Design Leadership for Strategic Transformation - Course overview
This in-person Masterclass is a joint program of the University of St. Gallen and the iF DESIGN ACADEMY.
As technology accelerates how work gets done, the role of Design Leadership becomes more decisive than ever. Design Leaders are expected to set direction, make decisions, and take responsibility in environments shaped by accelerating change and growing complexity. AI changes how work gets done – your role as a Design Leader is to decide what should be done and why.
This course is for you if your role has evolved from designing solutions to leading through design – from delivering outputs to framing choices, shaping systems, and guiding decisions across complexity.
Join the upcoming cohort
Design Leadership for Strategic Transformation
Registration is handled via the University of St. Gallen.
On their course page, click the green registration box on the right-hand side.
You will receive an invoice after registering.
Founded in 1898, the University of St. Gallen is a forward-looking institution with a strong societal impact and a global network. As one of Europe’s leading business universities, it stands out internationally through world-class research and an integrative approach to teaching.
As a graduate student, you are provided with a clear path to make a meaningful impact in both business and society.
Clarity on your role and a language for decisions, responsibility, and direction
Confidence to lead within accelerated change
Strengthened ability to use design to shape future-ready organizations and systems
Practical ways of working that support long-term value creation for people and society
Timo Meynhardt is Professor of Business Psychology and Leadership at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management and heads the Center for Leadership and Values in Society at the University of St. Gallen. Timo published the Public Value Atlas – a methodology for measuring the contribution to Public Value of companies and organisations. He is part of the development team of the Leipzig Leadership Model and co-founder of the jury of the Public Value Award for start-ups. Timo heads the non-profit organisation Forum Gemeinwohl and co-initiates the Round Table for the Common Good.
Guest Lecturers
Tey is a leader in AI strategy, product, and design. He was formerly a Partner at McKinsey, where he led McKinsey Design Europe.
Ron is a strategic design leader focused on driving business growth. He has built and scaled design as a core business function across venture capital, startup, and consulting environments.
Kara is a regenerative designer, strategic storyteller, and leadership guide with 20 years of experience working at the intersection of people, planet, and possibility, partnering with Fortune 500 companies, startups, and impact organizations across industries.
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Virtual Kickoff - Framing Your Leadership Challenge
The kickoff establishes a shared language and focus. You reflect on your current role, the leadership expectations you face, and the challenges created by accelerating change.
Outcome:
A clear personal focus to guide your on-campus experience.
Module 1: Leadership by Design - Taking responsibility for direction and impact
This module focuses on your leadership stance: how you take responsibility, make decisions under pressure, and create alignment across teams and stakeholders.
Key focus areas:
- Leadership identity and responsibility
- Decision-making under ambiguity
- Long-term impact and legitimacy
- Leading without formal authority
You strengthen your ability to: Lead with clarity, responsibility, and confidence.
Module 2: Design as a Strategic Transformation Capability - Shaping systems, not just outputs
This module positions design as the way to influence structures, business models, and value creation. You use design to organize complexity and enable meaningful change across organizational and disciplinary boundaries.
Key focus areas:
- Design as a leadership practice
- Shaping business models and value networks
- Circular and regenerative thinking as guiding principles
- Working across organizational and disciplinary boundaries
You strengthen your ability to: Translate complexity into clear structures and direction.
Module 3: Future Literacy for Design Leaders - From uncertainty to confident action
Future literacy is not about predicting the future. It is about acting without certainty. This module builds your confidence as a design leader in contexts shaped by AI, climate change and changing demographics – to name a few grand challenges. The focus is on your ability to make decisions and give direction as execution accelerates.
Key focus areas:
- How acceleration changes leadership expectations
- Execution versus decision-making
- Where design judgement and vision remain essential
- Inner work as a pre-condition for external transformation
You strengthen your ability to: Stay calm, clear, and decisive as complexity increases.
Signature Experience: Art Tour – Changing Perspectives
An immersive, art-based experience that creates distance from everyday routines and acts as a learning accelerator.
It sharpens observation and interpretation and helps participants to slow down, notice details, and reflect critically – the same cognitive and reflective muscles that underpin effective leadership in complex, high-stakes environments.
Evening Experience & Peer Exchange
Curated moments for informal dialogue and reflection with peers and faculty in St. Gallen, extending learning beyond the classroom.