Master the Hidden Demands of Design Leadership

Lightning Lessons

Practical skills & tools to accelerate your career

Master the Hidden Demands of Design Leadership

Hosted by Peter Merholz

Thu, May 15, 2025

4:00 PM UTC (30 minutes)

Virtual (Zoom)

Free to join

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154 students

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UX & Design Leadership Demystified

Peter Merholz

View syllabus

Thu, May 15, 2025

4:00 PM UTC (30 minutes)

Virtual (Zoom)

Free to join

154 students

Invite your network

Go deeper with a course

UX & Design Leadership Demystified

Peter Merholz

View syllabus

What you'll learn

Reframe design as a business function, not a craft

Understanding design as a 'function' unlocks why it's treated differently than other disciplines.

Lead design as a change agent

Learn the change management skills and practices required to succeed as a design leader

"Mediate the Membrane" between design and business

Master the skill of operating between corporate pressure and creative practices.

Why this topic matters

Design leadership isn’t just hard—it’s misunderstood. Unlike other business functions, design thrives in ambiguity, straddles distinct disciplines, and often lacks clear metrics. This makes leading it uniquely challenging. This Lightning Lesson reveals some deep truths behind why design leadership feels so different—and what to do about it.

You'll learn from

Peter Merholz

ex-Adaptive Path, author of Org Design for Design Orgs

Peter Merholz has worked at the intersection of design, technology, and humans for over 25 years. He’s an independent consultant focused on improving the effectiveness of design organizations. His clients include JP Morgan Chase, Contentsquare, The New York Times, Roblox, and Target.

He co-founded Adaptive Path, the premier user experience consultancy, acquired by Capital One in 2014. After leaving Adaptive Path, served as a design executive, leading teams at Groupon, OpenTable, Capital One, Snagajob (now Snag), and Kaiser Permanente.

He co-wrote Org Design for Design Orgs, still the premier book on building in-house design teams, and co-hosts Finding Our Way, a podcast exploring design leadership.

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