Industry leaders gather in London to teach Design Leadership

It’s a really exciting time to work in design. Companies are finally realising the power design can bring to the business and since McKinsey’s report showed that design-led organisations have higher revenue growth and outperform their peers, many creatives are forging the path to progress to C-level positions.

But to earn that seat at the board table, designers are equipping themselves with the business skills they need to become Design Leaders. Designers have always been successful in driving the big vision for a product or a brand, but now, in addition to that, designers need to be able to deliver tangible numbers of how much additional revenue their decisions can bring the business or how much cost will be saved. If a company measures success in LTV and CAC, ROI of the new campaign and increasing share of TAM, designers need to be able to link every creative design to these metrics.

In 2021, industry leaders were brought together by Future London Academy to do exactly that: to teach Design Leadership to the brightest creative minds from around the world. Future London Academy selected top industry leaders to deliver their Executive Programme for Design Leaders, the equivalent of an MBA for creatives and designers with 15+ years of experience.

Phill Burton, COO of Bloom & Wild, Emma Barratt, Executive Creative Director at Wolff Olins, Steve Buzz Pearce SVP of Design at Checkout.com, Guy Duncan, CTO at Tide, Marina Willer and Yuri Suzuki, Partners at Pentagram and many more industry experts curated and delivered intensive, in-person modules to an incredible cohort of international creatives. 

Leadership was a core focus throughout the Programme, from an in-depth, psychological understanding of Trust and Emotional Agility, to comprehending the intricacies of Business Strategy, Pricing and Data, to a groundbreaking look at the Future of Leadership through non-western models of culture and society.

Rather than learn from dense textbooks and heavy, theoretical lectures, the cohort brought their own, real experiences into the room. Below are some pieces of wisdom we wanted to highlight.

“We are so blindsided by our overreliance on contemporary Anglo-centric, westernised leadership models and sources of knowledge while ignoring approaches that have worked for centuries in other parts of the world. If we want to lead our teams into a better future, we should expand our knowledge acquisition to less explored models of leadership from ancient cultures and from underrepresented sources.”

Margaret Ochieng, Organisational Psychologist, founder of Inclusive Village 

“You are what you surround yourself with. And just as this doesn't simply mean 'people', your diet isn't only what you eat – it's what you consume. Think of the five entities that take up the majority of your time – books you read, Instagram & Twitter accounts you follow, shows you watch on Netflix. What do they say about you? Are they improving or impoverishing you? Maybe it's time for a detox?”

James Hilton, Designer & Co-Founder of AKQA

“Metrics are important for creative teams to showcase their value, build relationships with senior Execs, and optimise the efficiency of their creative output. Do your research, involve the right people and ask the right questions to understand exactly how your creative output is contributing to the metrics that bring the most value to your organisation.”

Win Kwok, former Brand Director of Made.com

In the Executive Programme for Design Leaders, industry leaders have already begun to share real, tangible learnings that lead designers are bringing straight back to board rooms around the world, changing the way they – and their companies – think about Design Leadership, and what it means to be a Design-led Business.

Applications to the 2022 Executive Programme for Design Leaders are now open. Apply here if you are serious about making a positive impact on this world.