Nobody gave them a playbook for what comes next.
The New Manager Playbook System gives new and established managers a shared set of tools to build trust, hold people accountable, and lead without burning out or escalating everything to you.
THE CONTEXT
Today’s leaders are expected to do things nobody formally taught them how to do.
That’s not instinct, it’s a skillset you have to learn.
THE COST OF LEAVING IT TO INSTINCT
70%
of team engagement is determined by the manager, not the work itself
57%
of employees have left a job because of their manager, not the role
50-200%
the cost of replacing one employee who leaves because of poor leadership
SO I BUILT THE SYSTEM
WHAT MANAGERS WILL LEARN
The practical foundation they were never formally trained on, covering the real situations they face every week – not theory they’ll forget by Friday.
MODULE 01
Becoming an Effective Leader
Why leading feels harder than expected, and how to build the trust and presence that makes your team want to follow you. The shift from doing to leading, and why that shift is so hard to make without a system.
MODULE 02
Creating Clarity in the Day-to-Day
How to set clear expectations, run 1:1s that actually matter, and create the conditions where your team can do their best work. Clear expectations before the work starts. Career conversations that keep people motivated.
MODULE 03
Getting Results Without Carrying Everything
How to give feedback people can use, build real accountability, and delegate in a way that develops your team instead of just offloading tasks. Why accountability is a communication problem, not a character problem.
MODULE 04
Leading When Things Are Hardest
How to navigate conflict, coach your team through uncertainty, understanding how to fold AI into their workflow, and lead through change without burning everyone out. Conflict before it escalates. Coaching as a superpower instead of a last resort.
IS THIS RIGHT FOR YOU?
This is the right fit if..
This is the right fit if…
You’ve probably already tried…
THE DIFFERENCE
Instead of a static course your managers zone out halfway through, gamified to keep learners engage, this system builds skills the same way behavior actually changes: over time, with practice, and with accountability built in.
VIDEO
Videos to introduce each lesson and contextualize the content, with examples drawn from real leadership situations inside some of the world’s most demanding teams.
AUDIO
Audios to break down each exercise, with links to relevant episodes of Lia’s top-rated podcast, Managing Made Simple.
PRACTICE
Tools to download and use with your team the following Monday. Not theory. Not workbooks that sit in a drawer. Tools leaders actually use.
CONTEXT
Insights on today’s real leadership challenges: navigating AI & automation, leading through uncertainty, holding people accountable without burnout.
Every other training vendor brings a framework to your team. This brings the experience of having actually built the operating system at Google, Apple, and Microsoft. The framework vendors study organizations like the ones Lia worked inside.
THE ROI
Organizations that invest in structured leadership development see the results in the work:
94%
of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development (LinkedIn Learning’s Workplace Learning Report).
That number means your retention strategy runs through your managers. Not your perks package. Not your PTO policy. When leaders have the tools to develop the people underneath them, those people feel it- and they stay. The most direct path to that outcome is giving your managers what they were never formally taught.
Google, Apple, Microsoft – 10 years leading team operations
Launched zero to one products like Hololens & YouTube Shorts
3x bestselling author of leadership books
Featured in FastCompany, HBR, Fortune, WSJ, and more
Top 100 podcast in Management
I spent nearly a decade embedded inside Google, Microsoft, and Apple not advising from a distance, but accountable for making the work actually happen. Crafting OKRs and the systems to hold people accountable to them. Operating cadences for some of the highest-stakes product teams in tech.
Manager development programs that moved sentiment scores in measurable ways.
I saw the same pattern everywhere: high performers promoted into leadership without the tools for what came next. Not the theory of leadership. The actual conversations. The feedback nobody wants to give. The accountability that keeps slipping.
Every framework in this system came from a real situation, with real people, where getting it wrong had real consequences. That’s not a credential. It’s why this works.
THE SYSTEM
THE BOOK
#1 BESTSELLING
The tool to equip all managers with superpower skills to lead with confidence and ease. Perfect starting point or companion to the program.
THE PODCAST
TOP 2% GLOBALLY
The tool to equip all managers with superpower skills to lead with confidence and ease. Perfect starting point or companion to the program.
THE BOOK
DIGITAL OR HYBRID
The behavior change engine. Every lesson and session turns framework into habit, with practice, accountability, and direct application to what managers are navigating right now.
WHAT LEADERS ARE SAYING
“Through her Manager Development Series, Lia has been an incredible partner in guiding us through major changes at our firm. She thoughtfully adapted her program to meet our growing needs, helping us not just navigate the changes but truly thrive through them…Lia has become an essential part of our success.”
Erin Long-Scott – Senior HR Manager
Harrison LLP
“I’m appreciative of the time and attention you gave to Altitude through our session….The training helped identify some gap areas across the company that need to be unified for all managers, while also reinforcing the communication protocol we all know, but sometimes let fall by the wayside.”
Louis Holzman – VP Revenue Marketing
Altitude Marketing
“Lia’s many talents, experience, and practical approach to building resilient high-performing teams is unmatched. I’ve had the privilege to witness firsthand the transformative impact of her guidance, including double digit increases in employee sentiment scores following her programming. I can’t think of a better way to elevate your organization and find deeper enjoyment in your work.”
Jason Lawrence – Engineering Director
FLEXIBLE OPTIONS
Based on your cohort size, your timeline, and how much live support you want alongside the digital curriculum.
OPTION 1
Digital System
A self-paced format to deliver the system at scale, on your team’s timeline
Best for: Organizations that want scalable, flexible access for multiple leaders without fixed cohort timing.
OPTION 2 – MOST POPULAR
Digital System
A self-paced format to deliver the system at scale, on your team’s timeline
Best for: Cohorts of 8-100 leaders who want accountability and live facilitation.
OPTION 3
Tailored Support
A manager summit, offsite, or customized solution for your organization
Best for: Large organizations, specific industry contexts, or companies that need Lia to learn your world before a single session begins.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
The math is straightforward. Replacing one mid-level employee costs 1.5 times their annual salary. A manager who can't give feedback or hold people accountable is typically carrying two to three people performing below their potential. At a $90K average salary, that's $270K in underutilization. This program costs a fraction of that. We also establish pre- and post-measures at the start of every engagement so you have concrete data to bring back to leadership: confidence scores, peer feedback, and engagement score movement.
That's the most common reason organizations come to us. One-day workshops don't change behavior because behavior change happens over weeks, not hours. The 8-week structure with peer discussion and the option to add live facilitation was specifically designed to close the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it the following Monday.
This is exactly the right question to ask. The design does a lot of the work. The 8-week structure with peer discussion creates accountability between cohort members, not just to an assignment. The live sessions give them a place to bring real situations they're navigating right now, not hypotheticals. What we hear most often from managers after going through this: "I wish I'd had this sooner." When content speaks directly to what they're dealing with, engagement takes care of itself.
Frame it as an investment, not a remediation — and the program supports that framing from the first session. This isn't about fixing broken managers. It's about giving capable people the tools they were never formally given. Most managers go through this and feel seen, not evaluated. The most common response is relief: someone finally acknowledged how hard this job actually is and gave them something real to work with.
Reorgs create clarity gaps: unclear expectations, uncertain roles, teams waiting to see what happens next. That waiting period is exactly when strong leadership either holds teams together or accelerates attrition. Organizations that invest in their managers during transitions retain more people and recover faster. The companies that wait for the dust to settle find it doesn't settle on its own.
The Digital-Only version is self-paced, meaning teams can get through it as quickly as they like. Going through the digital content + practice takes about one hour per module (4 modules total). Digital + Live format runs 8 weeks, with one live session at the start and one at the close. Between those, managers work through lessons at their own pace, again at about 60 mins of practice per module. That's the time investment for a program that changes how they run every 1:1, every difficult conversation, and every accountability moment for the rest of their career.
It complements your existing infrastructure, it doesn't replace it. Most HR teams use it as the go-deeper layer: the specific language, rehearsed scenarios, and peer accountability that makes training land in real situations. Your L&D program gives them the framework. This gives them the words for Thursday's hard conversation.
The system is modular to scale to organizations of any size. Live sessions can be facilitated multiple times to accommodate time zones. We'll recommend the right format for your headcount on the demo call.
Ready to see it in action?
In 30 minutes you’ll get a walkthrough of the full system, see exactly what your leaders will experience, and figure out together how to structure it for your organization.
