The People Manager Playbook
Leadership Skills for the Real World
A practical guide to managing people, building high-performing teams, and leading with confidence.
1K enrolled • ⭐ 4.6 • 103 ratings
Trusted by learners at
Stephen Tracy
Data scientist | 2x Founder | Award-winning Leader
Course Overview
Most professionals step into management without any formal training — and it shows. This course gives you the frameworks, tools, and honest guidance to become the kind of manager people actually want to work for. Built from 15 years of experience leading teams across global corporations and early-stage start-ups, it covers everything from hiring and goal-setting to handling conflict and running performance reviews. Whether you're preparing for your first direct report or looking to sharpen skills you've been improvising for years, this is the course that closes the gap.
Syllabus
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Get oriented with the course structure, meet your instructor, and learn how to apply what you're about to learn in your day-to-day role.
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Understand what it actually means to be a manager — the responsibilities, the mindset shifts, and the different leadership styles — then identify the qualities that will define your own approach.
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Learn how to think about org structure, employee leveling, and competency frameworks, then go deeper into what makes a team culture strong and how to build psychological safety that enables people to do their best work.
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Cover the full hiring cycle — from writing job descriptions that attract the right candidates, to designing interview assignments, evaluating candidates consistently, and setting new hires up for success through probation.
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Explore the most effective goal-setting frameworks and principles, learn how to evaluate skills versus competencies, and build a repeatable system for setting, monitoring, and rating employee performance.
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Learn how to run structured check-ins, navigate career progression conversations, and handle conflict before it derails the team — the day-to-day work of keeping people motivated and growing.
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Know how to spot performance problems early, deliver feedback that lands, and take the right steps when things don't improve — including how to structure a PIP and, when necessary, how to let someone go.
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Build a consistent, fair approach to performance appraisals — including how to think about training and development for your team — so reviews become a genuine tool for growth rather than a box-ticking exercise.
Meet your instructor
Over 6 Hours
On-Demand Video
Access hours of on-demand video and learn at your own pace.
What’s Included?
Over 40
Lectures
Engage with over 40 lectures structured to help you master marketing analytics.
Downloadable
Resources
Download tons of resources and templates that you can directly apply to your work.
Case Studies
& Activities
Enrich your knowledge through hands-on case studies and activities.
What You’ll Learn
A comprehensive curriculum that will teach you everything you need to know about people management and leadership.
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Unpack the role from first principles — what a people manager actually does, what separates it from being an individual contributor, and what the core responsibilities look like in practice.
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Explore the main leadership personas, understand what research says about effective leadership, and complete a guided activity to start identifying the qualities and style that are authentically yours.
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Walk through the full hiring process — writing job descriptions, designing and running interviews, evaluating candidates fairly, and setting new hires up for success from day one through probation.
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Learn how to run effective check-ins, have honest career progression conversations, and address conflict early — the practical habits that keep a team motivated, aligned, and moving forward.
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Cover the leading goal-setting frameworks, learn how to distinguish between skills and competencies, and build a system for setting clear goals and evaluating progress in a consistent, meaningful way.
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Learn how to structure and run appraisals that are fair, prepared, and actually useful — including how to think about training and development as part of the broader growth conversation.
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Know how to identify performance problems early, deliver feedback that's direct and constructive, implement a performance improvement plan when needed, and navigate the difficult decision to let someone go.
Sign Up Now
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Lifetime course access + monthly live coaching.
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Live Training Available
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