Leadership tools
We’ve curated some of our best worksheets, articles, and podcast episodes on topics like intentional leadership, work culture, and healthy communication. All designed just for tech and design leaders.
Authentic, confident leadership
Leadership can look so many different ways—including your way. Here are our favorite resources for rethinking what leadership means, and tapping into your true strengths.
ARTICLES
How looking back builds future confidence
Acknowledging your accomplishments can help you reach your future goals and stay aligned with your values. Here’s why—and how to do it.
Changing the leadership defaults
Feel like you don't have the “right” traits to be a leader? The problem’s not you—it’s how we define leadership. Let’s change that.
What we talk about when we talk about leadership
Leadership is more than a booming voice or a big idea. Learn how tapping into your true strengths is the real leadership move.
TOOLS
Activity: Explore your inner leader
PODCAST EPISODES
A Soft Place to Practice with Danielle Barnes
Learn how to be yourself onstage with Women Talk Design CEO Danielle Barnes.
Being Vulnerable with Margot Bloomstein
See why being vulnerable is the key to building trust with author Margot Bloomstein.
You don’t have to become someone else to be a leader. Join Power Shift, a 10-week deep-dive into authentic leadership.
Leading through uncertainty and crisis
It’s been tough year after tough year. How can leaders take care of themselves—while also supporting their teams through uncertainty, instability, and trauma?
ARTICLES
Let’s talk resilience
During times of stress and uncertainty, people can’t just “be more resilient.” They need to heal. Here’s how you can help.
“I wish he would just listen to me.”
Great leaders listen deeply—but that means more than just listening to judge, respond, or problem-solve. Learn skills for listening more holistically as a manger.
Finding control without being controlling
If you’re struggling to find a sense of control at work, you’re not alone! Learn how to use boundary-setting to regain a sense of agency when you feel powerless.
TOOLS
Resource: 15 coaching questions
Resource: 16 questions for more supportive 1:1s
How-to: Hold a team reset session
PODCAST EPISODES
Feeling Ourselves with Alla Weinberg
Learn how checking in with your body is just the first step to processing emotions at work with culture designer Alla Weinberg.
Remaking the World with Samira Rajabi
Learn how to break out of “comparative suffering” and support people through trauma with researcher Samira Rajabi.
Emotions and stress at work
Did you learn to shut off your feelings to “keep it professional”? Yeah, us too. But humans are emotional creatures no matter where they are. Check out our collection of resources all about embracing, understanding, and processing our emotions at work.
ARTICLES
Our emotions don’t care about our 9-to-5s
There’s no turning off your feelings to “keep it professional” — and trying to do so can actually do more harm than good. Here’s what to do instead.
The rocks in your pocket
There’s a lot to feel stressed about right now — worries we’re stuck carrying. But where might you be adding extra weight to your mental load?
You’ve accomplished more than you think
The world has changed—and so have you. Learn how to let go of past ideas about success, and identify what progress means to you now.
Finding control without being controlling
If you’re struggling to find a sense of control at work, you’re not alone! Learn how to use boundary-setting to regain a sense of agency when you feel powerless.
TOOLS
Activity: Energizers and drainers
Common cognitive distortions at work
PODCAST EPISODES
Emotions at Work with Liz Fosslien
Learn why suppressing emotions to be “successful” doesn’t work with No Hard Feelings author Liz Fosslien.
Life-Affirming Productivity with Paloma Medina
See how the neuropsychology of productivity relates to equity and inclusion with leadership expert Paloma Medina.
Bring these concepts to your team. We love helping organizations build more humane and inclusive leadership skills.
Healthy communication
It’s easy for people in tech and design to jump straight to fix-it mode—it’s often what made us great at our craft. But deep listening, coaching, and conflict resolution techniques can actually do so much more to help people feel safe, get unblocked when they’re stuck, and move forward with momentum.
ARTICLES
No more guessing games
Healthy communication takes all parties being present and honest—but if you’re in a position of power, you’re the one best suited to start the process.
“I wish he would just listen to me.”
Great leaders listen deeply—but that means more than just listening to judge, respond, or problem-solve. Learn skills for listening more holistically as a manger.
TOOLS
Resource: 15 coaching questions
Resource: Tips for validating conversations
Resource: Curious questions for difficult conversations
How-to: Start a difficult conversation
PODCAST EPISODES
Transformative Meetings (No, Really!) with Priya Parker
Make your meetings more meaningful, memorable, and inclusive with The Art of Gathering author Priya Parker.
Linguistic Distortion with Suzanne Wertheim
Learn how language bias shows up at work—and how to disrupt it—with linguistic anthropologist Suzanne Wertheim.
Work identity and boundaries
You don’t have to “hustle” or “grind” to find meaning in your work. Here are our tools for saying no, setting boundaries, and thinking about your professional identity in sustainable, forward-looking ways.
ARTICLES
“Maybe I’ll never feel that motivation again.”
It's hard to find ambition again after your goals shift. Here's how to reconnect with yours.
Where do we put our ambition now?
The girlboss era is over, and that’s a good thing. But instead of rejecting ambition, what if we reoriented it?
“Work needs to stay in its place.”
Tech and design workers don’t just have pandemic burnout. They have pandemic clarity. See the highlights from our 2022 research and download the full report.
How to start saying no (even when it feels impossible)
Saying no is often scary—but when we learn what’s underneath our fear, we can work through those barriers, and build the boundaries we need.
The power of a slow transition
Transitions are uncomfortable, but we don’t have to rush them. Try these techniques to avoid knee-jerk reactions during times of change.
TOOLS
Activity: Setting new boundaries
PODCAST EPISODES
The Thunderdome of American Capitalism
It’s ok to change your job, your life, and your entire relationship to work. Alison Taylor shares how she did it, and what’s different on the other side.