Growing In Content 2026

There's a messy middle many of us encounter as we level up in leadership - expected to set vision while still delivering, stay close to our teams while also providing clarity and direction, and navigate growing influence without a clear playbook.

This talk explores why leadership can start to feel more complicated and contradictory across levels, and how to understand that tension as a normal phase of growth rather than a personal failure.

In this talk, we'll:

• Describe what the "messy middle" looks like across content leadership roles, including senior ICs, managers, and heads of practice
• Name common tensions between vision, execution, collaboration, and authority - and why they emerge as scope and influence grow
• Offer language and perspective to help navigate complexity with more steadiness and less self-blame