Leland+ for Leadership Coaching

A First-Time Manager's Guide to Success

A starter kit for new people leaders on what to do before your first day, and how to have an effective first week.

Hidden Workload Audit & Reflection

This exercise will help you identify everything you're doing that is not on your “to-do” list, so you can see where your time is actually going and what’s pulling your attention away from meaningful work. Designed for anyone who feels busy but not making the progress they expect.

The Year-End Review Playbook

Most professionals approach the year-end review passively and leave the outcome to chance. This guide covers the full process high performers use: building a documented case throughout the year, writing a self-assessment for the calibration room (not just your manager’s inbox), preparing your manager to advocate for you in the room you’re not in, and using the review conversation to set the terms for next year. Includes before/after self-assessment examples and exact language for the conversations most people avoid.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

How to Build a High-Performing Team From Scratch

High-performing teams are built deliberately, not accidentally. This guide covers the five foundations every high-performing team requires — Clarity, Standards, Trust, Accountability, and Growth — plus how to set the right conditions in your first 60 days, how to manage different performers differently, and the warning signs that a strong team is starting to slip.

The Structured 1:1 Template for Managers

The 1:1 is the most underused tool in a manager’s kit. This template gives you a repeatable 30-minute structure that keeps 1:1s developmental rather than operational — including a five-section weekly framework, a monthly deep-dive question bank, and the five most common 1:1 mistakes and how to fix them. Designed to be shared with your direct report before each meeting.

How to Have a Difficult Performance Conversation

Most managers know when a performance problem exists months before they address it. This guide gives you a structured approach to the conversation you’ve been avoiding: how to prepare, a five-part conversation framework, what to say at each stage, how to handle resistance, and what to do in the 24 hours after — including when to involve HR.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

How to Give Feedback That Actually Changes Behavior

Most managers give feedback. Few give feedback that sticks. This guide breaks down the four reasons feedback fails, then gives you a repeatable four-part framework — Situation, Behavior, Impact, Next Step — with side-by-side examples showing ineffective vs. effective delivery. Includes a section on handling the most common reactions: defensiveness, denial, and empty agreement.

Managing Up: A Field Guide

Managing up isn’t about flattering your boss — it’s about owning the relationship with the person who has the most influence over your career. This guide covers how to diagnose your manager’s style, what to ask them early in any new relationship, the most common managing up mistakes and how to fix them, and how to navigate specific situations when the relationship is strained.

New People Manager: First 90-Day Checklist

A phase-by-phase checklist for your first 90 days as a people manager: diagnose before you prescribe, provide clarity on direction, then raise the bar on performance, Includes the five most common new manager traps and a clear definition of what good looks like at 90 days.

How To Have the Promotion Conversation

Most promotion conversations fail not because the person wasn't ready -- but because they handled it wrong. This guide covers when to have the conversation, what to say, how to handle pushback, and what to do after. Includes sample language and a follow up email template.

Promotion Readiness Scorecard

Score yourself across the five dimensions that actually drive promotion decisions -- Performance, Visibility, Leadership Presence, Sponsorship, and Business Impact. Identify your biggest gap and walk away with a prioritized 90-day action plan.

From Constantly Overwhelmed to Back in Control [7/22/2026] (Recording)

Feeling overwhelmed has become the norm for many people, but staying there doesn’t have to be. In this session, we’ll explore why overwhelm happens, how it impacts focus, energy, and decision-making, and what it takes to regain a sense of control. You’ll walk away with a practical strategy to reduce mental clutter, prioritize what matters, and create a more sustainable way of working and living.

Beat Burnout Without Sacrificing Success | Johns Hopkins & Harvard Coach-PhD [8/26/2026] (Recording)

Somewhere along the way, ambitious leaders were sold a lie: that success requires sacrifice, and that if you're not running on empty, you're not working hard enough. I've spent my career as a coach-scientist and I trained at Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Emory. In this live session, I'll break down: 1) The connection between wellbeing, leadership effectiveness, and long-term, sustainable success 2) Where coaching starts to protect your energy and focus without dialing down your ambition 3) We'll close with live Q&A, so come with questions about staying at your best without burning out. You'll leave with a new way to think about wellbeing. It's now what you earn once the work is done, it's the thing that makes work sustainable. Event Title: Beating Burnout Without Sacrificing Success Format: Live virtual session with audience Q&A Audience: Leaders, executives, and professionals seeking sustainable high performance Session Includes: Expert insights, a practical roadmap supported with coaching, and live Q&A

Summer Leadership Series: Clarity For Your Next Chapter [7/22/2026] (Recording)

How Great Leaders Make Decisions Without Perfect Information Have you ever felt stuck between multiple good options? Whether you're considering a promotion, changing careers, transitioning from the military, starting a business, or simply trying to figure out what's next, uncertainty can make even capable leaders feel overwhelmed. The challenge usually isn't a lack of information—it's the pressure to make the "right" decision. In this interactive 45-minute workshop, we'll explore why high performers often struggle with major life and career decisions and introduce practical tools to help you move forward with greater clarity and confidence. This isn't a presentation about finding the perfect answer. It's a conversation about learning to trust yourself, align your decisions with your values, and take the next step with intention. What You'll Learn During this session, you'll: • Understand why capable leaders often feel stuck during periods of transition. • Learn a simple framework for making decisions when certainty isn't possible. • Explore the role values, identity, and energy play in creating clarity. • Work through a guided reflection exercise to identify your own "next waypoint." • Leave with practical questions and tools you can immediately apply to your career and life. Who Should Attend? This session is designed for: Mid-career and senior professionals. Anyone navigating transition. Executives and emerging leaders. Entrepreneurs and business owners. Anyone facing an important decision or a new chapter in life. No matter where you are in your journey, you'll leave with a greater perspective and a practical framework for navigating uncertainty with confidence. What You'll Walk Away With By the end of our time together, you'll have: ✅ A clearer understanding of what's driving your current decisions. ✅ A framework for moving from uncertainty to intentional action. ✅ Reflection tools you can continue using long after the session. ✅ Greater confidence in identifying and taking your next step. My hope isn't that you leave with your next ten years figured out. My hope is that you leave knowing your next waypoint. Because you don't have to see the entire horizon. You only have to trust yourself enough to steer toward the next waypoint.

Leading Teams in the Era of AI: Crucial Skills for 2026 and Beyond [9/16/2026] (Recording)

Teams and organizations, along with their managers, are working (or struggling) to 'adapt as they adopt' new AI-enabled processes and tools. First taught as a course at Stanford, 'Leading Teams in the Era of AI' explores key managerial challenges that AI transformation can catalyze, which include: - maintaining motivation and a strong team culture in the face of rapid change and fear - communicating effectively when info saturation is a reality - clarifying roles and rules as AI augmentation and agents blur traditional boundaries - understanding different high level organizational strategies for AI adoption and their associated tradeoffs - increasing the pace and depth of team and organizational learning - recognizing how and why generative AI technology in particular requires new mindsets This session will summarize and highlight key findings and takeaways from the course, while offering a few simple tools to help leaders manage change when technological change keeps accelerating.

Positioning Yourself Strategically in the First 90 Days [9/30/2026] (Recording)

As a high performer, you got promoted for being reliable, trustworthy, sharp, and getting things done. Once you're promoted to leadership, those same instincts can start working against you. “GTD” on its own is no longer enough. So what will it be for you at the next level? In this 30-minute session, I'll walk you through the 3-move framework I use with leaders in their first 90 days, so you're positioned to be seen as a leader, not just a reliable contributor. For leaders who are new to a role, mid-transition, or about to be. Bring your situation, we'll work it live.

Listen Like a Leader [9/22/2026] (Recording)

Outcomes Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how the quality of their attention shapes the conversations they have as leaders. They’ll learn to recognize when their attention has shifted toward solving, judging, interpreting, or preparing a response, and how to bring it back to the person in front of them. Through practical techniques and guided practice, participants will experience how focused attention can uncover what matters, encourage better thinking, and create more productive conversations. Learning Objectives By the end of the session, participants will be able to: * Recognize where their attention goes during important conversations. * Notice the habits that pull attention away from the other person. * Use focused attention and curiosity to uncover what matters and encourage better thinking. * Apply a few simple practices to everyday leadership conversations. Details Leadership happens through conversation, and the quality of those conversations depends on where we put our attention. In this interactive session, we’ll explore focused attention as a practical leadership skill: what gets in the way, what we miss when our attention shifts toward solving or responding, and how greater presence and curiosity can lead to better conversations. Expect brief teaching, reflection, practice, and techniques you can use immediately with your team. Length: 45 minutes Format: Interactive livestream Best for: Managers, team leads, technical leaders, and anyone responsible for developing or getting the best thinking from others.

Am I Doing a Good Job? How to Know Where You Stand at Work [10/7/2026] (Recording)

It can be surprisingly difficult to know where you really stand at work. You may be working hard, getting things done, and receiving positive feedback, but are you meeting expectations, exceeding them, or somewhere in between? This highly interactive livestream will include guided discussion, questions, and real workplace examples, we’ll explore how to know what strong performance looks like beyond simply being busy or working hard. You’ll leave with an understanding of steps you can take to assess your performance and understand what exceeding expectations looks like in your specific role, and determine whether you’re already operating at that level, or what you may need to do to get there.

Beating Burnout: TEAM LEADER EDITION | Johns Hopkins & Harvard Coach-PhD [9/30/2026] (Recording)

Somewhere along the way, ambitious leaders were sold a lie: that success requires sacrifice, and that if you're not running on empty, you're not working hard enough. I've spent my career as a coach-scientist and I trained at Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Emory. In this live session, I'll break down: 1) The connection between wellbeing, leadership effectiveness, and long-term, sustainable success for you and your team. Burnout is a systems issue! 2) Where coaching starts to protect your energy and support better team functioning. 3) We'll close with live Q&A, so come with questions about staying at your best without burning out. You'll leave with a new way to think about wellbeing. It's now what you earn once the work is done, it's the thing that makes work sustainable for the entire team. Event Title: Beating Burnout Without Sacrificing Success Format: Live virtual session with audience Q&A Audience: Leaders, executives, and professionals seeking sustainable high performance Session Includes: Expert insights, a practical roadmap supported with coaching, and live Q&A

The Unwritten Rules of Getting Promoted [7/20/2026] (Recording)

Ready to move up in your career and wondering how to climb the corporate ladder? Join me for an insightful session on "The Unwritten Rules of Getting Promoted." In this event, we'll explore key strategies in leadership, skill-building, and career planning to help you break through barriers and achieve your professional goals. Whether you're looking to make a move or find your next role, this session will provide you with the tools and insights needed to elevate your career. Topics: Creating Credibility Showing Up Elevating Your Role Making Sure You & Your Work are a Priority About Jeff Sigel: With over two decades of experience in marketing and business intelligence, including VP roles at Cracker Barrel and Ahold Delhaize, I've honed my skills in leadership development and career advancement.