01
Foundation before the pyramid
Your role as a manager
- What managers really do (the role on paper)
- The unspoken role — hard conversations, emotions, life/work overlap, leading change
- Micro vs. under-management
Cultivating the Conditions for High Performance
Managing with intention to build teams that thrive.
Management is more than delivering results. It's creating the conditions for them.
This course teaches the spoken and unspoken realities of managing people — equipping you to build trust, navigate complexity, and create the conditions where teams can truly thrive.
Includes workbook
The work no one prepares you for
You were promoted into management. Nobody told you about the unspoken job description.
On paper, the job is goals, headcount, performance reviews, communication, results. In reality, you're also navigating hard conversations, regulating your own emotions while managing everyone else's, supporting people through life events that show up at work, and leading through constant change.
That's the work that actually makes a manager great. And it's the work this course was built to teach.
The unspoken role
Navigating hard conversations
The unspoken role
Managing emotions (yours + theirs)
The unspoken role
Supporting the overlap of life and work
The unspoken role
Leading the constant of change
What's inside
Six modules. One coherent framework.
Each module builds on the last to form what I call the Hierarchy of High Performance — the conditions great managers create, in the order they actually matter.
Each module card below is color-coded to mirror its layer in the pyramid.
The framework
A High Performing Teams Hierarchy of Needs.
Like Maslow's hierarchy, each layer only works when the one beneath it is solid. Most managers try to lead from the top — celebrating, transparency, flexibility — without ever building the foundation of safety and clear expectations underneath.
This course walks you up the pyramid, layer by layer, so the management practices you build actually hold.
02
Pyramid base · Foundation
A foundation of safety
- Safety through empathy & vulnerability
- Safety through emotional intelligence
- Safety through understanding emotion
03
Pyramid · Layer 2
Setting clear expectations
- The what, why, and how of running great 1:1s
- Setting expectations that stick
- Improving your follow-through
04
Pyramid · Layer 3
Flexibility
- Spectrums of flexibility
- The real impact of flexibility on performance
- Focusing on output, not optics
05
Pyramid · Layer 4
Radical transparency
- The case for radical transparency
- The C.L.E.A.R. model for difficult conversations
- How to be honest without being harsh
06
Pyramid peak · Top
Advocacy
- The art of elevating your employees
- What advocacy looks like (and what it doesn't)
- Celebrating success in ways that land
What you walk away with
Practical, lasting, and built to use Monday morning.
This isn't theory. It's the conversations, frameworks, and small shifts that turn capable contributors into managers their teams want to keep working for.
- 1
Lead with intention — knowing exactly what role you're playing and when
- 2
Run 1:1s and feedback conversations that actually move people forward
- 3
Hold hard conversations with clarity and care (using the C.L.E.A.R. model)
- 4
Build a team culture where psychological safety drives real performance
- 5
Recognize and respond to the human realities of your team without burning out
- 6
Walk away with a printable workbook + frameworks to revisit anytime
Your instructor
Courtney Schultz
Founder, Manage(Meant) Excellence
I've spent most of my career in management, with over 15 years of experience leading teams of all sizes across functions, industries, and time zones. I've led multiple levels of leadership, managed and expanded a global train-the-trainer network to more than 2,800 trainers, and developed a deep foundation in training, development, and change management. I've also consulted on complex transformation efforts inside Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 organizations.
I hold a Master's in Organizational Leadership, Change Management, and Strategic Innovation. I'm also a mom of three, which has taught me just as much about leadership as any role I've held.
I built Manage(Meant) Excellence because the management training I experienced never prepared me for the actual realities of the role. This course is the one I wish I'd had at the start of my career, and one I now share with the managers I support today.
Two ways to enroll
Pick the way you want to learn.
Same core curriculum, two formats. Take it on your own, or join a live cohort with me and a small group of other managers.
Live virtual cohort
Join the live experience
$149one-time
Projected next course: Late August
Live, virtual session and a small cohort of other managers. Real-time discussion, Q&A, and the chance to bring your actual current challenges to the conversation.
Includes The Manager Toolkit (a $59 value)
45+ real-world scenarios, scripts, and reflection prompts you can pull from after the course wraps.
What's included
- Live virtual sessions
- Small-group discussion
- Real-time Q&A on your challenges
- Full course materials + workbook
- The Manager Toolkit bundled in
- Access to slides + audio after
Already have the Toolkit?
Buy the Manager Toolkit before the cohort starts and receive a discount on your live cohort enrollment.
Self-paced
Don't want to wait? Take it on your own.
$65one-time
Same six modules — slides and audio you can move through at your own pace. Ready immediately.
What's included
- All 6 modules (slides + audio)
- Downloadable workbook (PDF)
- Lifetime access — revisit anytime
- Instant access after purchase
Secure checkout via Stripe. 14-day refund if it doesn't land.
Questions, answered