Designing Your Life & Career: Leadership, Purpose, and Innovation

Week 1: Introduction to Purpose-Driven Leadership and Design Thinking

An introduction to design thinking and purpose-driven leadership. Explore how these concepts can help tech leaders shape their career and life decisions.

• activity: Reflection: What are your core leadership values, and how do they align with your career?
• discussion points:

  • Aligning Leadership with Personal Values
  • Using Design Thinking for Career Decisions
• reading assignment: True North, Chapter 1; How Will You Measure Your Life?, Chapter 1

Week 2: Live Workshop: Defining Your Leadership and Life Goals

A live design thinking workshop where participants will brainstorm and prototype their life and leadership goals.

• activity: Group Exercise: Use design thinking to prototype career and leadership paths.
• discussion points:

  • Creating Prototypes for Career and Life Decisions
  • Iterating on Life Goals
• reading assignment: Designing Your Life, Chapter 1

Week 3: Balancing Leadership, Career, and Personal Fulfillment

Explore how tech leaders can balance leadership roles with personal fulfillment and long-term career success.

• activity: Reflection: What is your personal definition of success, and how does it impact your career choices?
• discussion points:

  • Measuring Success Beyond Metrics
  • Balancing Career and Personal Life
• reading assignment: How Will You Measure Your Life?, Chapter 2-3

Week 4: Live Session: Career Prototyping with Design Thinking

A live session to apply design thinking to career challenges. Participants will ideate and prototype multiple career paths based on their leadership goals.

• activity: Group Discussion: How can you use design thinking to prototype and test career paths?
• discussion points:

  • Prototyping Career Moves
  • Testing Career Decisions with Design Thinking
• reading assignment: Designing Your Life, Chapter 2

Week 5: Leading with Purpose: Authenticity in Tech Leadership

Explore how to lead authentically in the tech industry while staying true to personal values and long-term goals.

• activity: Reflection: How can you lead more authentically in your current role?
• discussion points:

  • Maintaining Authenticity in Leadership
  • Leading with Integrity in the Tech World
• reading assignment: True North, Chapter 3-4

Week 6: Live Workshop: Designing Your Odyssey Plan

A hands-on workshop to design your personal "Odyssey Plan" for the next 3-5 years, combining career and life goals.

• activity: Group Exercise: Develop and present your 3-5 year Odyssey Plan.
• discussion points:

  • Balancing Leadership and Personal Fulfillment
  • Creating Prototypes for Career and Life Goals
• reading assignment: Designing Your Life, Chapter 3-4

Week 7: Final Presentations: Your Odyssey Plan

Participants will present their Odyssey Plans and receive feedback from peers and mentors.

• activity: Group Presentations and Feedback: Present your 3-5 year Odyssey Plan.
• discussion points:

  • Refining Career and Life Prototypes
  • Action Plans for Leadership Development

Week 8: Reflecting on Leadership and Life Design

A reflection session where participants will review key learnings from the course and set goals for applying design thinking to leadership and life decisions.

• activity: Reflection: Write down your key takeaways from the course and how you will apply them in your personal and professional life.
• discussion points:

  • Key Learnings from Leadership and Life Design
  • Setting Long-Term Goals
• reading assignment: None

Who should take this course?

Tech leaders and executives who want to align their leadership, life design, and career decisions using design thinking and purpose-driven leadership.

How is the course structured?

The course includes weekly live sessions, design thinking workshops, reflective leadership exercises, and group collaboration on life and career prototyping.

What are the prerequisites?

No formal prerequisites, but participants should be motivated to reflect on their personal and professional journeys.

How much time should I expect to dedicate each week?

Plan for 3-5 hours each week, including readings, live sessions, design workshops, and reflection exercises.

What is the final project?

The final project involves creating a personal 'Odyssey Plan' for the next 3-5 years, combining leadership, career, and life goals.