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.
This is a three-part series scheduled on Thursday, every other week. Please note all dates:
Part 1: Jan 20, 2022 9-2pm PT
Part 2: Feb 3, 2022 9-2pm PT
Part 3: Feb 17, 2022 9-2pm PT
SOLD OUT
“As the title suggests – a great foundation class for aspiring and new design managers that will provide you with a starter-kit of tools and frameworks you can use, and also a platform to share points of views and ask questions to people who are in the same boat as you.”
“A firehose of excellent frameworks and thought starts to help you approach management with intentionality.”
“Like good UI, exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it. Wonderfully structured, terrific, relevant topics, valuable group participation, and two down-to-earth presenters who really know their onions. I felt I was in good hands the entire time.”
What you'll learn
Fundamentals of management success
Four pillars of design leadership and the skills you need to deliver successfully in each area
Strategies for growing a team and designing your organization, especially in startup and hyper-growth environments
How to guide a team to deliver design excellence, from vision to process management
Guidelines for facilitating an effective design critique
How to deliver feedback to foster great team performance
Develop strategies for navigating tough conversations
Prioritize your time based on your team vision and focus
Remote format
Our remote workshops are based on the success of our in-person learning principles. Our goal is help participants learn not only from our instructors, but industry experts and peers. The day will be a mix of short lectures, solo reflection, group activities and Q&A. It’s a highly participatory remote workshop. Participants should be prepared to participate in a quiet space with stable wifi.
What you'll receive
Your personal printed workbook with content and exercises
Access to our Design Dept. community slack to stay connected and learning from other leaders
Who should attend
This workshop is great for both new managers and senior individual contributors looking to transition into management. DLF is suitable for leaders in brand design, product design, research and content strategy in startups or tech. All industries and backgrounds welcome.
Schedule overview*
Day 1
9:00am
Welcome
9:30
Leadership as a creative practice
Design Leadership Profiles
10:30
Break
11:00
Designing design teams
12:00pm
Lunch
1:00pm
Designing design teams (cont.)
2:00pm
Wrap
Day 2
9:00am
Welcome
9:30am
Ensuring design excellence
10:30
Break
11:00
Ensuring design excellence (cont.)
12:00pm
Lunch
1:00pm
Cultivating Culture
2:00pm
Wrap
Day 3
9:00am
Catalyzing performance
10:45
Break
11:00
Designing your time
12:00pm
Lunch
1:00pm
Q&A with Design Leaders
2:00pm
Wrap
* Schedule may change
Session Details
Design Leadership Profiles
The Design Leadership Profile focuses on four pillars of creative 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.
Cultivating culture
Culture is an observable set of behaviors that rise organically from interactions in a system or organization. While leaders can’t control culture, they do have power to shape the system and its elements. This session focuses on the parts of the system that you can actually design, to create the opportunity for a good culture to emerge.
Designing your time
It’s a classic challenge: the urgent winning out over the important. After two days of deep learning, designers have even more “important” to consider. Designing your time teaches a framework for evaluating impact and effort to determine what to prioritize, delegate, or dump—so you leave Fundamentals with a clear path for moving forward.
Workshop size minimum
This workshop minimum is 15 participants. If we do not receive the minimum registrations before the class begins, you will have the choice to reschedule for another workshop or receive a full refund.
Remote Events; Cancellation Policy
We understand that plans can change and your workshop may have to wait.
If Participant’s plans change, or if any adjustments from in-person to remote Workshops will not work for Participant, Participant shall email DD at hello@designdept.co as soon as possible. While we cannot transfer Participant’s Workshop ticket or allow for substitutions should you wish to cancel, we may be able to help you with a refund according to the following timelines:
Notice given to DD two (2) or more months before the workshop: Registration is 100% refundable.
Notice given to DD less than two (2) months but more than one (1) month before workshop: DD will refund 50% of Participant’s registration fee.
Notice given to DD less than one (1) month before workshop: Registration is non-refundable.
This policy is subject to change. DD will notify registered participants of any changes to this policy.