Making the transition into management can be challenging, especially for designers. We spend years developing our skills to craft quality products and brands on behalf of others. And when the opportunity comes to take on a leadership role, we may find ourselves facing a whole new set of unknowns, including how to lead a team and manage people.
If you’re lucky, you’ve worked with a great manager or an inspirational leader who has given you some guidance along the way. Even then, the resources, support and training needed to become a truly great design leader is often lacking, particularly in startups. This workshop will show you how to leverage your design skills for leadership success.
SOLD OUT
“The Design Leadership Workshop isn’t just informational but also actionable. I can take what I learned and apply it to my job to create an immediate action plan as well as a long-term vision. I would highly recommend this to design managers, new and seasoned.”
“Every current and aspiring design manager or leader should take this workshop. It will help you understand how to transition from an individual contributor to a leader of designers and the work you need to do to ensure great work from your team. It gives you practical frameworks and advice you can implement in your day-to-day.
”
“This was an excellent workshop to share current practices in a trusted space, hear suggested, successful leadership practices and work through ideas for improving your work environment and design team, that you just don’t have time to do - but really should.”
What you'll learn
Thursday
Fundamentals of management success
Explore the three focus areas of design leadership and the skills you need to deliver successfully in each area
Consider strategies for growing a team and designing your organization, especially in startup and hyper-growth environments
Spend quality time with top design leaders in tech during a happy hour Q&A
Friday
Learn how to guide a team to deliver design excellence, from vision to process management
Lead an effective design critique
Learn how to deliver feedback to foster great team performance
Develop strategies for navigating tough conversations
Learn how to lead your team through times of change, an inevitable challenge of startups
Schedule overview
Thursday
9:00am
Breakfast and welcome
10:00am
Leadership as a creative practice
10:45am
Design Leadership Profiles
12:00pm
Lunch
1:00pm
Designing design teams
4:00pm
Happy Hour/Q&A with Design Leaders
6:00pm
Wrap up
Friday
9:00am
Breakfast and recap discussion
9:30am
Catalyzing performance
12:00pm
Lunch
1:00pm
Ensuring design excellence
4:00pm
Leadership through change
6:00pm
Wrap up
* Schedule may change
Session Details
Design Leadership Profiles
The Design Leadership Profile focuses on the three primary areas of responsibility in design leadership—vision, team and execution—and the critical skills necessary to successfully deliver within each area. Develop your personal profile to inform your own growth and your team’s development.
Designing design teams
Successful design teams are structured with intention. Great design leaders adapt industry best practices to architect organizations specific to their company and their needs. Learn how to recruit and grow a team that aligns with your purpose — one that delivers great experiences and helps you excel as a leader.
Catalyzing performance
Building high performance teams begins with catalyzing individuals to help them reach their potential. Learn how to accelerate your team’s progress and continued growth through connection, real-time feedback, and coaching.
Ensuring design excellence
High performance design teams focus on solving the right problems with the right guardrails and processes in place to build quality experiences rapidly. In this session, we focus on the fundamentals that ensure design excellence, from setting a vision to instilling quality execution.
Leadership through change
Graceful leadership through change can seem nearly impossible, but it’s an inevitable challenge hyper-growth companies face. Rapid and constant change is challenging for leaders, and often confusing or anxiety-inducing for our teams. Learn to show up authentically as a leader in challenging times and how to build resilience for yourself and your team.
Registration is non-refundable.