The executive seagull effect describes a situation where a senior leader swoops into a design discussion at the last minute, makes loud, disruptive critiques, drops sweeping changes, often without context or understanding, and then flies away, leaving the team to clean up the mess. It’s a vivid metaphor for leadership involvement that feels random, superficial, and demoralizing.

ORIGIN

The term is inspired by the behavior of actual seagulls: they suddenly appear, squawk noisily, flap around, leave behind a mess, and disappear just as quickly. It’s been used for decades in management and consulting circles to describe the tendency of some leaders to parachute into projects late in the process, assert authority, and exit before dealing with the consequences.

In UX, it highlights the challenge of getting thoughtful, consistent stakeholder engagement rather than last-minute interference.

WHEN

You’re likely to encounter the executive seagull effect when:

• A senior leader hasn’t been involved in the discovery or design phases but reviews the work at the very end.
• Your process doesn’t include regular stakeholder touchpoints or demos.
• Organizational culture treats design as “polish” rather than strategy.
• There are unclear decision-making roles or authority boundaries on the team.

It’s particularly common in large organizations or high-pressure projects where decision-makers are stretched thin.

WHY

Many executives want to feel connected to the product and want their opinions heard, but they don’t have time to engage deeply throughout the process. For teams, it can feel frustrating and arbitrary, but often it’s a symptom of poor alignment and communication: leaders don’t know what’s been happening, and designers don’t know what leaders value most.

The result is reactive feedback that may undo weeks of thoughtful design work.

HOW

Here’s how to minimize the executive seagull effect:

• Involve early. Bring decision-makers into the process from the start, even for a short briefing or kickoff.
• Regular reviews. Schedule lightweight, frequent check-ins to build buy-in over time.
• Frame decisions. Show options with pros, cons, and how they support business goals.
• Document context. Keep a clear record of research, rationale, and constraints so latecomers understand the “why.”
• Clarify authority. Define who owns which decisions and at what level.

PRO TIP

When presenting to an executive late in the process, lead with how the design addresses specific business goals or user pain points, grounding feedback in outcomes instead of opinions.

EXAMPLES

• A VP sees the final product mockups for the first time during pre-launch and insists the homepage needs a giant hero video, derailing the timeline.
• The CEO critiques icon choices without understanding the tested usability improvements they replaced.
• A senior stakeholder demands a major workflow change at the last minute after months of user research and prototyping.

CONCLUSION

The executive seagull effect reminds us that thoughtful stakeholder engagement is as important as thoughtful user engagement, because useful design decisions depend on alignment at every level.

Also known as: Seagull management • Swoop-and-poop • Drive-by feedback