Manager tools
Lead in a way you can live with.
Most managers are promoted without the time, tools, or training. Here they are: practical kits for the hard parts of leading.
I’ve led people for almost 20 years and spent over a decade running manager programs, calibration rooms, and career conversations. I still learned plenty the hard way. Leading people is deeply rewarding, and some days it’s impossibly hard. These are the kits I wish I’d had.
Free, about 5 minutes. Your answers are never shared with your employer.
The Manager’s Real-World Kit
New Manager Shift Kit
1:1 and Feedback Cadence Kit
Performance Receipts Kit
Hard Conversations Kit
Up to Speed: Onboarding Kit
Career Conversation Companion
Hard calls, handled well.
Sound familiar?
Nobody tells you this part.
You were good at the job, so they made you responsible for the people doing it. Then they gave you a team and a calendar full of meetings, and called it support.
01
“I’m still doing my old job, plus managing everyone else’s.”
02
“My 1:1s are just status updates.”
03
“Review season is here and I’m rating from memory.”
04
“There’s a conversation I’ve been putting off for three weeks.”
05
“I’m hiring, and nobody showed me how to interview.”
06
“I’m exhausted, and I’m not sure the job is the problem.”
How these tools are different
Templates tell you what to do. These help you do it well.
You’ll still have to give hard feedback, rate people, and sometimes let someone go. The goal is to do those things well, and to go home knowing you treated people with respect.
i.
Diagnose first
Every kit starts by checking whether the problem is the person, how the work is set up, or something you’re carrying. Fixing the wrong thing well still doesn’t fix it.
ii.
Built from the inside
Written by someone who ran the calibration rooms and manager programs, and saw where the support never reached the managers doing the work.
iii.
The human layer
Prep for your own reactions, not just the script. Each kit has a check before and after, so the hard parts don’t cost you more than they should.
Answers for the hard first year
The questions managers search at 11pm.
77% of managers got no formal training before their first management role. The hardest parts of year one are giving critical feedback (47%), managing former peers (46%), and handling conflict (44%). Here’s where to start on each.
How to give critical feedback to an employee
Raise it within days, name one specific example, describe the impact, then ask how they see it. Feedback saved for review time feels like an ambush.
Managing former peers
Have one honest reset conversation early: what changes, what doesn’t, and what you need from them. Avoiding it is what makes it awkward.
How to handle conflict on your team
Separate the facts from the story each person is telling, meet them one at a time first, and agree on what good looks like going forward.
1:1 meeting template for managers
Their agenda first, then priorities, then one growth question. A 1:1 that’s only status updates is a meeting you could skip.
Performance review examples for managers
Collect evidence all year, rate results and behaviors separately, and check yourself for recency bias before you write a word.
New hire onboarding plan for managers
Work backward from what they were hired to deliver. Every introduction should have a purpose and a date, and every task should be shown before it’s handed over.
The kits
Start with the part that’s hardest right now.
Each kit is a short, printable PDF you can fill in on screen. Buy one, or get the bundle and have the whole set.
The bundle
The Manager’s Real-World Kit
Everything for stepping into the role, building a rhythm with your team, rating fairly, handling the conversations you’d rather avoid, and onboarding new hires. Plus a bonus guide for supporting your team’s career growth.
$79
$135 separately
Stepping in
New Manager Shift Kit
Stop being the super producer.
Decide what to keep, hand off, and stop. Map the people you need on your side, plan your listening, and set a 30/60/90 rhythm. Includes the meetings to hold and the time to protect that nobody tells you about.
$29
Rhythm
1:1 and Feedback Cadence Kit
A real rhythm, not just check-ins.
A 1:1 structure that goes beyond task updates, a weekly and monthly team rhythm, and a simple way to give feedback within days instead of saving it for review time.
$19
Reviews
Performance Receipts Kit
Stop writing reviews from memory.
A year-round receipts tracker, a rating prep worksheet, a bias check, a one-page promotion case, and AI prompts that turn your notes into fair, specific review language.
$29
The hard parts
Hard Conversations Kit
Hard calls, handled well.
Check whether it’s really a performance problem, prep the conversation and your own reactions, and use guides for tough feedback, performance plans, and ending someone’s employment. Then a check afterward: could you live with how you handled it?
$29
Onboarding
Up to Speed: Onboarding Kit
You hired them for their skills. Now let them use them.
A Contribution Plan that works backward from what they were hired to deliver, a Handoff and Introductions Map so every intro has a purpose and a date, and Show-Me Task Cards that turn telling into teaching.
$29
Hiring
Hiring Kit
Hire well without a recruiter.
A recruitment workflow, how to share a role so the right people forward it, how to run a fair interview, and how to look at internal talent and transferable skills first.
For senior leaders
Your first 100 days.
A new executive has more stakeholders, less time to prove themselves, and a team watching closely from day one. This guide covers what to learn, who to meet, and what to hold off on deciding. It works for a leader starting a new role, or a company bringing one in.
$129
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A stakeholder map and a listening plan for the first 30 days
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What to observe before changing anything
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Early wins that build trust without overpromising
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A day 60 check-in with your manager and your team
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Your 100-day story: what you learned and what comes next
How it works
Get clear, then get somewhere.
01
Get a manager reality check
Take the free Manager Reality Check. You’ll see which part of managing needs your attention first.
02
Use the right tool
Get the kit for that area, or the bundle. Use it this week, on a real situation with a real person.
03
Bring me the hard stuff
If the tools aren’t the hard part, a free Next Move Session helps you name what’s actually in the way.
For teams
Give every manager the kit.
A team license covers your whole group of managers, and can be paired with a live workshop or manager series so the tools get used, not filed.
Good questions
Before you ask.
Is this legal advice?
No. The kits cover how you prepare for and handle hard moments. For performance plans, terminations, and layoffs, follow your company’s process and local employment law, and involve HR before the conversation.
Will my company see my assessment answers?
No. Your answers stay private and are never shared with your employer.
What format are the kits?
Short PDFs you can fill in on screen or print. Most take under an hour to work through the first time.
Can my company buy these for all our managers?
Yes. Team licenses cover a whole group of managers and can be paired with a workshop or manager series.
What if the kits aren’t enough?
Book a free Next Move Session. Bring one real situation and leave knowing what’s actually in the way and your first moves.
Bring me the messy leadership problem.
30 minutes. You’ll leave with a clear read on what’s driving it and the most useful place to start. You don’t need to have it figured out first.
On Substack
Resourced Humans.
Rethinking how we work, lead, and live well.
Fresh perspectives on workplace culture, human performance, and life beyond the job title. Practical, a little spicy, and never business as usual.