When you talk to Lee, Service Delivery Manager at IT By Design, one thing becomes immediately clear: clarity itself.
In his words, “Clarity beats charisma over time.”
It’s not about being the loudest in the room; it’s about being the clearest. And as you listen to Lee share his journey from an end-user trainer to a strategic leader, that principle shines through in every insight.
Let’s dive into what differentiates him and how IT By Design has been a catalyst in his growth.
From Trainer to Transformation Leader
Lee’s career began two decades ago as a consultant during the early days of voiceover IP. From training end-users, he went on to build and lead entire service delivery functions: introducing roles, defining customer management frameworks, and driving transformation to elevate satisfaction and performance.
When he joined IT By Design, his mandate expanded globally. Today, he leads the Dedicated Services product line, aligning frameworks across multiple regions to ensure partners, engineers, and internal teams operate with a shared sense of clarity and purpose.
From QBRs to AI-enhanced operations, Lee’s focus remains steady: defining processes that translate into measurable outcomes for ITBD’s partners.
Culture at IT By Design: People-Centric
Asked Lee to define ITBD’s culture, and he didn’t hesitate.
To aptly describe it, he said the one word is: people.
He describes IT By Design as a company that cares. One that invests in leadership development, process improvement, and scalable systems that support its people and partners alike. What sets ITBD apart, according to Lee, is its openness to ideas and ownership culture.
Everyone is focused on what truly matters: leadership development, process improvement, building scalable systems.
Here, anyone can drive change. “If you see a better way forward, you’re encouraged to take the lead or at least ignite the idea internally,” he says.
It’s an environment where initiative is expected and rewarded.
Life Lessons from Lee
When asked about the moments that shaped him, Lee shared three powerful life lessons that double as leadership mantras:
- Clarity beats charisma.
“You don’t need to be the loudest person in the room; just the clearest,” Lee explains. Structure outlasts noise every time. - Systems solve people’s problems.
When something goes wrong, don’t blame the person, look at the process. Gaps often lie in unclear communication or missing structure. Fix the system, not the individual. - Career growth isn’t linear, but ownership is.
Titles, org charts, and companies may change. What doesn’t is your ability to show up, create value, and take ownership: every single day.
And then came the unplanned fourth lesson, mid-conversation:
Growth doesn’t happen in comfort.
As Lee put it, “You’ve got to push yourself outside your comfort zone if you want to reach the next best thing.”
The AI Readiness Revolution
When the discussion turned to AI, Lee’s perspective reflected both realism and readiness.
“AI for AI’s sake doesn’t work,” he noted. The challenge lies in deploying it strategically to truly add value to systems, teams, and customers, and to find ways to monetize it effectively.
He believes IT By Design is not just prepared but accelerating daily. “Every day, we’re committing to greater AI strategies for ourselves and our partners,” he said.
That readiness extends across the organization, from leadership to every team member, through hands-on AI sprints led by CEO Sunny Kaila. These programs have helped employees move from using AI casually to leveraging it with purpose, clarity, and measurable outcomes.
He applauded the efforts of Sunny & IT By Design to build practical workflows around Agentic AI, Generative AI, etc.
He also highlighted a pertinent issue that often goes unaddressed in the MSP space: the effective deployment of AI.
As Lee shared, “Tools are less important than how you use them. Learn your process first, then pick your tool.”
And echoing Sunny’s mantra, he adds, “Ask better questions.”
Embracing Change, Building the Future
AI may be reshaping industries, but for Lee, the essence of leadership remains timeless: clarity, systems, and ownership.
He reminds us that change is inevitable, but how we embrace it defines our growth.
As he concludes, “The more comfortable you get with progress once it’s clear that’s the path forward, the more you can cultivate it, and grow from it.”
And in that one sentence lies the blueprint for both AI transformation and personal leadership evolution:
Be clear. Build systems. Take ownership. Embrace change.
Because true growth, as Lee reminds us, doesn’t happen in comfort: it happens when you lean in and lead forward.
