Your best engineers just got promoted to team leads. Your top performers are now managing people. Your technical experts are suddenly responsible for human beings with feelings, motivations, and... emotions.

 

But being an expert in your field doesn't make you automatically a leader.

 

You promote from within because you value loyalty and domain expertise. Smart move! But then you watch brilliant technical minds struggle with the transition for authority-based work (code doesn't talk back) to connection-based leadership (humans are gloriously unpredictable).

 

The result: Frustrated new leaders, disengaged team, and that expensive revolving door of talent walking out because they don't feel seen by their manager. Or new leaders burning out, because they don't have the knowledge and support they need.

 

Neither is an attractive prospect, right?

 

Traditional leadership approaches still operate on a model that is historically modeled on military hierarchy. But in times when challenges are more and more complex and layered those approaches demanding blind trust and following no longer work. New ways to lead are required.

 

And those ways can be learned: Leadership is less about checking off items from a list or operating a machine. It's interaction grounded in neurobiology that requires emotional regulation, pattern recognition, and the ability to co-regulate with your team.

 

Your new leaders need more than communication worksheets and management theory. They need to understand how their nervous system affects their team's nervous system. They need to know how to stay regulated under pressure so they can help others do the same. They need to know what a good leader does and how.

 

Leadership Foundations for New Managers:

Real Skills for Real Challenges

 

 

My 7-week program trains technical experts to become the leaders who actually inspire rather than exhaust their teams.

 

Program Structure

Week 1: Role Transition Realities

Understanding the fundamental shift from colleague to leader, reading power dynamics, and preparing for the challenges ahead.

 

Week 2: Self-Regulation & Authority Foundations

 

Building emotional regulation skills and understanding whose opinions actually matter for your leadership decisions.

 

Week 3: Strategic Leadership with Intention

Creating vision and culture rather than just managing tasks, planning for inevitable challenges.

 

Week 4: Observation, Conversation & Connection

Developing pattern recognition skills and building genuine relationships with team members.

 

Week 5: Accountability Without Being a Jerk

Implementing transparent accountability systems and mastering skillful confrontation

 

Week 6: The Planning Revolution

Strategic time management that preserves space for thinking, observation, and team interaction.

 

Week 7: Advanced Leadership Dynamics

Handling team diversity, toxic personalities, and gender dynamics in communication.

 

 

 

Delivery Format:

• Duration: 7 weeks, 4 hours per week
• Group size: 4-8 participants (optimal for deep learning)
• Format: Virtual delivery via Zoom, optional in-person kick-off
• Materials: Comprehensive frameworks, handouts, and implementation tools
• Accountability: Weekly homework with group discussion and troubleshooting
• Flexible start dates

 

 

 

 Workshop Options for Immediate Impact

 

Leadership Foundations Workshop (Full Day) 

Perfect for: Organizations wanting to explore the approach or address immediate transitions

Duration: 6-8 hours with core concepts and practical tools

Includes: Assessment tools, implementation frameworks, resource library

 

 

Leadership Transition Intensive (Half Day) 

Perfect for: Quick skill-building for new managers

Duration: 4 hours focusing on role transition and self-regulation

Includes: transition toolkit and follow-up resources 

Ready to Develop Leader's Who Actually Thrive?

 

Let's discuss how leadership foundations training can transform your technical experts into leaders who inspire rather than exhaust their teams.