Work on your own thing, with other people.
Shape your direction, grow your influence, and keep moving forward without burning out.
The Leaders’ Studio is the small, weekly level of Content Design Leaders. It includes everything in Upstream, plus the weekly sessions.
Join the Leaders’ Studio$1,200 for 2027 (one-time, doesn’t auto-renew) or $124 a month · Open any time · Annual enrollment closes January 31, 2027
A more intentional space.
Leadership isn’t only about managing a team. It’s about having agency, influence, and a clear point of view about your work and career.
Leaders’ Studio is a more intentional space to step back, get clear on what you want next, and keep moving toward it with structure and support from peers.
Use Leaders’ Studio to strengthen your voice, increase your visibility, work through challenges, and build momentum in a way that’s sustainable.
Every week, two parts.
The Leaders’ Studio meets weekly, with breaks around holidays and conferences. Each session has the same shape.
First, the check-in
The top of the hour is a check-in, and it’s deliberately not recorded.
That’s so people can say true things about their actual work situations — the ones you can’t post about or bring up with your team.
Then, the facilitated session
The rest of the hour is a facilitated session on the month’s focus: Vision, Visibility, or Vitality.
This part is recorded and posted in the app, so a missed week doesn’t mean a missed month.
Join a content culture that is less LinkedIn and more genuine.
Between sessions, the Leaders’ Studio Feed is private to members, so the candor carries over. People share what’s actually going on, and get generous, non-performative support back.
Vision, Visibility, Vitality.
The year rotates through three focuses, one a month, four times through.
Vision
Where you want to go — professionally, personally, or in your thought leadership on a topic.
Visibility
Being seen for what you’re already doing, whether that’s LinkedIn, weekly notes to your boss and skip-level, or something else.
Vitality
Doing it without burning out.
“Focus your professional time so your career moves while you get the most enjoyment, and the least stress and lost time, from everything else.”
— Kate Agena
A direction, some experiments, and a few constraints.
Across the year, you’ll shape three things. None of them is a finish line with a date on it.
A direction
Where you’re heading, held as a bearing rather than a destination with a date.
Some experiments
What you’ll actually try, for a set number of repetitions, with no success criteria attached.
A few constraints
What you’re not doing, so the direction and the experiments have room.
A planner built for this work.
Leaders’ Studio includes an electronic planning system based on a modified version of the Full Focus approach, adapted to the realities of content leadership.
It turns a direction into weekly priorities you can actually keep, and new modules arrive through the year to match what the group is working on.
Kate is a certified Full Focus coach.
What’s included.
Everything in Upstream
- ✔︎A live hour every month on what’s changing in the field
- ✔︎Recordings and FigJam boards from every Upstream session
- ✔︎Peers from across organizations, in the same room all year
Plus, only in Leaders’ Studio
- ✔︎The weekly sessions: the check-in, then a facilitated session
- ✔︎Recordings of the facilitated sessions (never the check-in)
- ✔︎The Leaders’ Studio Feed, private to members
- ✔︎The electronic planner, with new modules released through the year
Is it for you?
You don’t need to manage a team. A principal or senior IC can be an ideal member, and so can a manager. What matters is what you want from the year.
Leaders’ Studio is for you if you want:
- ✔︎More agency over your work and career
- ✔︎A stronger point of view, and more influence for it
- ✔︎A trusted peer group for the difficult questions
- ✔︎Structure and accountability around the priorities that matter
- ✔︎Sustainable progress, not constant urgency
It’s NOT for you if:
- ✘︎You mainly want to compare notes on where the field is going. Upstream is built for that.
- ✘︎You’re looking for a course or a set of best practices
- ✘︎You work in marketing, not UX content design
Some nice words from our members.
Elizabeth Beasley
I thought it might be too manager-y focused. But I love it!! It's the perfect focus on a broader view of leadership and 'you be you' vibes — that fits me perfectly!
Eryn Yates
I've had a profound shift in how I approach my work and in my understanding of the value I bring to my organization. I absolutely have this group to thank!
Jennifer Smith Gray
The community is friendly — I've been enjoying participating. I already see the value in articulating goals and accomplishments in a supportive environment.
Join Leaders’ Studio.
Two ways to pay for the same Leaders’ Studio. The 2027 plan is a single payment that covers the whole year and never auto-renews.
Works out to $100 a month, $288 less than paying monthly. Access from the day you buy through December 31, 2027. Doesn’t auto-renew.
Annual enrollment closes January 31, 2027
Pay once for 2027An auto-renewing subscription. Cancel any time.
Subscribe monthlyLeaders’ Studio is open any time. There’s no application and no cohort start date. Annual enrollment closes January 31, 2027; after that, monthly is the only way in.
Questions? Answers.
Do I need to manage a team?
No. Leaders’ Studio is for people who want more agency, influence, and sustainable momentum in their work, whatever their title. Principal and senior ICs are some of our best members, and so are managers.
How often does it meet?
Weekly, with breaks around holidays and conferences. Each session starts with the check-in and moves into the facilitated session.
Why isn’t the check-in recorded?
So people can say true things about their actual work situations. What’s said in the check-in stays there. The facilitated part of the session is recorded and posted in the app.
What if I miss a week?
Watch the recording of the facilitated session when you can, and pick up the conversation in the Leaders’ Studio Feed. Members get the most out of it when they can join live, but a missed week won’t leave you behind.
What happens if I join an annual plan before January?
Your 2027 membership begins in January. In the meantime, you’re invited to the free Content Design Leaders gatherings in October, November, and December, so you can start meeting the community and get into the once-a-month rhythm before Upstream officially begins.
Does it include Upstream?
Yes. Leaders’ Studio includes everything in Upstream — the monthly hour on the field and its recordings and boards — plus the weekly sessions.
Does the 2027 plan auto-renew?
No. Leaders’ Studio 2027 is a one-time payment. Your access runs through December 31, 2027, and nothing charges your card again. Annual enrollment closes January 31, 2027. After that, Leaders’ Studio Monthly is the way in.
Can my employer pay?
Often, yes. For help getting started on an email to request training budget, see this template.
If I have other questions, how can I ask?
Just reach out to us at support@contentdesignleaders.com.
Who’s your host?
Hi, I’m Kate Agena.
I’ve led content design teams at IBM, McAfee, and SAP, and since 2024 I’ve been bringing content leaders together through Content Design Leaders. My job is to make a room worth being in: the right people, the right questions, and enough structure that the conversation goes somewhere.
In Leaders’ Studio, my job is to bring the structure and the right questions. The progress comes from you and the peers around you, week after week.
I bring the structure and the questions. The progress is yours.