Beyond the Gatekeeper: How to Build Shared Spaces in Product Design

When a lot of people need to collaborate on a product, especially at scale, gatekeeping is almost inevitable. Sometimes you'll see it. Sometimes you'll be it.

Gatekeeping is when individuals become overprotective of their ideas or territory. It's not always malicious. In fact, it often comes from a good place: a genuine sense of ownership. But left unchecked, it builds walls instead of bridges.

And it's a challenge in every diverse work environment.

Designers Love to Work Alone

Let's be honest. Many of us love working in the zone. Headphones on. Perfect pixels. Uninterrupted flow.

But collaboration? That's where it gets messy.

We're a bunch of strong personalities. We have strong opinions and great taste (obviously). We care deeply about the craft.

The real challenge isn't designing great things. It's learning to design together, not just sitting side by side or across the screen on a Zoom call.

It Starts with Ownership

When you start caring for something, you naturally feel protective toward it. That's ownership. And ownership is beautiful. It drives passion, care, and quality.

But too much ownership? That's where control creeps in.

It turns into gatekeeping. Blocking collaboration. Limiting innovation. Creating bureaucracy and bottlenecks where there should be open doors.

How Gatekeeping Hurts Your Team

When gatekeeping takes hold, the damage compounds fast:

Siloed workflows. People stop sharing because they've been shut down before.

Delayed decisions. Everything needs to pass through the gatekeeper's approval.

Increased team frustration. Your teammates end up feeling like they're facing a "You shall not pass!" moment every time they try to contribute.

Reduced innovation. When people can't freely contribute ideas, the best ones never see the light of day.

The Antidote: Shared Goals, Shared Ownership

So how do we fix it?

It starts with alignment. We need to remember we're on the same side. Not enemies guarding our turf, but partners building something meaningful together.

The shift isn't from ownership to no ownership. It's from guardianship to guidance. From control to collaboration.

We built a framework around three principles: promote transparency, foster empowerment, and encourage shared ownership.

The Playbook: Designing Together, Step by Step

Here's how we made it work in practice. These aren't abstract principles. They're the actual steps we followed.

1. Set the Stage with Purpose-Driven Collaboration

We aligned on a shared vision first. Then we worked to build trust and bring stakeholders in early, not just at launch or review. Everyone had a seat at the table from day one.

2. Define the Shared Canvas

We set clear boundaries and interaction zones. Knowing who owns what, and how each piece connects, helped prevent overlaps and confusion. This wasn't about restricting people. It was about giving everyone a clear map of the space.

3. Make Ownership Transparent

Ownership became transparent, not territorial. We documented roles and shared responsibilities. We empowered team leads to move work forward while encouraging input across disciplines.

The key difference: ownership was visible and accountable, not hidden and protective.

4. Onboard for Success

Every new contributor went through a thoughtful onboarding process. They met stakeholders, understood design guidelines, and set expectations for how we'd work together.

No one was thrown into the deep end and told to figure it out.

5. Include People Early

We prioritized early involvement. By including diverse perspectives from the start, we reduced rework, avoided blind spots, and created a stronger product.

The earlier someone's voice is heard, the less likely they are to feel shut out later.

6. Structure Your Proposals

Design proposals weren't just "Here's a cool idea." They were structured with context, user pain points, and expected impact. It was "Here's why this matters."

Every proposal included: context and goals, user needs and pain points, potential solutions, and expected impact.

7. Design with Context

We designed with awareness. Every pixel had a purpose. We respected existing narratives, considered system-wide effects, and aligned with product direction.

Nobody was working in a vacuum.

8. Measure Impact

Design isn't complete without validation. We defined success metrics, planned analytics, and tracked real-world outcomes.

The principle is simple: if we can't measure it, we can't improve it.

9. Keep Communication Open

Approval wasn't a power play. It was a conversation.

We established direct channels to UX, shared designs early, and built a culture where feedback was about progress, not ego. Open and constructive. That was the standard.

10. Share Resources Generously

We backed all of this up with shared resources: design libraries, documentation hubs, Slack channels, and workshops. Everyone had access to the same toolkit.

No secret knowledge. No information hoarding.

The Summary

If you take one thing from this, make it this:

Great design starts with a happy designer.

When we feel seen, trusted, and supported, that's when the magic happens. Design is more than the output. It's about the environment we build around it.

The best design spaces aren't built by gatekeepers. They're built together.

And when we get that right, we don't just make better products. We make each other's design life more enjoyable along the way.