Previous playbooks installed how each tier evaluates you. This one covers how you evaluate whether the design mandate is structurally real before you accept a call.
Every company says design-led. McKinsey surveyed 200 Heads of Design and 100 executives: only 1 in 10 CEOs believed their design leader had a meaningful strategy role. Riviera Partners confirmed in 2026 that the disconnect persists across hundreds of executive searches. The AI in Design 2026 survey found only 28% of design leaders had implemented formal org changes despite expanding mandates. Assume the gap between claimed design authority and funded design authority is the default condition at any company you're evaluating.
That gap is diagnosable from structure. What they ask you reveals what they've funded. An interviewer testing trust calibration and agent behavior has budget for a builder. An interviewer testing process maturity and collaboration signals is staffing a delivery layer. The five components that follow build from public-signal checks through process diagnostics to tier-specific walk-away triggers. Run the checks before the first call. Read the process during it.
Five checks before the first call
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Leadership page — Named design executive on [company].com/about? Presence = structural investment. Absence at 500+ employees = verify before outreach.
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Design blog — Active posts on product thinking, design systems, AI approach = organizational voice. Silent or absent = design not positioned as strategic.
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Public talks — Design leader at Config, Clarity, or SXSW in last 12 months = company invests in design's external credibility.
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Posting language — Role names its reporting line? Maven's VP Design posting names the CPO directly. Named line = defined mandate. Unnamed = ask in the first five minutes.
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Role cluster — Multiple design roles posted alongside this one = real staffing investment. Single isolated leadership hire = verify: new function being built (opportunity) or token layer over an execution team (risk).