Catt Small - How staff designers build influence and lead as ICs
Dive Club 🤿12 Syys 2025

Catt Small - How staff designers build influence and lead as ICs

Only a select few have multiple episodes on Dive Club and today Catt Small joins the ranks.

She has a gift for turning messy ideas into practical next steps so it’s no wonder her Staff Designer course is one of the top-rated on Maven.

In this episode we go deep into all of the ways you can make an impact by building influence on your team and effectively casting vision for your product.

Some highlights:

  • The 2 ways to measure your influence
  • Strategies for getting distribution for your ideas
  • How to select the ideal format for casting a vision
  • Storytelling tactics used by the best staff designers
  • How to strategically invest in workplace relationships
  • What Catt learned while interviewing staff designers for her new book

Jaksot(189)

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