49-726 Creative Leadership
6 units, Carnegie Mellon University
A mini course focused on creative leadership from two perspectives. One, how to lead teams that are doing innovative design and development, with a focus on how to support and empower team members through the creative process, which is full of ambiguous ideas and uncertain results. Two, how to become more innovative in leading and managing teams in general. Students will have some relevant readings focused on leading and managing creative teams, and they apply the concepts and lessons learned as they break into teams and work to create a game together, going through prototyping, playtesting and producing the game during the course. Prototyping will take place in the first three weeks, followed by a pitch presentation in which teams will exchange games and finish producing them for the rest of the course, while playtesting should occur throughout. Teams will be encouraged to consider ethics and values in the process and product, and students will reflect on their progress midway through the course, and at the end. Students will actively practice how to lead by taking responsibility for their role within the team from start to finish. The final deliverable will be presenting their (ideally playable) game prototype along with their reflections on the process and how to support a team to succeed in doing collaborative creative work.
Prerequisites: none listed
Offered: Spring 2027, Spring 2026
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