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.
Open enrolment. Twelve months of leadership growth.
Join throughout the year, subject to availability. The 12-month program begins on the enrolment date, with a bonus individual onboarding call to help managers get started.
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 individual 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.
Bonus: Individual onboarding call
Begin with a dedicated onboarding call to explore the manager’s leadership goals, identify current challenges, and prepare to join the peer group. This call is included in addition to the six individual coaching sessions.
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 peer group sessions during your 12-month program
• Welcome and closing sessions
• Small peer group experience (maximum 10 participants at a time)
• Bonus individual onboarding call
• 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
Enrolment and Duration
Enrolment is open year-round, subject to availability. The program runs for 12 months from the enrollment date.
Investment
Limited to 10 participants
Participation is limited to 10 managers at a time to support meaningful discussion, personalized coaching, and stronger accountability
Enrolment is open throughout the year
Subject to availability. Join an ongoing leadership community for 12 months of practical learning, peer connection, and individual support.
Frequently asked questions
Enrolment is open throughout the year, subject to availability. There is no shared annual start date.
The program runs for 12 months from the enrolment date. Each participant has their own start and completion dates.
Managers begin with an individual onboarding call to explore your goals, discuss your current leadership challenges, and prepare to join the ongoing peer group. This bonus call is additional to six individual coaching sessions.
Choose $500 per month for 12 months, totaling $6,000, or pay $5,400 in full. The paid-in-full option is equivalent to $450 per month and saves $600.
Enrolment is a 12-month commitment. The monthly payment plan allows companies to spread the cost across 12 payments of $500.
Have questions?
Book a 30-minute call with Mel.
Whether you’re considering the Manager’s Circle for yourself or someone on your team, this is a chance to connect, discuss your goals, and explore whether it’s a good fit.
