The Change Business · LIFT™ Learning Journeys
Sample Communication Journey for New Managers
For people who have just stepped up to lead a team, often the one they used to be part of. Every step is built around a moment new managers face early: the first team meeting, the first hard conversation, the first time they are asked a tough question by someone senior. Each step can run in person or virtually, and the pace is set with the client.
In person
Virtual
Blended
Pace agreed with you
Step 1
Make the shift
Kick-off · profiling
Step 2
Show up as a leader
Executive Presence
Step 3
Answer with clarity
Think on Your Feet®
Step 4
Give feedback that lands
The Feedback Conversation
Step 5
Own the hard talks
Own Your Conversation™
Step 6
Run the room
Facilitation Skills for Leaders
Step 7
Present to influence
Presenting Intelligence™ · Showcase
The order follows how a new manager’s communication widens: from how they come across, to one-to-one conversations, to leading the team in the room, to influencing upwards.
The journey, step by step
Dark chips show the module in this sample. Outlined chips are TCB programmes we can swap in. Every step shows how it runs in the room and online.
1
Opening
Make the shift
Name what changes when you go from doing the work to leading the people who do it, and see your own communication style clearly.
The moment
“Last month we had lunch together as peers. This month I’m doing their performance review.”
Sample opener
Kick-off with a fireside chat
DISC profile
Or swap in
Open Space session
EQ-i 2.0®
HBDI®
MBTI®
SoundWave®
In person
Senior leaders share their own first-time-manager stories in the room, followed by a group profile debrief.
Virtual
A live online fireside chat with Q&A, then profile debriefs in small breakout groups.
2
Presence
Show up as a leader
Come across as calm, credible and approachable, in meetings, on camera and in the corridor, so people trust you before you say much at all.
The moment
Walking into the first team meeting as the manager, with everyone watching how you handle it.
Sample module
Executive Presence
Or swap in
The Flexible Communicator™
Leadership by Design
EQ@Work™
In person
Room-based practice of voice, posture and entrances, with video playback and peer feedback.
Virtual
Focus on on-camera presence: framing, voice, pace and holding attention in online meetings.
3
Clarity
Answer with clarity
Organise your thoughts quickly and give a clear, structured answer when you’re put on the spot.
The moment
Your boss’s boss turns to you in a meeting and asks, “So where is your team on this?”
Sample module
Think on Your Feet®
Or swap in
Lead With The Answer™
The WRITE Response™
Speak in Stories™
In person
Rapid-fire practice rounds with real workplace questions and instant feedback from the group.
Virtual
Live online sessions with breakout practice, built for answering clearly in video calls.
4
Feedback
Give feedback that lands
Give regular, specific feedback, both praise and correction, in a way people can hear and act on.
The moment
A strong team member keeps missing deadlines, and you’ve been putting off saying anything.
Sample module
The Feedback Conversation
The Leader’s Feedback Field Guide · take-away
Or swap in
Coaching Skills for Managers
The Empathetic Leader
In person
Practice with real cases participants bring, in trios: one gives feedback, one receives, one observes.
Virtual
Short live sessions with breakout role-plays, and a feedback task to try with the team before the next session.
5
Conversations
Own the hard talks
Go into difficult conversations prepared, stay steady when emotions rise, and come out with an agreed way forward.
The moment
Telling a former peer that their promotion request is a no, or pushing back on an unrealistic deadline from above.
Sample module
Own Your Conversation™ · with Sharmini Suthan
Or swap in
Resolution-First Communication™
Influencing without Authority
Foundational Negotiation Skills
In person
Rehearse real upcoming conversations, with the facilitator stepping in to replay key moments.
Virtual
Online rehearsal in small breakout groups, with a planning sheet for each conversation.
Why feedback comes first: everyday feedback builds the trust that makes the harder conversations easier. New managers practise the routine before the difficult.
6
Team
Run the room
Lead team meetings where people speak up, ideas get tested and decisions stick, instead of talking at the team.
The moment
Your weekly team meeting has gone quiet, and the same two people do all the talking.
Sample module
Facilitation Skills for Leaders · with Isman Tanuri
Or swap in
Coaching Skills for Managers
Building a High Performing Team
In person
Each participant facilitates a short slice of the workshop and gets feedback on how they ran it.
Virtual
Tools for online and hybrid meetings: whiteboards, polls, breakouts and drawing in quiet voices.
Facilitation or coaching? For many new managers, learning to facilitate their team works better than learning to coach individuals. We help the client choose.
7
Finale
Present to influence
Build a presentation around what the audience needs to hear, and present it with confidence to senior leaders.
The moment
Your first time presenting your team’s results and plans to the leadership team.
Sample module
Presenting Intelligence™
Showcase to senior leaders
Or swap in
Speak in Stories™
Lead With The Answer™
In person
A live showcase to a sponsor panel, with questions, so participants use Think on Your Feet® skills too.
Virtual
An online showcase to sponsors, a real test of the on-camera presence built in Step 2.
The finale: each participant presents a real team idea or update. It shows the growth across the journey and gives senior leaders a direct view of their new managers.
Choosing how it runs
Every step works in the room or online. Many clients mix the two.
In person
Most practice, most connection
Best when the group can gather in one place.
• Richer role-play and video playback
• Cohort builds a peer network
• Strongest for Executive Presence and the Showcase
Virtual
Reach every location
Best for regional or hybrid teams.
• Shorter live sessions with practice in between
• Skills used straight away in online meetings
• Less time away from the team
Blended
The best of both
A common choice for new-manager groups.
• Open and close in person
• Middle steps online
• Coaching held virtually throughout
We don’t fix the length up front. The journey can run as a focused programme or alongside a manager’s first months in role, depending on the cohort and the business calendar.
Running throughout
These stay the same whichever modules and delivery mode a client picks.
1:1 coaching
Sessions with a TCB Collective coach to turn the learning into personal goals.
Beginning, middle and end
Try-it practice
One small, real-work task after every step, so the skill shows up with the team the following week.
After every step
Peer practice pairs
New managers pair up to rehearse conversations and swap what is working.
Between steps
Line manager check-ins
Short conversations so each participant’s own manager knows what to look for and can support it.
Start, middle and end
How progress is measured
Light to run, and visible to participants, their managers and HR.
Confidence pulse
A two-minute self-rating on the seven skills in this journey, compared at the start, middle and end.
Step 1, mid-point and Step 7
Team voice
A short pulse from each manager’s team on clarity, feedback and meetings, to show change from the team’s side.
Start and end
Showcase assessment
Sponsors rate each final presentation on clarity, structure, presence and handling of questions.
Step 7
How we shape it for you
This sample is a starting point. The final journey is built with the client.
Listen
Hear the real challenges
We meet sponsors and hear from new managers and their bosses about where communication gets stuck.
Choose
Pick the steps and the mode
We select modules, the profiling tool, the pace and the in-person or virtual mix that fit your people.
Agree
Set the measures
We agree up front what success looks like and how it will be tracked.
