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© 2026 The Creative Lead Playbook
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Welcome the Creative Lead Playbook. I’m a product design and creative marketing leader who’s been in the digital industry for over 15 years.
I’m here to tell you all the stuff you DIDN’T learn in school, so you can navigate the politics, get buy-in more quickly AND become the creative lead you’ve always dreamed of being.
Whether you’re just starting out, making a transition, or just looking for some support along your journey, this podcast is here to help. Listen on to find out more.
If you like what you hear, sign up for my free Substack newsletter at https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/.
18 Episodes
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I put together something special: it's all the advice I'd give to to anyone starting out in the industry. Listen on to find out more. P.S. I started a Substack - sign up here: https://thecreativeleadworkshop.substack.com/ -------- I’m Cathy Davenport Lee, and I hope today’s episode leaves you feeling inspired and ready to push the boundaries of your creative career. Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and sign up for Lunchbox Notes—my free encouragement and advice letter for creat...
I've been thinking A LOT about AI lately - and having a lot of passionate discussions about it with various people. In my day job, I'm leading the design for a product suite that contains various AI apps. I also wrote a series of research articles about using GenAI in the key art process on LinkedIn. I'm also giving a talk as a mentor for the Women in AI Summit in the next couple weeks. So like, suffice it to say: it's a bit of an obsessive topic for me. I'm willing to bet you've been...
I have a new episode that talks all about a hack I have to help you define your personal (or small business) branding. I was inspired to share this after I went through an exhaustive process of defining my audience, catering my writing and graphics to that audience, and then realizing that the audience in my head wasn't who showed up. (And that that audience probably doesn't even exist 😫). The people who've showed up for me this journey - they showed up for who I actually am, not who I th...
Today’s topic is all about getting along with other people. I know that sounds potentially generic or vague, but it’s a vital skill when you work for any company - large or small. I’m personally inspired by the time I spent at a really big company and there were infrastructure changes. When I was thinking about what skill or tool helped me the most during those times, I suddenly remembered something really important that I wanted to share with you. What I'm about to say is the key to re...
We've all been on that Zoom call when that one guy unmutes himself and suddenly you hear a litany of heavy breathing, explosively loud typing, background noise, popping and clicking. Maybe we don't want to admit it to ourselves, but we definitely get a certain idea in our heads about somebody who has bad audio on a Zoom call, right? I think the opposite is true, too. When somebody has really good audio quality and/or video quality, we start to subtly think of that person as being a little bi...
Okay, tell me if this sounds like you. You've recently started a new business and you're trying to get yourself established...and you feel like you're drowning in all the things you need to do to brand yourself. Setting up a website, getting a logo in place, starting social media accounts...it's completely overwhelming. You spend two hours adjusting a button style on your website, or you generate a hundred different AI logos and hate them all. You can't think of any ideas, and it...
When you’re a manager of a team, you’re going to have to figure out how to make sure that the work that needs to get done, gets done. And you’re going to need to figure out how to do that in a way that makes sense - from a budget and a project perspective. But you also want to make sure it makes sense from a HUMAN BEING perspective. One of the biggest mistakes creative managers make (imo) is that the second they run into an extensive coverage need, first thing they do is throw their employe...
It's that time of year — you're tired, ready for a break, but there's roughly 1,483 tiny pots boiling over at work. Or if you're a freelancer, maybe you just got a windfall of client projects and you're afraid to ease off the momentum, even though you feel like you're sleepwalking during the day. So how do you deal with the anxiety you feel about resting long enough to actually rest? That's what today's podcast is all about. I'm going to give you some tips on how to set yourself...
Having worked on the brand side for a good length of time, I can tell you that there's one thing people do (agencies, vendors and designers alike) that results in major side-eye and skepticism when it comes time to review the creative work. The good news? If you STOP doing this right now, I promise it will make your projects go far more smoothly. It's really simple advice, but it can take time and care to pull it off properly. Listen on to find out more. -------- I’m Cathy Davenport Lee, ...
Networking: The horror! 😱 OMG...I hate the mere mention of the word. But yet, you’ll dramatically increase your chances of being hired and finding more opportunities for advancement if you do it. So unfortunately, it’s somewhat necessary. If you don’t like networking, I’ve found that it doesn’t help to hear about it from someone who LOVES it. So I thought that today I’d give you MY take on networking as a registered, card-carrying, spectrum-dwelling INTROVERT. Because someti...
So today I have something that is kind of special to me. It's special because it's based on some advice that my dad gave me a very long time ago when I first started my career. I don't think I'm over exaggerating by saying that might've been the most important advice I've ever gotten. In fact, the more, more and more I think about it, the more and more it applies to pretty much everything that I've done in my career. Listen on to find out more! -------- I’m Cathy Davenport Lee,...
When you're running a project, it's important to make your clients feel INSPIRED....but SAFE. What am I talking about? Well, I think people go to one of two extremes when they are creatively directing a project. Either they are in full "razzle dazzle" mode - where they're vibing and exploring without a clear plan.... ORRRR they've got the whole project choreographed down to the MINUTE and if their client steps one toe in a direction that isn't in the plan, they bug out. The ...
Back again with another installment in getting your work approved. Today I want to discuss the importance of leveraging precedence. Because you can't effectively guide your client into green-lighting a new creative direction if you don't understand and don't have respect for where they've been. It's kind of like knowing how to do traditional photography, even if 99% of the time you just do the same kind of effect with Facetune or Photoshop. Listen on to hear more. -------- I’m Cathy...
Today I wanted to talk about the importance of learning how to get your work approved. The psychology of YES, as it were. Getting things approved is a SKILL. And it’s an important one. Approval doesn’t happen just because the work is amazing (even though our society seems to have this invisible agreement where we pretend we only care about the quality.) IMO, only 50% of the key to getting work approved is the quality of the work itself. Maybe less. Listen on to find out what you can do...
Today we're talking about how being BAD at something is actually the secret to becoming good at it. -------- I’m Cathy Davenport Lee, and I hope today’s episode leaves you feeling inspired and ready to push the boundaries of your creative career. Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and sign up for Lunchbox Notes—my free encouragement and advice letter for creatives. Stay connected for more insights, tools, and resources to help you thrive. Until next time, keep creating, keep pushin...
A well-designed system is almost invisible. All you "see" is the absence of a problem. But a poorly-designed one will have you up all night and on edge all day. Join us this week to talk about how getting good at system design is part of becoming a creative lead. -------- I’m Cathy Davenport Lee, and I hope today’s episode leaves you feeling inspired and ready to push the boundaries of your creative career. Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and sign up for Lunchbox Notes—my free e...
Today we’re talking about how a workplace situation that feels chaotic can actually be an opportunity. -------- I’m Cathy Davenport Lee, and I hope today’s episode leaves you feeling inspired and ready to push the boundaries of your creative career. Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and sign up for Lunchbox Notes—my free encouragement and advice letter for creatives. Stay connected for more insights, tools, and resources to help you thrive. Until next time, keep creating, keep pus...
I've noticed that one of the hardest mental transitions people make at work is the transition of thinking about themselves as an individual versus thinking about themselves as a team lead. I wanted to share with you a personal anecdote about thinking of the team as a whole, and what that can unlock for you and them, if you can successfully manage this mental transition. Listen to hear more about my experience when I worked as a VP of Interactive Design for HBO. -------- I’m Cathy Daven...
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