InsideOut Design Leader Community

Have you been feeling the pressure to do more with less? #CreativeOperations Leaders in our New York InsideOut Design Leader Community explored this topic in a recent roundtable discussion and discovered three key strategies. 🍎 EDUCATE 💯 ALIGN ❤️ COMMUNICATE Never underestimate the power of brainstorming a challenge with other smart leaders. 💪 The ideas in our article below were generated in less than an hour during a small format virtual roundtable. If you're a senior design, experience, or creative operations leader of an in-house team at a high-profile brand and want to connect with others who share your unique challenges, let's talk. (https://lnkd.in/gdb_Bp-C) #creativeoperations, #collaboration, #leadership, #efficiency, Susie Hall, Aquent, Kate Gottfried, Phillip Lewis, Rohshann Pilla (she/her), Lauren Monroe, Lisa Mitchell, Kelly Collins, Maggie Moreno Keeton, Mark Brim, Den M., Elisabeth Svensson

UPSKILLING DESIGN TEAMS. Leaders in our NY Design group recently explored ways to support learning and growth for their teams–including how to gain investment from the business. Below are three of the MANY learnings from those brilliant members: 💡 Build "Heist Movie" teams, bringing together individuals with disparate skill sets; find what each person on your team is great at and have them teach one another. 💡 Hire OUTSIDE your industry to bring new perspectives and approaches; figure out what your team needs to move forward and hire from industries that are known for working that way and knowing those things. For example, tech = AI adoption, agencies = adaptability and service mentality, etc. 💡 Connect with other design teams–inside and OUTSIDE your org–for benchmarking, then build a business case to get the support your team needs to progress. We're biased but we know the power of community and diverse perspectives - and how willing designers and their fearless leaders are to connect and learn. So find and build networks, and everyone involved will move forward. Just keep learning. Just keep learning. Just keep learning. (thanks, Dori!) 🐠 Susie Hall, Kate Gottfried, Aquent, Simon Lusty #designleadership, #creativeoperations, #learning, #leadershipinsights, #insights, #lightbulbmoments, #aquentinsideout

NORMALIZE CHANGE. In a recent roundtable, a smart leader shared how she is supporting her team during constant change by positioning CHANGE as "This is the way we work now. We change." While that may sound over-simplified, the way individuals perceive change itself can determine its success. Another leader suggested creating moments for the team to grieve, and then help them move on. At the end of the day, change is all about LOSING something, so keeping it real, making space to process, and then focusing on what's next can be powerful. Finally, language matters. Using words like "evolution", and SHOWING what progress you've made (words + visuals!) supports multiple modalities of learners and validates their efforts. IDEA! 💡 Talk to your team about how to best support them in embracing constant change. We're all in this together. ❤️ Susie Hall, Kate Gottfried, Aquent, Simon Lusty, #designleadership, #change, #supportingteams, #creativeoperations, #aquentinsideout, #normalizechange

It's an OPStravaganza! We're super excited to attend next week's HS Creative Operations conference in LA on Oct 8. Attending? Reach out and connect with Kate Gottfried and Susie Hall. We'd love to see you there! We'll be there to learn alongside the brilliant operations leaders who attend and share their knowledge at this fabulous conference. And if you're not already following our InsideOut Design Leader Community here on LinkedIn, now's the time. We'll be sharing insights from the conference for those who can't attend. But if you CAN make it, do your best to be there! We're looking forward to seeing Corey O'Brien and Creighton McEwen from Aquent Studios speak on Breaking Through the Noise at 2:15 pm. As well as Operations legends and influencers Nish Patel, Shayla Love, Tim Gilligan, Perrie Schad, Thomas Stilling - and so many more! It's going to be a great day in LA! Dan Luper, Victoria Rose, Simi K., #CreativeOpsLA #CreativeOps #InsideOutCommunity #DesignOps #CreativeOperations, #aquentinsideout

#Chicago!!!! Fall is in the air and we're headed to your gorgeous city this week for a thoughtful discussion with our InsideOut Design Leader Community on the radical shifts happening in design these days–and what leaders can do about it. It’s never been more challenging to remind the business that design is a strategic driver that should be leveraged, not cut or sidelined. During our session, we will explore the current design landscape and share strategies for shaping its future. We'll be packaging up insights to share as we kick off our 6-city, 5-week tour and learn alongside some incredible design leaders navigating uncertainty and volatility in their complex organizations. #aquentinsideout #designleadership #creativeleadership #futureofdesign #community #roundtable #sanfrancisco Kate Gottfried Susie Hall Photo by Antonio Gabola on Unsplash (https://lnkd.in/gHqr2pHT)

Hello #Milwaukee! We're headed to your gorgeous city tonight for a thoughtful discussion with our InsideOut Design Leader Community on the radical shifts happening in design these days–and what leaders can do about it. It’s never been more challenging to remind the business that design is a strategic driver that should be leveraged, not cut or sidelined. During our session, we will explore the current design landscape and share strategies for shaping its future. We'll be packaging up insights to share as we kick off our 6-city, 5-week tour and learn alongside some incredible design leaders navigating uncertainty and volatility in their complex organizations. #aquentinsideout #designleadership #creativeleadership #futureofdesign #community #roundtable #sanfrancisco Kate Gottfried Susie Hall Aquent Photo by wes lewis on Unsplash (https://lnkd.in/gDPDNTzF)

We often get asked if we share high-level learnings from our InsideOut sessions. 🤔 Short answer: YES! 🎉 Longer answer: We’ve written over 30 articles based on their topics of interest–including actionable takeaways. All of our conversations remain confidential to preserve a safe space for our members, but these brilliant leaders love to help others, so here's your peek behind the curtain! We even recorded audio to support as many leaders as possible. Read or listen at the links below and follow our LinkedIn page for even more insights. https://lnkd.in/gCUkW7TK Susie Hall, Aquent, Kate Gottfried, InsideOut Design Leader Community #insights, #designleadership, #Creativeoperations, #leaderinsights

Helloooo, San Francisco! We're headed to your gorgeous city this week for a thoughtful discussion with our InsideOut Design Leader Community on the radical shifts happening in design these days–and what leaders can do about it. It’s never been more challenging to remind the business that design is a strategic driver that should be leveraged, not cut or sidelined. During our session, we will explore the current design landscape and share strategies for shaping its future. We'll be packaging up insights to share as we kick off our 6-city, 5-week tour and learn alongside some incredible design leaders navigating uncertainty and volatility in their complex organizations. Photo by Sergei Gussev on Unsplash #aquentinsideout #designleadership #creativeleadership #futureofdesign #community #roundtable #sanfrancisco Kate Gottfried Susie Hall Aquent

You read that right: We've facilitated 405 sessions (and counting!) for our InsideOut Design Leader Community! That's a lot of learning! What's next? ⚡⚡⚡ We have MANY more sessions coming up, including 11 in-person roundtables in 5 weeks starting next week, on September 25th in San Francisco. In our Ops sessions, we’ll crowdsource how to build rock-solid business cases for growth. From shaping what planned growth should look like to advocating for needed expansion down the line, we’ll consider what’s needed to drive it. Senior leaders in our Design sessions will share their firsthand experiences navigating today’s ever-evolving design landscape. Together we'll discuss the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities, and uncover ways to shape what’s next. If you're a senior design, experience, or creative operations leader of an in-house team at a high-profile brand, what are you waiting for?! Let's connect and see if InsideOut is right for you. Check out the link in the comments for more information. #aquentinsideout, #designleadership, #creativeleadership, #creativeoperations, #leadershiptips, #careerdevelopment, #community, #roundtables Aquent Kate Gottfried Susie Hall 

We truly are a community FOR senior leaders built BY senior leaders, and we're proud to be just that. 💖 Why do senior leaders spend their very valuable time with us? ❇ We create safe, productive spaces for them to connect and learn with peers ❇ They choose the topics, making our discussions timely and relevant ❇ Our facilitation and follow-up lets them be present during live sessions ❇ We make direct connections based on common challenges Want to hear more? Read our leader's testimonials below. If you're a senior design, experience, or creative operations leader of an in-house team at a high-profile brand, let's connect and see if InsideOut is right for you. Check out the link in the comments for more information. We have a lot of sessions coming up, including 11 in-person roundtables in 5 weeks starting next week, on September 25th in San Francisco. #aquentinsideout, #designleadership, #creativeleadership, #creativeoperations, Aquent, Kate Gottfried Susie Hall