Develop stronger managers before leadership challenges become organizational problems.
Your strongest technical contributors were promoted because they deliver results. Now they're expected to lead people, navigate difficult conversations, manage competing priorities, and build high-performing teams.
The Manager's Circle helps emerging managers build the practical leadership skills needed to lead with confidence while strengthening performance, retention, and accountability across your organization.
What changes when managers grow into stronger leaders?
Managers begin to:
- address issues earlier
- communicate more clearly
- delegate more effectively
- hold accountability
- reduce team dependency
- navigate pressure with greater steadiness
- build healthier team dynamics
Senior leaders experience:
Fewer issues escalating upward
More consistent leadership behaviours
Improved communication across teams
Increased retention of high-potential staff
Stronger succession options
The challenge: Technical expertise doesn't automatically translate into people leadership
Many managers are promoted because they excel at project delivery, client relationships, and technical problem-solving. Yet most receive little support in developing the leadership skills their role now requires.
The result often looks like:
• difficult conversations avoided for too long
• teams becoming overly dependent on the manager
• burnout after taking on the role
• senior leaders pulled into issues managers should be handling independently
• inconsistent leadership across teams
Most leadership training gives managers concepts.
Very little helps them develop and apply leadership skills in the reality of day-to-day work.
The Manager’s Circle was designed to close that gap.
A practical leadership development experience, not another workshop
Managers meet monthly in a small, facilitated peer group where they work through real leadership challenges they are facing right now.
There are:
✓ No hypothetical case studies.
✓ No generic leadership theory.
✓ Real conversations around shared experiences.
✓ Practical tools that can be applied immediately.
Between sessions, participants implement what they learn with their teams and return each month with reflections, challenges, and deeper insights.
Skills participants strengthen include:
- communication
- accountability
- delegation
- decision-making
- conflict management
- coaching skills
Why organizations value peer learning
While participants come from different organizations and industries, they often face similar leadership challenges.
Exposure to different perspectives helps managers:
- broaden their thinking
- challenge assumptions
- identify root causes
- increase confidence in decision-making
- learn approaches they can apply immediately
Many senior leaders find that cross-industry learning accelerates growth beyond what managers can gain through internal experience alone.
An added layer of support
In addition to peer learning, participants receive six 1:1 coaching sessions with Melanie Richmond.
These sessions provide space to work through individual leadership challenges, strengthen self-awareness, and receive personalized guidance on real workplace situations.
Facilitated by Melanie Richmond
Melanie Richmond is an ACC Certified Coach with a background in engineering, project delivery, and team leadership.
Having worked in technical and project-based environments, she understands firsthand the pressure many managers face when balancing delivery expectations with the realities of leading a team people to produce great results.
Through coaching, facilitation, and leadership development work, Melanie has supported managers and emerging leaders in strengthening communication, accountability, confidence, and leadership judgment in real workplace situations.
The Manager’s Circle was built from both lived leadership experience and extensive conversations with senior leaders about the challenges organizations face in developing strong managers.
Her approach is practical, reflective, and grounded in helping managers navigate the complexity of people leadership with greater clarity and confidence.
The Manager's Circle is designed for:
Managers within their first four years of leading teams
High-potential professionals transitioning into leadership
Managers balancing project delivery with people leadership responsibilities
Participants receive:
• Ten facilitated monthly facilitated sessions
• A welcome and closing section
• Small cohort experience (maximum 10 participants)
• Six (75 min) 1:1 coaching sessions
• Two office hour sessions
• Ongoing peer connection and accountability
• Leadership resources and management tools
Program details
Location
Einblau & Associates Edmonton Office
10526 Jasper Ave #202, Edmonton, AB T5J 1Z7
Schedule
Third Thursday of every month
8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Duration
September 2026 – September 2027
Investment
$500/month
or
$5,400 paid in full (effectively $450/month)
Limited to 10 participants
Cohort size is intentionally kept small to create meaningful discussion, personalized coaching support, and stronger accountability.
Enrollment For The 2026-2027 Cohort is Now Live
*Only a Few Seats Left*
