Design School

Product Designer Education

Design leadership course

Learn to transition from designer to leader. This course is 100% free.

Intro #

Everyone's playbook is different Your primary objective Priorities

Time management #

Many things to consider Know where your time goes Letting go of design work Start each day with a plan Automation & delegation

Fundamentals #

Actually care Trust & respect Listen intently Ask questions Own your mistakes Give credit to your team Stand up for your designers Understanding business 101 Decision making Resolving conflict Psychological safety

Communication #

Clear vision Clear expectations Clear ownership Daily design journals Difficult conversations Celebrating Company updates Office hours Saying thanks

Organization #

Teammates, not a family Agency vs. embedded Reliable teammates Your seat at the leadership table Connecting with other leads Working with support Working with marketing Working with engineers

Excellence #

Setting a high bar Fostering creativity Talented & humble Gut driven, data informed Matching designers to the right work First iterations always suck Portfolio quality work (PQW) Product stewardship Encourage side projects

Process #

Tool agnostic Time to clarity Candid feedback Design systems Weekly design share

1:1 #

Connecting Preparing for 1:1s Transparent agenda Timely feedback Growth opportunities

Performance #

Weekly or Bi-weekly updates Quarterly Health Check Six month reviews Remove toxic, net-negative, and unethical people Parting ways

Hiring #

Why diversity matters in design 80% recruiting Remote hiring process Design trials Onboarding new designers Never settle Compensation

OUTLINE