Application Closing Date : 11th September 2026
Programme Overview:
Welcome to Lead By Design
Lead By Design is an immersive, active learning journey where leaders transform into ‘Experience Architects.’ Moving beyond traditional service management, this programme explores the intersection of human-led design and the experience economy. Through a series of practical frameworks, including Victoria Taylor’s Multi Lens Approach and The 4 H Framework, participants learn how to architect intentional moments, memories, and milestones that drive both team culture and strong commercial outcomes.
The learning journey actively blends theory with real-world application. Leaders will step outside the classroom through a ‘Digital World Experience Safari’ and a ‘Scottish Experience Safari’ offering direct immersion into exceptional design landscapes. Between modules, an "Active Gap" Live Task ensures leaders can immediately test and apply their new knowledge directly within their own organisations.
The programme culminates in collaborative, hands-on sessions: a Masterclass in Magic and Workshopping Wonder. Here, leaders work in groups to map out end-to-end experiences using experience-led design thinking ("Think In Experience"). Every leader departs with a practical toolkit to lead by design, exchange extraordinary ideas, and execute high-value, high-impact experiences across their business.
Programme Outline:
Duration: 4-day programme
Target Participants: A four-day strategic learning experience for CEOs, Directors, Non-Executive Directors and Heads of Department
DAYs 1 & 2
Session 1 | The Big Picture (The Experience Lens)
Become a human-led leader in the experience economy.
The Transition: Moving from service design to experience design
leadership.
It’s More Than “Personal”
, Deep Design: Architecting moments,
memories, and milestones.
Session 2 | The Formidable Leaders' Foundation (Becoming The Experience-Led Leader)
The Multi-Lens Approach: Balancing world, local, human and leader perspectives.
Psychology and Profit: Harmonising emotional impact and commercial viability.
Architecting Time: Curating the experience clock
The powerful path to polymath.
Session 3 | Spotlight On Polymaths A Cross-Sector “In Conversation With..."
An intimate, cross-sector case study conversation with an executive leader to see theory-in-practice, from an outside-of-sector perspective.
Session 4 | Culture-Wide Translation "It Begins On The Inside: Creating Cultures That “Think In Experience"
The Mindset: Adopting "Think in Experience" across all departments.
The Perception | Perspective Shift: Suspending what teams "think they know" to find fresh insight.
Success Setup: Developing the structures and processes for organisational success.
Session 5 | Emotion, Motion + Conditions (Architecting The Exceptional)
Mapping design choices to specific feelings and guest states.
Designing conditions: Creating the conditions for extraordinary to happen.
Session 6 | Narrative & Frameworks (Weaving A Storied Experience)
Strategic Experiences Storytelling: How narrative reduces comparison, building memories and loyalty.
The Four H Framework: A Victoria Taylor narrative weaving framework, focusing on History, Headlines, Happenings and Heart.
Session 7 | Tools & Techniques "The Path to Transformation"
Equipping leaders with specific experience design tools to drive transformative outcomes.
Session 8 | The Formidable Two (Journey Mapping + Magic Mapping)
Intentional Design: Understanding that extraordinary experiences happen by design, not by chance.
The A-Z Journey: Mapping the guest experience from anticipation and threshold crossing to departure and the "peak-end rule."
Delivered through Victoria Taylor’s Magic Mapping approach, we ensure experiences matter as much to guests as they do to organisational culture and bottom line.
DAYs 3 & 4
Session 9 | Welcome Back Experience Architects
Welcome back, “what we learned during” and presentations of “The Threshold & The Echo” Active Gap, live task.
“Departure to Design” Setting the conditions for “Magic + Immersion” in The World and Scottish Experience Safaris.
Preparation and ("*passport") to real-world learning.
Session 10 | World Picture (Around the World in Experience)
Global Digital Experience Exploration - A Victoria Taylor bespoke guided and curated journey.
Exploration & Immersion into extraordinary cross-sector global experiences and case studies: what they are, why they worked, and the leadership lessons and psychology behind the magic.
Session 11 | Scottish Picture "A Scottish Safari" In-The-Field Scottish Experience Safari
A curated, real-world learning safari through Scotland's experience design landscape, creatively curated and led by Victoria Taylor and HIT Scotland.
Showcasing “Extraordinary In Experience” case studies and Leadership Lessons from the most unique and exceptional infield case studies.
Session 12 | Mastering Modules (A Master class in Magic)
A penultimate preparatory masterclass for course cohorts before leaders transition, fully into Experience Architects.
Guided by the techniques, principles, and frameworks taught throughout the programme.
Session 13 (Group Work) | Workshopping Wonder (Lead As An Experience Architect)
Leaders conclude the programme by stepping into the role of Experience Architects, putting programme learnings into practice.
Collaboration & Designation: The cohort is split into groups, each designated with a specific experience scenario to collaboratively architect.
Holistic Design: The groups take an holistic approach to map and design an entire experience, from the anticipatory moment to arrival, peak moments, exit, and the post-experience journey.
Session 14 | Collaborative Cohort (Extraordinary Experience Exchange)
A guided, cross-team share of workshop-designed experiences.
Session 15 | An Experiential Exit (A Showdown Surprise)
A surprise and delight finale, curated per-cohort for a high-value, high-impact close to the programme.