As we have just seen, from the beginning to the end of the process, Design Thinking draws its richness through the human being. Whether at meetings or during meetings with consumers, the Ambassador must be an excellent communicator, be outgoing and as sociable as possible (or know how to overcome his shyness). Not afraid to engage in conversation, the Ambassador knows how to use the right words at the right time, for constructive communication.

In order to fulfill his job well (yes, I stayed 3 years in Quebec and my heart finally swayed for HIS job. I find him a little je ne sais quoi, which I like quite well! ;-) ), the Ambassador must absolutely know how to put themselves in the place of others, understand their environment, not judge... For the process to be revealing of the real problems and solutions, the participants must have the space to express themselves, be listened to and understood, since it is only in a benevolent space that we can cultivate and grow innovation. 

Whether during the “interviews” sometimes conducted by the Ambassadors themselves or during the ideation phase, it is important to remain neutral. Indeed, for example, during "interviews", if the interviewer allows himself to issue a judgment, an opinion, even if only a tone, the interviewees will thus be biased and their feedback will be will generally find them irrelevant and not representative of reality. Another example, during the ideation phase, it is also imperative that the Ambassador maintains his objective posture, at the risk of undermining the creativity of the participants. 

Traditional project management leaves little room for errors and experimentation, which is often frowned upon. The goal is usually to get from point A to point B without hesitation and as quickly as possible. The Design Thinking method is precisely based on these points, which are often sources of creativity, thus making it possible to highlight blocking points and areas for improvement. The Ambassador must therefore be able to instil this dynamic on a daily basis while helping his teams to bounce back after a "failure" by using it as a strength and not as a weakness. The important thing is not to fall, but to get up stronger from the fall!

In order to fully understand his environment, in which he will have to show ingenuity, the Ambassador will have to immerse himself completely in the field in question. Whether through reading, meeting with experts, they must have enough curiosity to allow them to gradually develop a macroscopic vision. It is also during interviews with consumers that the Ambassador will have to use his many tools to go further in the exchange and show curiosity.

We understand that ideas do not come by themselves and often need a healthy space without judgment. So, to help ideas flow, the Ambassador will have to be creative. Whether through exercises allowing teams to build trust, or even games to unlock our perspectives and blinders… The Ambassador will surprise you with its multitude of ever more creative tools! Question! From the moment we realize that everything can be seen with a different eye, we can transform everything. Ready ?

The Ambassador will often be called upon to collaborate with heterogeneous teams and therefore with people with different personalities and knowledge. A richness at first sight but which also requires a certain sense of leadership since it will be necessary  to breathe dynamism into a group of people who may never have had the habit of working or exchanging together. This therefore implies the possibility that there are tensions and having an ability to defuse them, like a mediator. A true conductor, the Ambassador will also have to adapt his management style according to the environment and the people with whom he will be brought to collaborate. 

Working in different areas / teams, the Ambassador will have to show a certain agility! Whether it's during immersion techniques or teamwork, they must be a real chameleon, constantly adapting, whether in terms of time slots, skills mobilized (emotional, intellectual or even physical) , work tools…

Intervening at the right time is never easy, which is why the Ambassador must know how to juggle between the theoretical and practical part, while adopting the right tools to the right people and at the right time. This therefore requires a certain understanding of its environment, while taking a certain step forward. It is not enough, in fact, to know how to use post-its and to be “nice” to be an Ambassador, but to have a certain number of qualities including proactivity.

During all stages of the Design Thinking process, the Ambassador will be faced with a lot of information to understand, sort and digest, which will require an ability to synthesize to properly pose the subject and the information collected. Otherwise it can quickly become difficult to manage... Managing human beings, they will have to know how to bring together the visions and needs of different people to bring out a global idea and bring out the essential points to remember and work on in order to move forward in the good direction. In particular, diverging and then converging are no easy feats. But that's the art of a Design Thinking Ambassador.