Foundations in People Management and Leadership

Learn how role plays simulate real workplace conversations for practicing as a people manager in mock interviews and coaching, with prep tips, live ai conversations, and automated feedback.

Foundations in people management and leadership define management and the manager role, distinguish individual contributor and people manager tracks, and outline qualities and practices for managing performance, development, and wellbeing.

Explore a top-down competency framework that outlines 12 levels from associate to c-suite and defines key competencies like communication, adaptability, and reliability.

Define team culture as the shared values, attitudes, behaviors, and standards shaping the work environment. Apply steps: define values, be open, seek feedback, enable learning, keep communication open, give recognition.

Explore a practical interview framework covering screening, two substantive interviews, a test, and chemistry sessions, plus types of questions and templates to hire effectively.

Use an interview evaluation form that blends qualitative notes with a five-point scale to rate personality, skills, qualifications, and critical thinking, and share feedback across interviewers for consistency.

Evaluate new employees during a three-month probation by assessing performance, culture fit, and behaviors, with early feedback and weekly check-ins.

Explore common goal setting frameworks—kpis, okrs, mbos, ogsm—and learn how regular check-ins and alignment with department and company objectives improve manager-employee expectations.

Discover evidence-based goal setting for people managers: set specific, challenging goals aligned to purpose, provide regular feedback, and break work into actionable steps while avoiding overly safe smart goals.

Differentiate skills from competencies and guide direct reports by focusing on core skills and key competencies, monitored through feedback and a competency matrix.

Identify wanderers, pathfinders, and trailblazers to tailor career progression conversations with exploratory discussions, mapping, shadowing, stretch assignments, mentorship, autonomy, and strategic projects.

Identify performance issues in direct reports using the capability and culture-fit framework, and deliver constructive or negative feedback to address lack of skills development, goal progress, and behavior patterns.

Learn how to implement a performance improvement plan (PIP) to address recurring underperformance, set goals over 2 to 3 months, and document progress with weekly check-ins alongside HR.

Learn how to conduct a respectful termination for performance issues, including a performance improvement plan, pre-termination planning, a direct one-on-one meeting, and HR-aligned steps for with/without cause.

navigate the balancing act of managing your own responsibilities while supporting your team’s needs. cultivate patience, self-awareness, empathy, and time management to drive performance and development under pressure.

Explore the foundations of people management and leadership through core topics like manager fundamentals, leadership styles, org structure, hiring, goal setting, psychological safety, and performance appraisal insights.