Why Working on an "Outdated" Product Might Be Your Best Path to UX Leadership

The hidden advantage of working on LEGACY products

👋 Happy Saturday, my dear UX friends, Marina here!

Welcome to this week’s ✨ Saturday edition ✨ of UX Mentor Diaries. Each Saturday, I tackle readers’ (and my students’) questions about building strategic influence as a UXer, driving impact, and accelerating UX careers.

If you read it and value the labour that goes into it, please consider sharing, liking this post and/or becoming a paid subscriber (here’s why)

Today's question comes from a designer feeling stuck in a challenging situation that some of us have faced:

"Hi, I'm a senior UX designer at a large enterprise company. I've been maintaining our flagship product for the past 18 months, and I'm really struggling to stay motivated. The product has accumulated so much design debt over its 10-year lifespan that it feels overwhelming. Every time I propose improvements, stakeholders say it's too risky to change things that 'work.' Even small updates require endless meetings and approvals.

How do I stay motivated when I'm stuck maintainin…