Aspiring Managers

Becoming a manager is a change of job, not a bigger version of the old one. This module looks at the three things that change on day one, uses Katz's three skill model to show why human skill suddenly matters far more, and follows Julie Zhuo's first year in management. It separates what genuinely changes from what stays the same and puts three common myths to rest.

The first ninety days in a management role set expectations that are hard to reset later. Drawing on Michael Watkins' transition framework, this module helps you diagnose the team you have inherited, name the change with former peers, avoid three common traps and build credibility before you have a track record. It ends with a simple thirty, sixty and ninety day structure you can adapt.

When you become a manager, people form a view of you quickly, whether you intend it or not. This module helps you shape your management brand on purpose, treats imposter syndrome as a common experience rather than a personal failing, and redefines confidence as acting well despite doubt. A council case shows how one specific, visible change can shift a brand.

Delegating and giving feedback are the conversations new managers find hardest, and avoided conversations only grow harder. This module offers a clear structure for delegating the outcome rather than the task, for giving feedback to a former peer using Situation, Behaviour, Impact, and for handling pushback calmly. It also covers keeping your own manager informed and building a peer support network.

None of the practical basics of management is complicated, but all of them are easy to neglect under pressure. This module covers running your first team meeting, holding one to ones that belong to the other person, protecting important but non urgent work, and handling your first unexpected problem in front of your team. A comparison of two first months shows how much a handful of early habits matter.

This capstone introduces no new theory; it shows the whole programme working in real situations. You follow Julie Zhuo's move into management framework by framework, and a newly promoted shift supervisor whose steady habits compounded into better results, then apply the same toolkit to your own team. The message throughout is that this transition rewards deliberateness far more than instinct.

For a manager, communication is very largely the job itself. This module uses Barbara Minto's Pyramid Principle to put the answer first for different audiences, helps you choose the right channel and build a communication rhythm your team can predict, and draws lessons from Amazon's six page memo. It closes with simple ways to check that a message has actually landed.

A bad hire costs far longer than it took to make, especially in a small team. This module helps you hire deliberately, defining the role and the evidence you need before you advertise, and interviewing for evidence over charm and potential over polish. It then uses Talya Bauer's Four C's to show why induction is a day but onboarding is a ninety day process that the line manager owns.

For a manager, a professional network is part of the job, not a personal nicety. Drawing on Herminia Ibarra's research, this module explains outsight before insight, turns her three shifts into steps for a normal working week, and tackles the authenticity paradox for people who do not enjoy networking. The central message is that confidence follows the behaviour, so you can act your way into a broader role.