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.

How to Lead the Room with Executive Presence

Executive presence is one of those phrases that gets thrown around a lot in leadership conversations. You've probably heard it. You may have even been told you need more of it. But here's the problem: most people can't tell you what it actually means. It's not charisma. It's not being the loudest person in the room. It's not even being the most polished. Executive presence is the ability to make people feel — in your presence — that things are under control, that someone capable is leading, and that their time and attention is being respected. It's a signal. And like any signal, it can be developed, sharpened, and directed. This guide is built around three pillars that I've seen transform how executives show up: Clarity, Credibility, and Confidence. They're related — and yes, they overlap. But they each do distinct work, and understanding the difference matters.

The Hiring Room: Amazon TA Leader’s Interview Playbook

This is not a list of behavioural questions. It’s a comprehensive, end-to-end interview strategy guide from a former Amazon Talent Acquisition leader and Stanford graduate — designed to help you think, prepare, and perform like a top candidate. We begin before the interview even exists: clarifying who you are, what you want, and how to align your narrative with the roles you’re pursuing. From there, we move through resume positioning, strategic storytelling, behavioural frameworks, executive presence, and what interviewers are actually assessing behind the scenes.

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.

The Unwritten Rules of Getting Promoted

This pdf offers 3 rules of getting promoted that most often get missed when people find themselves stuck in their careers. It also offers some powerful questions you can ask your boss to help you understand what might be going on when you are feeling stuck in your career.

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.

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.

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 Clarity Compass: 5 Coaching Questions

This is a short, reflective workbook for high achievers navigating transition, burnout, or ‘what’s next’ moments.

Home for Ambition #2 — Weekly Live Show [3/25/2026] (Recording)

Home for Ambition is a weekly live show, by Leland, for people trying to stay ahead as work, learning, and opportunity keep changing. Each episode tackles a handful of timely, high-signal topics across AI, careers, education, and the future of work. We expect thoughtful debate, unique perspectives, and practical takeaways you can actually use. It is not a typical interview show or a generic news recap. It is a live roundtable built to help ambitious people make sense of what is changing, understand what matters, and leave with a sharper point of view on how to navigate what comes next.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Resume Best Practices: Tips to Take Your CV From Meh to Magnifico!

After 15+ years of reviewing more applicant resumes than I care to count as a recruiter/hiring manager/talent leader at McKinsey and Bain, these are the core tips I coach my clients to always consider when crafting their CV.

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.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Transitioning from a Manager to a Leader — Strategies to Help You Inspire, Lead, and Support People From All Backgrounds

​Making the leap from manager to leader is one of the most pivotal—and challenging—career transitions you can make. It requires shifting from overseeing tasks to inspiring, empowering, and supporting people from all backgrounds. ​In this event, coaches Debonné N., Dana L., and Caroline K. will share actionable strategies to help you strengthen your presence, build trust, and lead with empathy and accountability. Whether you’re stepping into a leadership role for the first time or refining your approach, you’ll walk away with practical insights to motivate diverse teams and avoid the common pitfalls new leaders face.

5 Step Reset Framework

It is a framework to use in the moment when you experience overwhelm. It is complementary to a training I lead on overwhelm