You Onboarded Their Replacement. Nobody Onboarded the New Manager.
Promoted managers skip onboarding because they already know the company. They do not know the job. A first-year plan for HR, with seven checkpoints.
Read article →For HR and for anyone who manages a new manager: how to onboard and support people through their first year of managing others.
Everything else on this site is written for the new manager. This collection is written for the people around them: HR, and the leader a new manager now reports to. Between them they decide most of what a new manager's first year looks like, and they rarely get a guide of their own.
The starting point is a gap that is easy to miss. A promoted employee already knows the company, so they skip onboarding, but they do not know the job, and the job is where the first year goes right or wrong. The pillar guide lays out a first-year plan: what HR does, what the boss does, and seven checkpoints that keep problems from being discovered for the first time at the annual review.
Promoted managers skip onboarding because they already know the company. They do not know the job. A first-year plan for HR, with seven checkpoints.
Read article →How to navigate the IC-to-manager transition. The promotion shift, common mistakes, and how to build your identity as a leader without faking it.
Week-by-week plans, checklists, and practical action steps for your first 90 days as a new manager. Know exactly what to do from Day 1.
How to have difficult conversations, give honest feedback, and navigate conflict as a first-time manager, without destroying relationships or morale.
How to run effective one-on-one meetings as a new manager. Templates, questions, structure, and common mistakes to avoid.
How to hire your first employee, end to end. Job description, interviews, offer, and onboarding. Built for founders and small business owners.
How to build trust, create psychological safety, and develop a strong team culture as a first-time manager.
How to set meaningful team goals, track progress without micromanaging, and actually deliver results: practical frameworks for first-time managers.
How to manage your relationship with your boss, align expectations, deliver bad news, and advocate for your team. Practical guides for first-time managers.
How to use AI tools to become a better manager, whether you lead a team of engineers, warehouse workers, nurses, or baristas. No tech background required.
How to recognize burnout, manage stress, and protect your mental health as a first-time manager, without feeling guilty about putting yourself first.
How to run performance reviews, give feedback, and have growth conversations that actually move the needle. Practical frameworks for first-time managers.
The leadership skills that matter when your offsite is a Tuesday 1-on-1. The ten that compound on a small team, each diagnosed before it is prescribed.
How to build engagement and a team people want to be part of, without a budget or a ropes course. What actually moves the needle for first-time managers.
How to manage a remote or hybrid team as a first-time manager. What actually breaks at distance, and the practices that fix it without surveillance.