craft that requires deep concentration. They communicate informally, iterate quickly, think out loud in files. They're not performing; they're making. They're the workhorse that keeps products moving forward.

Future: Innovation & Systems

Thinks in quarters and years, not sprints. Works on design systems, explores new patterns, innovates on long-term product vision. They need extended time to think deeply without the pressure of immediate deadlines.

Here's the critical part: Not every designer needs to be all three.

Most designers naturally excel at one or two of these. Forcing everyone to do all three simultaneously is what creates Super ICs—and Super IC roles are designed for burnout, not effectiveness.

But here's what nobody was saying out loud: This wasn't a senior designer role. This was a senior designer expected to do the work of three people with zero support—what some call a "Super IC." I didn't have words for what was wrong until I was laid off and could finally have time to think to even unpack this.