Transitioning from specialist to leader requires re-examining one’s established way of working. Responsibilities, relationships with colleagues, and the basis for decision-making all change. One must become accountable for the overall outcome and operate amid uncertainty. This course helps prepare participants for these shifts and allows them to shape their own image as a leader.

The focus of the course is on working with oneself as a leader. Participants will analyze their habits, strengths, and reactions to complex situations. They will identify their own stress triggers and practice emotional self-regulation techniques. The development of emotional intelligence will be tied to practical actions: noticing one’s own state, understanding its impact on decisions, clarifying the other person’s viewpoint, and choosing the appropriate mode of interaction.

Particular attention is paid to personal resources and professional image. Participants will learn to plan their activities, prioritize tasks, and account for available time and capacity. Through exercises and live feedback, they will refine their communication style and work on presenting themselves as a leader.

Final Project: The leader’s persona and credo, along with a 30-day development plan. The project will include a role map, leadership principles, an analysis of habitual reactions, self-regulation methods, a personal action plan, and materials for professional self-presentation. The participant will select and test one behavioral change and determine the next steps in transitioning into the new role.

— For graphic and communication designers who are preparing to transition into a leadership role and greater responsibility
— For senior and lead designers who already coordinate colleagues and wish to intentionally define their leadership style
— For aspiring art directors and design leads who need to navigate new levels of responsibility
— For freelance designers and small studio founders who are beginning to manage other specialists

Course Prerequisites— Experience working independently on design challenges and collaborating with peers or clients
— Understanding the main stages of a design project and the requirements for professional output
— Proficiency in basic tools for document creation, presentations, and online whiteboardsManagement experience or having direct reports is not required. Participants without their own team will work with a case study and practice managerial actions within a learning group.

— Defining one’s own responsibilities and authority
— Analyzing personal decisions, identifying potential cognitive biases, and vetting initial interpretations
— Recognizing personal emotional responses and signs of stress, determining stressors and conditions for operational recovery
— Applying techniques for emotional self-regulation and selecting communication methods based on one’s own state and the interlocutor’s position
— Planning personal activities, setting priorities, and adjusting workload in consideration of management tasks and available resources
— Formulating one’s management stance and presenting it through clear speech, demeanor, and self-presentation
— Assessing changes in personal practice and developing a realistic plan for future managerial development

Tools, Approaches, and Frameworks Students Will Master:— Management Role Map
— Reflective Analysis of Decisions
— Mayer-Salovey Emotional Intelligence Model
— James Gross’s Emotional Regulation Process Model
— Verification of Interpretations and Assumptions
— States and Work Episodes Journal
— SMART and Eisenhower Matrix
— Time and Attention Audit
— Principles of Slow Productivity
— Professional Communication Analysis

During the course, students will complete the following assignments:— Transition map to a new role
— Analysis of two managerial case studies
— Stressor and resource factor map
— Self-regulation practice
— Work week and workday audit
— Professional self-presentation
— Report on personal practice and a 30-day plan

1. FROM SPECIALIST TO MANAGER: SHIFTING ROLE AND BEHAVIORAL MODELS
— The substance of the managerial role: responsibility, authority, and expectations
— Changing relationships with colleagues and participation methods in work
— Employee bad habits
— The leadership positionWorkshops:
— «The First Assignment»
— Transition Map
— Testing Leadership Principles2. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND SELF-REGULATION
— Emotional intelligence
— Managerial stress factors
— Early signs of tension
— Self-regulation techniques
— Empathy in professional dialogueWorkshops:
— Case study analysis involving employee error
— Preparing for a high-stakes conversation3. ACTIVITY PLANNING AND PRIORITIZATION
— Managerial versus execution tasks in a working week
— Goals, priorities, and criteria for deciding the next action
— Eisenhower Matrix and setting SMART goals
— Time and attention auditing
— Planning focused work, buffers, and performance recovery
— Availability guidelines and plan revision when conditions changeWorkshops:
— Auditing your own week
— Reorganizing the schedule to accommodate managerial tasks
— Adjusting the plan when an urgent request arises and available time decreases4. FORMING A HOLISTIC MANAGER’S IMAGE
— Designing a cohesive professional image
— Communication style with colleagues, staff, and clients
— Self-presentation through speech
— Self-marketing in a new role
— Visual (external) presentation considering the work context
— Feedback on professional image: aligning personal intent with audience perceptionWorkshops:
— Two-minute self-introduction to the team in a leadership role
— Exercises on voice and message delivery
— Recording analysis and preparing a revised self-presentation.