What It Is

Emerging Leaders in Design is a program for designers with at least two (2) years of experience and a maximum of five (5) years of experience in the design industry who want to pursue future leadership roles within in the design community for this is a seven month program, with each monthly session led by an industry professional who is well experienced at the topic being discussed. The sessions are engaging and your interactive participation will help you get the most benefit. The program is no cost for designers, including non-IIDA members, so designers from all backgrounds are encouraged to participate. In exchange for this curated and invaluable training, employers agree to pay for the participating designer’s IIDA membership for the following year. This allows designers who have graduated from ELID to act as mentors to the incoming class of ELID designers and serve on IIDA committees where their leadership skills will be further developed. Interested designers can apply through the application link below. Space is limited to twenty (20) participants for this unique opportunity. 

Program Requirements

Each member is required to commit to the program for one year, and also be on time for each session. Each session will be 3 hours long and focused on a business related topic. Sessions are structured to include a lecture, group activities and discussion. The class schedule is provided at the time of application and attendance to every class is important to learn the tools provided. To encourage attendance, the principal/mentor will be kept up to date with attendance.

How It Works

Each month the Emerging Leaders participants will be provided with resources to take what was learned in class and practice it in the real world. All Emerging Leaders will be encouraged to have a mentor during the program and stay in contact with a monthly assigned “buddy” from class. Following each session, a recap email will be sent to the Emerging Leader and their mentor/design leader with ideas for practical application in a work environment and industry events to attend. These are strongly encouraged as this helps to promote building their network and strengthening their comfort with the skills they learned that month.

To help create opportunities for this, following each class, the Emerging Leaders participant’s director/principal will receive an email sharing what was taught, the recommended after-class activity, and suggestions for how those skills can be incorporated into the workplace. While these are not mandatory, creating opportunities for practice at work will help with retention so these skills become more natural for the Emerging Leader.

For more information, please contact the VP of Professional Development | iidaillinois@gmail.com