Glauco, the Research Lead at N26, reflects on his transition from an individual contributor to a UX research leader and the mindset shifts that come with scaling impact through others. He discusses why deep, insightful research is no longer enough on its own, and why today’s researchers must balance slow, foundational work with fast, highly actionable outputs. Glauco also explores how AI can support UX leadership and how context, strategy, and personal research philosophy help shape strong, modern research teams.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/glauco-cavalheiro-navigating-ux-leadership

Episode highlights

00:01:51 - About Glauco

00:03:12 - Glauco’s journey to UX leadership

00:06:06 - Challenges of becoming a good UX leader

00:10:14 - Leading a research team at N26

00:16:00 - Fast vs slow track in UX research

00:21:41 - AI and UX leadership

About our guest

Glauco Cavalheiro is a user research manager at N26, where he leads an amazing team uncovering insights that shape the future of digital banking. Trained in applied social sciences, he brings a deep curiosity about human behaviour and attitudes to the world of product strategy. With 11 years of experience transitioning from individual contributor to research leader, Glauco is passionate about the craft of research - and building impactful research practices in fast-paced environments.

👉 Did you know that UXtweak also offers a series of webinars packed with practical knowledge for UX professionals? Check out the episode with Stéphanie Walter, where she talks about overcoming the challenges of enterprise UX: https://www.youtube.com/live/d9p4ShC_fMA?si=eYEl_S0UErpJiT4B

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

👉 AI in UX research report: https://blog.uxtweak.com/ai-in-ux-research-revisited/

SL Rao (she/them) unpack why bias is unavoidable in research and why the idea of complete objectivity is largely a myth. Drawing on examples from education, public policy, and systems design, SL explain how bias shows up in who we recruit, how we interpret data, and how solutions often reinforce existing power structures. SL also explains how to help communities to conduct their own research through participatory approaches and power-sharing.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/sl-rao-bias-in-research

Episode highlights

00:01:40 - About SL

00:04:08 - Why is all research biased?

00:07:23 - Examples of how people bring bias into research

00:11:32 - Is some research better than none?

00:16:49 - Recruitment and empowering communities

00:22:59 - Giving away the power

00:29:46 - Final advice

About our guest

SL Rao (She/They) is a strategist who co-creates new futures in education, health and climate through design inspired system transformation. They bring a system-oriented, equity-centered approach to their work and to how they build, nurture, and grow teams and organizations. They are curious, and driven by the need to find solutions to seemingly intractable problems.

👉 Did you know that UXtweak also offers a series of webinars packed with practical knowledge for UX professionals? Check out the episode with Stéphanie Walter, where she talks about overcoming the challenges of enterprise UX: https://www.youtube.com/live/d9p4ShC_fMA?si=eYEl_S0UErpJiT4B

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Jen, a UX researcher at BECU and creator of Blatz Chats, discusses why traditional user personas fail to serve teams. She explains how her frustration with personas drove her to create her own framework - Scenario Alignment Canvas (SAC). She also shares how this method facilitates productive discussions, surfaces assumptions, and helps prioritize research opportunities, ultimately leading to more user-centric and effective design solutions.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/jennifer-blatz-why-user-personas-fail

Episode highlights

00:01:14 - About Jen

00:02:27 - Jen’s journey to UX research

00:05:26 - Why user personas fail

00:09:26 - How many teams struggle to use personas

00:13:00 - Jen’s Scenario Alignment Canvas

00:18:18 - Running a Scenario Alignment Workshop

00:20:40 - Jen’s tips on running a UX workshop

00:25:16 - Final advice

About our guest

Jen Blatz is a Principal UX Researcher at BECU (Boeing Employee Credit Union), one of the largest credit unions in the United States. Jen's path to UX started in journalism and graphic design, progressed to UX design, and finally landed in UX research and strategy. She has worked in a number of fields, including finance, mortgage, cloud storage, security, and pet health.

Jen loves being active in the UX community and is the co-founder of the UX Research and Strategy group, one of the largest UX groups in the world. Jen is a seasoned conference speaker who has spoken at several UX International conferences. She spends her free time interviewing UX pros and creating videos for her YouTube channel called BlatzChatz.

🔎 Where to follow Jen

LinkedIn

👉 Did you know that UXtweak also offers a series of webinars packed with practical knowledge for UX professionals? Check out the episode with Stéphanie Walter, where she talks about overcoming the challenges of enterprise UX: https://www.youtube.com/live/d9p4ShC_fMA?si=eYEl_S0UErpJiT4B

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Amanda Di Dio, VP of Partnerships and Operations at Optimistic Design, discusses the challenge of balancing user needs with technological constraints in product development.

She shares her approach of treating users as active stakeholders, involving them in co-creation and continuous decision-making to shape product visions, prioritize features, and validate solutions.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/amanda-di-dio-user-needs-and-technological-capabilities

Episode highlights

00:03:09 - User needs and technological capabilities

00:07:45 - Example of co-creation with users

00:15:00 - Conversations with users and stakeholders

00:19:06 - Conversations with technical teams

00:22:32 - Lessons from Amanda's practice

00:27:19 - Importance of continuous learning

About our guest, Amanda Di Dio

Amanda is an experienced delivery strategist and program lead known for her expertise in collaborating with multidisciplinary teams.

She has a proven track record in strategizing, planning, and executing research strategies, as well as designing and delivering digital experiences across multiple industries.

Amanda is currently the VP of Partnerships + Operations at Optimistic Design. Lately, Amanda's focus has been on the education sector, where she has developed key partnerships with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Khan Academy, MDRC, and USC Shoah Foundation.

Additionally, she supports edtech organizations in integrating equity-centered approaches into their product R&D processes, playing a crucial role in their growth, support, and capacity building.

🔎 Where to follow Amanda

LinkedIn

👉 Did you know that UXtweak also offers a series of webinars packed with practical knowledge for UX professionals? Check out the episode with Stéphanie Walter, where she talks about overcoming the challenges of enterprise UX: https://www.youtube.com/live/d9p4ShC_fMA?si=eYEl_S0UErpJiT4B

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Olivia Ponedel, a meticulous product designer, discusses her experience of working at different startups and acting as a middleman to bridge the gaps between product, sales, and engineering teams and users. She shares how research in startups requires flexibility, close collaboration, and finding ways to connect user insights to business priorities to have an impact on product decisions.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you too. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/olivia-ponedel-using-user-insights-to-bring-teams-together

Episode highlights

00:01:23 Olivia’s background

00:03:06 Olivia’s role in Finix Payments

00:08:11 Research methods and prioritization

00:18:44 Reflections on UX research

00:21:32 Closing thoughts

About our guest Olivia Ponedel

Olivia is a meticulous product designer with deep experience bringing user empathy and clarity to complex systems—from consumer fintech and enterprise logistics to payment processing workflows. At the time of this recording, she led the design of no-code payment tools at Finix Payments, helping drive the company’s expansion from software platforms to direct merchants. Olivia now works at Meta, where she leads design for effective business communications in the advertiser experience.

🔎 Where to follow Olivia

LinkedIn

👉 Did you know that UXtweak also offers a series of webinars packed with practical knowledge for UX professionals? Check out the episode with Stéphanie Walter, where she talks about overcoming the challenges of enterprise UX: https://www.youtube.com/live/d9p4ShC_fMA?si=eYEl_S0UErpJiT4B

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Hannah Knowles, a senior UX Researcher with over 10 years of experience in the field, discusses freedom in UX research. She talks about achieving flexibility in UX research, what it means to do things your own way, and how to have fun while doing UX research. She gives great practical advice on organizing research processes, adjusting frameworks for more effective research, and building relationships with other teams.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you too. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/hannah-knowles-freedom-in-ux-research

Episode highlights

00:00:34 Hannah’s journey into UX research

00:04:23 Defining freedom in UX research

00:11:36 Breaking the rules in UX research

00:21:03 Dealing with boredom in research

00:22:54 Automating and gamifying recruitment

00:24:36 Adopting to constraints and stakeholder management

00:31:43 Integrating research into daily activities

00:31:43 Changes in public sector research

00:37:44 Being bold and practical in research

00:40:08 Final thoughts

About our guest Hannah Knowles

Hannah is a UX researcher with over a decade of experience helping product teams make smarter, faster decisions. She has a thing for working on public sector services, the grittier the better, and nothing is grittier than healthcare (especially women's health).

She worked her way up the chain to be head of research, but she just couldn’t keep away from the hustle of a product team. Instead, she’s focused on how to scale down UX research methods so even the leanest teams can get some insight.

Her mantra? Good research comes in small packages.

🔎 Where to follow Hannah

LinkedIn

👉 Did you know that UXtweak also offers a series of webinars packed with practical knowledge for UX professionals? Check out the episode with Stéphanie Walter, where she talks about overcoming the challenges of enterprise UX: https://www.youtube.com/live/d9p4ShC_fMA?si=eYEl_S0UErpJiT4B

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter