Leadership as Car
What becomes the role of leadership, in times marked by uncertainty
Abhinav Pahad
Parsons chool of esi
I came to this research living the question
How is AI reshaping creativity, and what does that mean for creative professionals today
WHO I ASKE
18 Practitioner Advertising, Branding, Desig 2-25 years experienc
What I foun
Expertise Ownership
Identity
Three pillars define the creative professional
vizibilize-ing care festival 202
What I found was not a technology story
All three pillars being destabilized at the same time
"That space, to me, feels very sacred, and I do kind of get nervous one day that that bubble will pop, and I don't know how I will feel about myself as a creative at that point.
Creative Director
9 Years of Exp
"A lot of creative work is a journey. I feel like a part of me is missing out on that. Missing out on what I could have found and what I could have maybe incorporated into this idea.
Art Director
3 Years of Exp
vizibilize-ing care festival 202
"You saved yourself two days. But would you be a different person if you had struggled through that?
Director of Experience design, Writer
25+ Years of EXP.
Early career creatives are most exposed
oure orld onomi orum uture of obs eport was moderatel growing two ears ag The paths to building judgment are disappearing before new ones have formed
Graphic Desig th fastest delining jo Creative thinkin ated b emploers as nearl impossible for to repliat
vizibilize-ing care festival 202
The roles that require judgment are holding. The ladder is losing its lower rungs.
Early career creatives are most exposed
oure orld onomi orum uture of obs eport was moderatel growing two ears ag The paths to building judgment are disappearing before new ones have formed
Graphic Desig th fastest delining jo Creative thinkin ated b emploers as nearl impossible for to repliat
vizibilize-ing care festival 202
The roles that require judgment are holding. The ladder is losing its lower rungs. And nobody is caring for the people on those rungs
So I looked at Leadership..
"It's honestly like building a plane as you fly it. There isn't a definitive answer.
ASSOC. Creative director, Writer
13 Years of EXP.
If leadership can no longer confidently guide the development of expertise, what remains
vizibilize-ing care festival 202
Leaders are navigating the same uncertainty. The craft side of their role, the ability to teach by doing, is becoming less relevant
What remains is the human work
And AI cannot come for that
I found a system in uncertainty, confusion and instability
And what I found missing in the system was Care
Supporting how people grow, even when the paths are unclea Care for developmen
Creating conditions where confidence can form, not just be performe Care for identit
Giving people time and space to pause, reflect, and articulate what they know Care for sensemakin
But expecting organizations to provide this care is hard
The industry is not structured to prioritize it. Waiting for that to change is not a position of agency
What is the kind of leadership we crave and deserve, and how can we be those leaders for ourselves and for others
And
this is a question pertinent to not just one Industr
The leadersquestions need to as
How can we help people feel more stable in their identities during disruption
How can we give back the time and space people need to make sense of change
How might we bring back value to human labor, in a world constructed to reward results
One small attempt
If the invisible human work is where value lives, the first step is helping people see it in themselves
A tool that surfaces what you already know but haven't articulated yet
Scan the code to try the prototyp
Profile → Baseline → Context → Constraints → Decisions → Patterns → Mirror → Debrie
What were some constraints you were working with What is one project you are proud of
How did you receive the brief
What's one thing in the final outcome that wasn't in the original ask
Did you try other approaches, before landing on the final direction?
Here are some of you own decisions, that went unseen These were the strategic moves you mad These are some roles that you may not have considered
Respondent sets context: role, org type, and leadership experience before any prompts are introduced
Scenario-based decision prompts surface how users actually behave under constraint, not how they think they did
The tool reflects patterns back to the user
My
project is
one attempt. These questions need many more
Abhinav Pahad pahaanewschool.ed
Care is a lens I borrowed from practitioners already starting to think this way. This festival is itself evidence of that thinking