Leading Small Teams
Attention, clarity and the conversations nobody wants.
A course on leading teams of five to twenty: setting direction, giving feedback that lands, running the difficult conversation, and building a team that does not require you in the room.
4.3h
Study time
12
Lessons
4
Modules
4.8
Rating
341 reviews
Enrolment
Enrol to open Leading Small Teams in the learning workspace, track progress and take the assessments.
Demo enrolment — no payment or real enrolment occurs. Sign in to see the full workspace.
Subjects covered
5 topics
Knowledge map
What you will be able to do
- Set direction a team can act on without asking you
- Give feedback that is specific, timely and survivable
- Run a difficult conversation without avoidance or cruelty
- Design a team so that decisions happen at the right level
Curriculum
4 modules · 12 lessons
- 01Context Over InstructionThe working method for direction, reduced to what actually matters.22m
- 02Writing Direction DownMaking feedback explicit enough that somebody else could repeat it.20m
- 03The Weekly FrameWhere difficult conversations usually goes wrong, and how to notice it early.18m
- 01Observation, Impact, RequestHow team design works in practice, once the deadline is real.22m
- 02Praise That Is Not NoiseWhere delegation usually goes wrong, and how to notice it early.16m
- 03Feedback UpwardsHow direction works in practice, once the deadline is real.20m
- 01Naming the Problem Out LoudThe working method for feedback, reduced to what actually matters.24m
- 02Performance ConversationsMaking difficult conversations explicit enough that somebody else could repeat it.26m
- 03When Someone Should LeaveWhere team design usually goes wrong, and how to notice it early.22m
- 01Deciding Where Decisions HappenMaking delegation explicit enough that somebody else could repeat it.24m
- 02Delegating the Thing You Are Good AtThe working method for direction, reduced to what actually matters.20m
- 03Building a Team That Runs Without YouThe judgement calls behind feedback, and what each of them costs.22m
Assessment
Exercise-led. Each lesson closes with a practice task; assessed work is written and brief.
Quizzes
- Feedback and Direction6 questions · pass 70%
Assignments
- A Week of Feedback20 points
What students say
- 4 out of 5Priya Nair — Analyst
The quiz explanations are worth taking seriously — I learned more from the two I got wrong than from the four I got right.
- 5 out of 5Ravi Menon — Engineering manager
What I did not expect was how much of this is about writing things down. Half the value was being forced to state what I was optimising for.
- 4 out of 5Hannah Brenner — Product designer
The reading is short and the practice is not, which is the right way round. I finished the first module in an evening and then spent a week on the exercise.
Fictional reviews — demonstration content only
Related courses
- 014.7out of 5 from 218 reviews
Building a Studio Practice
The unglamorous machinery behind a body of work.
Intermediate3.6 h11 lessonsMargit Sole — Professor of Creative Direction
- 024.8out of 5 from 412 reviews
Modern Product Design
From ambiguous brief to defensible interface.
Intermediate7 h20 lessonsRafael Otero — Senior Lecturer in Product Design
- 034.9out of 5 from 336 reviews
Typographic Systems
The grid, the scale and the argument on the page.
Intermediate5.4 h16 lessonsIlse Varga — Head of Design Studies