Success in today’s markets and those of the future depends heavily upon leadership through the use of design (Gloppen, 2009). It is believed that business leaders are required to understand how to effectively use design to create their company’s competitive advantages. In this regard, design leadership, a new concept of leadership, would assist firms to obtain full return on investment in their design. The key purpose of this paper is to introduce a conceptual framework that represents the relationship between design leadership and design process that in turn affect team performance and satisfaction. The conceptual framework would assist researchers in advancing the understanding of design leadership and its influence on R&D team performance.