Leland+ Content Library

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.

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.

M7 MBA Interview Bank: 150+ Questions by School (2024–25)

A comprehensive reference guide to documented M7 MBA interview questions — organized by school. Covers all seven programs (HBS, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Kellogg, Booth, MIT Sloan, and Columbia) with school-specific format breakdowns, 150+ questions categorized by theme, insider tips on what each school’s interviewers are actually evaluating, and a universal question bank that applies across all programs. Questions compiled from self-reported applicant accounts across the 2024 and 2025 admissions cycles.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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.

Top 5 Tips for Your Law School Application [3/5/2026] (Recording)

Join Indrani as she goes over her top 5 tips to help you put your best foot forward as you apply to law school! A great law school application requires research, authenticity and hard work, and Indrani will help you strategize. She will go over the importance of the LSAT, putting together a thoughtful school list, who should submit letters of recommendation, how to go about writing your essays and the optimal timeline for getting it all done! The session will end with ample time for questions and answers.

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.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Harvard Essay 2 Example

Harvard Essay 2 example, female from a CPG start-up, accepted into the class of 2028.

Time GRE Verbal Timing & Pacing Strategy

This guide presents a structured approach to managing time during the GRE Verbal sections. It explains how to maintain consistent pacing, prioritize question types strategically, and make effective decisions when encountering difficult questions. Students will learn how to use timing checkpoints, implement a skip-and-return strategy, and allocate time efficiently across Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, and Reading Comprehension questions. The guide also outlines a practical system for reviewing flagged questions and maintaining control of the section under timed conditions. This framework is designed to help students maximize accuracy while avoiding common timing traps, ensuring they reach every question and make the most of the available time during the GRE Verbal section.

Analyzing your LinkedIn Network with Claude Code

Your LinkedIn network holds more data—and opportunity—than you think. The question is: are you using it strategically? In this session, we’ll explore how to leverage Claude Code to analyze your connections, uncover patterns, and identify hidden pathways to internships, jobs, and industry insights. You’ll learn how to map influence, spot high-value clusters, and turn a passive network into an active career asset. If you’re ready to combine AI tools with intentional networking to unlock smarter outreach and real results, this is where you start.

What Really Happens After You Submit: How MBA Applications Are Read, Sorted, and Remembered

What actually happens once you hit submit on your MBA application? In this session, Bianca Keys, CEO of Admit.me Access, pulls back the curtain on how applications are reviewed, evaluated, and discussed behind closed doors. You’ll learn how files are read, what admissions committees prioritize, how candidates are compared, and what makes certain applicants memorable. This conversation will give you a clearer understanding of how to position your materials so they stand out long after the first read.

From Field to Framework: Crafting a Civilian-Ready MBA Resume

Military experience translates powerfully to MBA admissions when it’s framed in the language schools understand. This session shows you how to convert roles, missions, and outcomes into civilian-ready impact, highlight leadership and decision-making, and align your resume with post-MBA goals. You’ll learn how to quantify results, choose the right stories, and avoid common translation pitfalls so your resume clearly signals readiness for top programs.

Are You Thriving or Surviving as a Leader?

Are You Thriving or Surviving as a Leader? A 3-Minute Leadership Check-In Why This Matters High-performing leaders are often the last to notice when they’ve shifted from thriving to simply surviving. This brief reflection is designed to help you pause, assess, and realign.

The Interview Narrative Toolkit

Interviews aren't a memory test. They're a communication test. The Interview Narrative Toolkit gives you a repeatable method for answering behavioral questions in a way that's specific, credible, and actually interesting to listen to. It's built around the CARL framework — not because frameworks are magic, but because most people ramble without one. What's inside: You'll learn how to isolate your actual contribution from the team's work, which is the thing most candidates blur and most interviewers notice. You'll get a breakdown of the phrases that feel safe but quietly tank your signal — the "we wore many hats" answers, the "great learning experience" deflections — and what to say instead interview-narra...it (1).pdf . And you'll walk away with a method you can apply to any story, not just the ones you prepped. The goal isn't a perfect answer. It's a demo-able one. Concrete. Under two minutes. Yours. One story rewritten using this method is enough to see the difference. Most people find they've been underselling themselves for years — not because their work wasn't good, but because they never learned how to make it visible.

Craft Your Narrative, Tell Your Story: Winning Personal Statement Strategies

A strong personal statement isn’t about listing achievements, it’s about telling a clear, intentional story that helps readers understand who you are, what drives you, and where you’re headed. In this session, you’ll learn how to identify the throughline in your experiences, structure your narrative for impact, and avoid common pitfalls that dilute otherwise strong applications. Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining a draft, you’ll leave with practical strategies to craft a personal statement that feels authentic, focused, and memorable.

Breaking Into Growth Equity: How Funds Think, Hire, and Invest

Growth equity is where high-growth companies scale—and breaking in starts with understanding how funds operate. This session offers an inside look at how growth equity firms think, hire, and invest. You’ll learn how funds evaluate opportunities, what they look for in candidates, and how recruiting differs from PE or VC. Whether you’re exploring the space or preparing to recruit, you’ll leave with clear insight and momentum to pursue growth equity with confidence.

M7 MBA Essay Question Bank: Prompts by School (2024–25)

A reference guide to official M7 MBA essay prompts — organized by school. Covers all seven programs with each school’s full prompt list, word counts, what the admissions committee is actually evaluating per prompt, the most common mistakes that cost applicants, and strategic tips on what each school’s adcom is really looking for. Includes a format comparison table and universal essay principles that apply across all M7 applications.

The $100K H-1B Pathway: Landing Your Role in BigTech

Breaking into Big Tech on an H-1B can feel overwhelming, but the right strategy can dramatically increase your odds. In this session, we’ll break down how candidates successfully land six-figure roles at top tech companies while navigating visa considerations, recruiting timelines, and employer sponsorship realities. You’ll learn how to position your skills for high-impact roles, target companies and teams that regularly sponsor, and avoid common mistakes that limit international candidates’ opportunities. Whether you’re early in your search or actively recruiting, this session will give you a clearer roadmap to securing a Big Tech role that supports long-term career growth in the U.S.

Deferred MBA Planning — Preparing for a Successful Application [3/5/2026] (Recording)

Are you gearing up for the deferred MBA application process sometime in the next couple of years? Join me for a session dedicated to making sure you are well prepared when application season rolls around. I'm John, CEO of Leland, and I'll be your host for this session. Prior to Leland, I was admitted to HBS 2+2 and Stanford GSB deferred, and then founded Deferred MBA Consulting. In the past 8 years I have helped thousands of people with their deferred applications. Space is limited, so make sure to RSVP and secure your spot today!

The Internal Pivot Playbook

How to move into a new role, function, or business unit without leaving your company: the full arc most professionals navigate alone and without a roadmap. This guide covers how to diagnose whether an internal pivot is the right move, how to position yourself before anyone knows you’re interested, how to have the conversation with your manager, how to navigate the three most common responses, what to negotiate (and how), and how to land well in the new role without the overconfidence trap.

The Comprehensive Guide to PE Secondaries Recruiting

Interested in recruiting for private equity secondaries? This PDF is a 25-page guide to private equity secondaries written by a former Blackstone Strategic Partners Associate who spent 4 years executing GP-led continuation funds and co-investments. Covers everything you need to land a secondaries role: what secondaries are and why the market exists, a deep dive into LP-led vs. GP-led transactions with walkthrough examples, the J-curve and how secondaries mitigate it, a ranked table of the top 25 secondaries firms by AUM, which major PE firms are launching secondaries practices (and why), 2024–2025 market data and trends ($226B+ in volume, the rise of single-asset CVs, credit and VC secondaries), 15+ technical interview questions with detailed answers, 10 behavioral questions with full sample answers, and a 'Why Secondaries' framework you can adapt to any firm. Updated March 2026.