Class is in session
4.8 (20)
3 Weeks
·Cohort-based Course
Build a robust toolkit of techniques to level up your influence, scale your impact, & show value as a design leader without direct authority
Class is in session
4.8 (20)
3 Weeks
·Cohort-based Course
Build a robust toolkit of techniques to level up your influence, scale your impact, & show value as a design leader without direct authority
Previously at
Course overview
Identify and navigate the roadblocks that keep most senior designers from getting to the next level — with guidance from someone who's been there.
I'm a Staff Product Designer with years of hands-on, high-impact leadership at both small and large companies. I've been on a journey as a hands-on designer these past 14 years with lots of bumps in the road, including surpassing these challenges:
🙃 Struggling to understand why I'd been stuck at senior for years
🙃 Fighting for influence over product and design strategy, but still being left out of the room
🙃 Swimming in a sea of role ambiguity as a Staff Designer
🙃 Being overwhelmed with design busywork and not having time to impact the company's vision
🙃 Trying out management multiple times; liking the leadership and mentorship parts, but not the HR part
After reaching a place of clarity in my own design career, I decided to create this course to help others reach the same point. Through a series of live workshops, you'll discover techniques and tactics to become a more impactful, influential, and strategic individual contributor and leader.
Connect with designers from across the industry and build a shared understanding of the role of a Staff+ designer. This course will equip you with the tools to navigate your own challenges and reap all the career rewards!
01
Staff and Principal Designers who need new tactics to shift from reactive to proactive, build more leadership skills, and influence strategy
02
Senior Designers who want to get promoted to Staff — or learn about the role before choosing between individual contributor (IC) and Manager
03
Design Leads, Managers, and Directors shifting back to hands-on IC work who want to know how their skills translate
Clarify expectations of a Staff+ Designer
Define the role itself, discuss common responsibilities at companies of different scales, and identify the qualities that distinguish a Staff+ Designer from a Senior one. Build confidence to choose between the Staff+ path and Design Management.
Influence strategy as a non-manager
Gain influence at your organization without a Manager or Director title. Level up your executive communication skills. Work across teams to positively impact your company's vision and roadmap at scale.
Shift from reactive to proactive
Set boundaries and manage time effectively so you can make the space to do more strategic design work in a sustainable way (instead of getting stuck in tactical work or endless meetings).
Advocate for the Staff+ Designer role
Articulate the value of this role to executives at companies where it doesn't exist and build out the individual contributor career ladder. Show the impact Staff+ Designers have on experience quality through craft — and business success through innovation.
Identify and fill your own gaps
Push past what's holding you back from reaching the Staff level or succeeding in the role.
12 interactive live sessions
Lifetime access to course materials
26 in-depth lessons
Direct access to instructor
6 projects to apply learnings
Guided feedback & reflection
Private community of peers
Course certificate upon completion
Maven Satisfaction Guarantee
This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.
Staff Designer: Influence & Lead as an Individual Contributor
Oct
28
Oct
29
Session 1: Set clear expectations
Oct
30
Oct
31
Session 2: Make space for vision work
Nov
1
Nov
5
Session 3: Build strong relationships with collaborators and senior leaders
Nov
7
Session 4: Influence design and product strategy
Nov
8
Nov
13
Nov
14
Session 6: Build your super-senior career path
Nov
15
4.8 (20 ratings)
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5–6 hours per week
Live sessions
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 90 mins
Learn directly from Catt and your peers through 90-minute sessions featuring in-depth lectures with immediately applicable tactics. Sessions will be recorded in case you can't attend live.
Bonus Q&A
Wednesdays & Fridays, 60 mins
Pop in any time to problem solve with Catt and your peers. These discussions will not be recorded.
Social Mixers
Beginning and end of course, 60 mins
Connect with your peers and talk shop in small, donut-style group conversations. These optional, social experiences will not be recorded.
Real, tested techniques
Communication and leadership tools you can use today, straight from a fellow Staff designer
Interactive sessions and Q&A
Ample time to connect directly with Catt and acquire next steps to resolve your unique issues
Learn with a cohort of peers
Meet and learn from other Staff and Senior Designers solving challenges just like yours
Time Management Tools for Designers
Drowning in meetings and tactical design work? You need to regain control of your time so you can do more of the work that matters.
Use this free set of tools to identify opportunities to clean up your calendar, create focus time blocks, and improve at estimating your work. You'll have more time to do more strategic design thinking and set better expectations with cross-functional partners.
Enter your email below to get free printable worksheets and a spreadsheet that is free to copy.
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Micah Bennett
Angira Shirahatti
Lil Chen
Kyle Turman
Catt is a Staff Product Designer, game maker, and developer. With a design career spanning over fourteen years, Catt has done design work for companies of all sizes including Asana, Etsy, SoundCloud, and Nasdaq. She started coding around the age of 10 and designing at the age of 15. She graduated from SVA with a BFA in Graphic Design in 2011 and later received an MS in Integrated Digital Media from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering in 2016. She was a member of Rosenfeld Media’s editorial board from 2018–2019.
As an individual contributor leader, Catt has driven the design and launch of many major product experiences that have impacted millions of people. The experiences she designed have drastically increased UX quality and revenue, unlocked an IPO, won awards, and led to successful patents. She enjoys helping people become their best selves and has proactively mentored many talented designers throughout her career — in addition to over 80 amazing individuals through Merit.
Catt’s work has been covered by many publications including Net Magazine, VentureBeat, BuzzFeed, and Black Enterprise. She has spoken at schools and events across the world including Yale, Columbia University, AIGA Design Conference, Beyond Tellerrand in Germany, UX Week, Microsoft’s Codess Seattle, Google’s WomenTechmakers NYC, and TEDxFoggyBottom. You can view her work at cattsmall.com.
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