Maven

How to Lead at Hypergrowth Companies

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Bloom Institute of Technology

Facebook

Google

Molly Graham

Former COO @ Lambda School, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative | Ex-Facebook

Practical ways to handle overwhelm, frustration and burnout as your team grows.

Keep your sanity while scaling

Master difficult conversations, letting people go, and other realities no one tells you about.

Confront the hard truths of management

How to identify, nurture and retain the people who will define your company's future.

Build resilient high performers

Managers and leaders are not taught how to deliver feedback that changes behavior and drives performance. The result? Managers gets frustrated when people don't implement feedback and performance and business results suffer. It doesn't need to be this way. You can transform the way you manage and become the manager who shares direct feedback and drives results. You can get there in this course. You will become more confident and competent sharing feedback fearlessly. WHAT TO EXPECT: Tactics you can implement immediately. Sessions are loaded with lively discussion, breakout exercises, and a 27-page learning guide to both personalize and customize your learning experience. In just 3 sessions, you will have more tools in your tool belt to more effectively drive performance on your team. COURSE CONTENT: • How to speak candidly, and with care, using the Fearless Feedback Model• How to structure feedback using Headline, Observation, Ask• How to navigate reactions using HEAR• How to identify the core behavior needing to be addressed using Name It To Tame It• How to shift to a High Cadence, Low Stakes mental model• How to lay a foundation for feedback with the Relationship Kickoff Conversation• How to view feedback as information to be shared to help someone be their best• How to lead as a human with standards of excellence You can also expect: - A 27-page learning guide loaded with sample language, exercises, and reference materials to leverage well beyond the course- Videos modeling the Headline, Observation, Ask model- Video modeling how to navigate reactions to feedback- Video illustrating how to effectively kick off a feedback relationship with a new team member- Drafting feedback for real time situations you're facing How you view delivering feedback as a manager and leader will fundamentally change. You will have greater confidence and competence opening a feedback conversation, delivering direct and caring feedback, and navigating emotional reactions to your message. Invest in the skills that will truly elevate you and your team's business impact.

Drive stronger performance with actionable feedback.

Your fears and assumptions significantly impact the way you show up in a feedback conversation. When you don't feel confident, you beat around the bush. When you're worried about the reaction, you walk on egg shells. That's not conducive to impacting behavior change, nor is it kind to our team member. Let's set you up for success!

Mastering Your Feedback Mindset

Develop your ability to deliver valuable feedback leveraging the Headline, Observation, Ask model. Explore how feedback can and should escalate. Observe then practice real feedback situations. Walk away equipped to have the feedback conversations you've been putting off.

Delivering Effective Feedback Fearlessly

Even with best laid plans and intentions, feedback can still spark a reaction, let's get you ready! Simplify your approach by learning the HEAR model and then put it to work with real time practice.

Navigating Feedback Reactions

Course syllabus

Before our first session, you will have pre-session videos to view that will set us up for a strong discussion.

Pre-Work Videos & Materials

We kick off our course by exploring the impact Mindset and Relationship have on feedback delivery. Learn 1 core perspective shift, 3 mindset tactics, and then how to lead the Relationship Kickoff Conversation.

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

This will be the meatiest session with feedback model exploration and you'll walk away with new language and tools to immediately have more impactful conversations.

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Bring it all together with tools to handle reactions and even more practice and discussion to enable you to graduate as a Fearless Deliverer of Feedback.

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Course schedule

You are a manager within a start-up &amp; pace of business can feel impossible to give real time feedback to both direct &amp; indirect reports.

You're a leader who finds yourself putting off feedback conversations out of dread, fear, or lack of confidence.

You are a manager wanting to elevate your career by distinguishing yourself as a developer of great talent.

Who will thrive in this courses:

What you can expect from this course:

You will practice addressing the hardest feedback conversations: giving feedback on defensiveness, lack of strategic thinking, a need for greater flexibility, and more. We're not practicing the easy conversations, we're focusing on the conversations we avoid most.

Practice the most difficult types of feedback conversations

Beyond the live sessions, you will walk away with an invaluable resource, the Deliver Fearless Feedback learning guide. Filled with the HOA framework, HEAR model for handling reactions, and 6 examples of sample feedback.

27-page learning guide packed with frameworks and sample langauge

You will adopt the Fearless Feedback Model and learn to operate at the intersection of Mindset, Relationship, and Delivery. These combined enable a manager and leader to say what needs to be said to help someone achieve their highest impact.

Begin delivering difficult feedback fearlessly

You'll learn to streamline your feedback using the Headline, Observation, Ask model. Each step will empower you to strategically engineer a more positive and productive reception, and perception, of your feedback.

Deconstruct the core elements of successful feedback conversations

When someone provides excuses, cries, or gets defensive, you will be equipped with the HEAR model. You will learn to stay true to your north star and not get sucked into tennis match type conversations.

Develop your ability to successfully handle reactions to feedback

You will create a new internal narrative on what it means to deliver tough feedback. You will feel empowered to engage, discuss, and share feedback that will help your people be their best, and help you drive a culture you're proud of.

Increase your confidence & competence

You will elevate to your next level of management and leadership by distinguishing yourself as someone who fearlessly develops your people to reach their best version of themselves.

Distinguish yourself as a developer of people

Transform your management by driving stronger performance through direct and actionable feedback.

Katie Ceccarini

January 2025

May 2025

Before you can move up to the next level, you need to be a high impact, low maintenance individual contributor. If you have 5-7 years of work experience, unlocking the 5 key skills will make you an irreplaceable asset to your organization. And if you're in the top 10% of each of these 5 skills, you'll position yourself in the top 1% of all talent. And the top 1% are the ones who get the top rating, make more money, and get promoted. If you are able to take what you learn from this course and get a promotion (let's say, a $8,500 raise), the course's $850 cost represents a 10x ROI. My goal is to help you reach your career goals, faster.- Sometimes, that's in moving to the next level- Sometimes, that's in improving your relationship with your Manager so you can unlock new opportunities- Sometimes, that's in increasing visibility of your work so your Skip, your Manager's peers, and others know about the value you're providing Doing all of this will result in you being better at your job. And when you get better at your job, you get harder problems to solve with high-caliber people. And those harder problems and working with high-caliber people not only tend to get you promoted, but tend to build your brand so future opportunities come your way. ___ You're a high achiever who's used to success. You want to keep doing better and keep getting ahead. But since starting your corporate job, things have been off. Your hard work isn't paying off, and you're not getting the opportunities you deserve. It's frustrating and you're starting to doubt yourself, wondering "where did I go wrong, where did I go off track?" Boy, have I heard that before. You don't know what you don't know, and if this is your first job or you have ~5-7 years of work experience, you're facing topics that school never prepared you for. Such as: → Being "manageable"→ Staying top of mind for your busy Manager→ How to take negative feedback (constantly)→ Picking the right projects with outsized impact→ How to ask for a promotion→ Not knowing where to start HAVE YOU EVER... → Felt stuck because you're working hard but you're not getting the accolades you deserve? → Seen co-workers (less talented than you) get selected for projects that match your skill set? → Prepared hours for a presentation to senior leadership, only for them to zone out? → Struggled with talking about your work in a way that doesn't trigger your imposter syndrome? → Thought you were aligned with your Manager, only turns out you were both on different pages? → Been a top performer in school, only to struggle when you entered the corporate world? → Thought something was wrong with you and wondered if you're cut out for the corporate world? NEWSFLASH: THE CORPORATE JOB IS A GAME. And this course will help you learn the rules so you can play the game to win the game. In this course, I will share everything that I have learned (as well as from others) during my 12+ years in Big Tech,. The result?- Getting promoted to the next level- Building your group of allies (Skip, Manager's peers) so that they can back you up and speak to your work- Maximizing the people who know about your impact and value by working loudly (without the cringe)- Driving value that the corporation cares about- Getting unstuck and knowing what skills are "signals" vs "noise"- Getting better, more impactful projects- Becoming a joy to be around, which unlocks value and time for your Manager and team- Increasing your leverage which ultimately builds your brand What to expect: This is an interactive course with in-depth discussion, Q&amp;A, examples, exercises, and tactics you can apply immediately. There are 6 hours of live instruction, all live on Zoom taught personally by me. We will focus on both the "why" and tactical pieces around the "how." This also includes:• Step-by-step tactics for you to implement• Scripts for tricky work scenarios (so you don't have to reinvent the wheel)• Real-life examples• Hands-on experiences• Live coaching as we walk through key examples• Cohort-style learning where you engage with others, learn from each other, and start building a strong(er) network My goal is to help you get to the next level. I'll do this by explicitly calling out what drives value in a corporate job, what Managers appreciate (and look out for), and how you can position yourself so that when that next high-impact project comes down the line... your name comes up first. What I will teach you are the skills you need to level up and succeed as an L4/L5 in FAANG. Then, you will take it and implement it with continued practice.

Higher rating, bigger salary, and a stronger relationship w/ your Manager

Provide a brief description for each module as a way to sell the value of what students will be learning throughout the course.

First Module

Second Module

Third Module

It'll be 3 hours each day where I provide live instruction. You'll walk away with specific tactics (e.g. step 1, step 2), resources and templates so we can help you get unstuck and reach the next level.

Sat/Sun on Feb 22/23 

Hour long implementation Q&amp;A. Why? Because as you implement what you learned in the course, I bet you might have some questions. Because nothing is perfect.

Optional - Friday, February 28th 

High-performing mid-level IC from startup to large companies who wants to break into the next level.eg Amazon L4/L5, Google L3/L4, Meta E5.

You're not new to working but you're new to Big Tech. You landed your dream job at a tech company, but now you realize there’s no roadmap.

Also applicable to Senior Individual Contributors ﻿who wants to be seen as a top performer &amp; future leader. Google L5, Amazon L6, Meta E6.

This course is for you if:

What you’ll get out of this course

You’ll stop waiting to be recognized and start proactively shaping how leadership sees you—so your promotion isn’t a debate, it’s obvious.

Go from overlooked to someone leadership sees as a next-level performer.

Hard work alone won’t get you ahead. You’ll master how to work loudly (without the cringe) so the right people know your impact—without feeling like you’re bragging.

Go from blending in to becoming a name people bring up in key rooms.

No more waiting for someone to advocate for you. You’ll learn exactly how to make your case for promotion—and how to get leadership to want to support you.

Go from hoping for a promotion to leading the conversation with confidence.

The best opportunities don’t go to the hardest workers—they go to the most trusted, valuable people. You’ll learn how to be both high impact and low maintenance so leadership sees you as someone they can’t afford to lose.

Go from replaceable to someone leadership fights to keep.

No more guessing or spinning your wheels. You’ll walk away with clear strategies, templates, and scripts so you know exactly what to do to move up—without wasting time on things that don’t work.

Go from trial and error to having a proven roadmap for career growth.

Learn the formula that drives career growth—and master the one skill that makes your impact impossible to ignore: Working loudly.

Sally Ivester

Dec 2024 Cohort 

Cohort 3

An advanced-level course for senior and rising design leaders ready to address the most common challenges Design Leaders face. Learn how to build your durable design operating system to withstand scale, restructuring, evolution, and growth. Establish mechanisms and high-leverage activities that maintain quality and effectiveness for your teams and for the business. Course Topics + Content Build and activate high-impact teamsApply effective organizational design, strategic planning, and performance measurement Define and optimize your operating systemEstablish rhythms and rituals, shape a positive design culture, streamline processes and workflows, and build a robust reporting and communication strategy Identify the most effective design team structuresLearn how to choose the right team structures for your organization Activate your team’s strengths through organizational designAnticipate common challenges within and across teams and learn strategies for effectively addressing them Create your organization’s ideal design teamTogether, we’ll design and build your design team and organization 7 Live, Interactive Sessions, with timezone-friendly options for most APAC/EMEA/AMER locales - One Welcome Kickoff Session- Three Live, Interactive Learning Sessions including Q&amp;A sessions with guest experts- Two Office Hours / Q+A sessions with Kristin for personalized guidance- One Reflection/Wrap-up Session

Design Your Organization's Operating System 

If your events are recurring and at the same time, it might be easiest to use a single line item to communicate your course schedule to students

Tuesdays & Thursdays

Feel free to type out dates as your title as a way to communicate information about specific live sessions or other events.

May 7, 2022

Schedule items can also be used to convey commitments outside of specific time slots (like weekly projects or daily office hours).

Weekly projects

Directors+ of Design and Operations leading teams across a portfolio of products and services.

Senior Leaders and Practitioners who are establishing, evolving, and leading a Design Organization or Operations practice.

Operations leaders who want to sharpen skills, learn new approaches and methods, and accelerate their organizations.

Who is this course for

You'll learn how to establish mechanisms, routines, and high-leverage activities that maintain and enhance culture, quality, and community as you grow.

Best practices to build infrastructure that scales

<ul><li>Design and structure a high-performing design organization.</li><li>Effectively prioritize and plan work to maximize impact.</li><li>Utilize visual staffing tools to manage resources efficiently.</li><li>Implement accountability measures to maintain high-quality standards.</li></ul>

Build and activate high-impact teams

<ul><li>Establish effective rhythms and rituals that enhance team productivity and alignment.</li><li>Shape a positive design culture that fosters innovation and collaboration.</li><li>Optimize processes and workflows for greater efficiency.</li><li>Develop and implement robust reporting and communications</li></ul>

Define and optimize your operating system

<ul><li>Learn approaches and tactics that address common organizational and team challenges</li><li>Mitigate these challenges via a fixed vs. flexible framework</li><li>Gain new strategies to keep your team focused and thriving</li></ul>

Identify and anticipate the most common team and organizational challenges 

Guest Experience: Experienced leaders will join to share their stories and give examples of how they navigated similar challenges Instructor Experience: You'll learn directly from Kristin's first-hand experience establishing and leading multiple large-scale global design orgs

Access to first-hand experience and guidance customized to your unique situation

Included are multiple, moderated Q&amp;A sessions with Kristin and other industry leaders so that you can get expert advice on your unique challenges and aspirations.

Q&A Sessions with industry experts

Learn best practices to build a durable design organization operating system.

Kristin Skinner


Cohort 03

Cohort 04

The ChallengeWhen you start work each day, where’s the first place you look: your goals or someone else’s messages? You start each day with the best intentions, but somehow find yourself constantly reacting instead of leading.&nbsp;Sure, it would be nice to focus on your own goals, but you care about those other people (or at least some of them 😁). They’re colleagues and customers, family and friends... 🤹 How can you collaborate with them responsively without forsaking your goals and becoming just a (re-)Actor in their story? 🎬 Your days are filled with back-to-back meetings, sky-high customer or investor expectations, wishes that your team could move faster sooner, that you could move even faster and work on what really matters instead of fighting fires. As you try to move faster, people fall short of your expectations and their potential. It causes friction and frustration (even if you hide it well). It's uncomfortable to call out, so you avoid giving feedback or mention it lightly, which makes the situation more uncomfortable. Eventually, you decide to give feedback. Sometimes it goes okay. Often, you try to move through and out of the conversation as quickly as possible because it feels so awkward. Growth and improvements rarely last. You take on more work yourself to get it done. The Solution (Evidence-based. Immediately applicable.)⏱️&nbsp;EVERYTHING YOU READ BELOW WILL BE ORIENTED TO IMMEDIATE APPLICATION DURING THE COURSE ⏳What if you could shift from being a re-Actor in someone else's story to becoming the (co-) Author of your own? This course will support you, step by step, in building your Operating System to make this shift. Fancy apps aren't enough. Nor are bursts of motivation. A sustainable Operating System has 3 features:🧰 Tools (simple enough to keep using, and amplified by AI)🔁&nbsp;Habits (the tools don't use themselves...except for some of the AI ones we'll build)🧠 Mindsets (you can "productively" spend your life responding to other people's messages and requests--or build something that matters) No, "perfection" isn't possible (or even desirable). But our days--and our results--completely shift when we focus our attention systematically instead of ad-hoc and reactively. And our conversations shift when we stop trying to fix people and start inspiring them to take action and grow. We teach you how to do this by using straightforward approaches that reliably transform defensiveness and friction into self-reflection, connection, and motivation to grow. You will start to look forward to feedback conversations because you will know how to use them as powerful tools for building trust and deepening connection. You will also explore your own mindsets and beliefs around feedback, identifying your own patterns around conflict avoidance, people-pleasing, and controlling behaviors. Once you've shifted the way you manage yourself and lead your team conversations, applying evidence-based approaches tested with 1000s of managers and amplified with AI, the whole game becomes fun again. Bonus:📝 You will also get 5 step-by-step facilitation guides for sharing and teaching your team members everything we cover in this course. This helps establish shared language and frameworks within your team/organization, and positions you as the leader of change. 📖&nbsp; You'll also get our 20-page Offsite Playbook with step-by-step guidance on how to design and facilitate unforgettable team and company gatherings. 🚀 And you'll get to do this while in a practice lab with other high-growth leaders.

Spend your days fighting fires or each other?

Sundays (+ 1 Thursday)

Weekly Office Hours

High-Growth ManagersReady to move out of IC mode, you want to be the inspiring leader people thank for the rest of their careers.

ExecutivesYou know there's a better way than back-to-back meetings everyday. To scale your impact, you know you must scale yourself first

Startup FoundersYou're expanding your focus from building a product to building a team. And to do so, you need the team to step up fast.

You'll have the Inner and Outer Game in place:<ul><li>A systematic set of habits, tools, and mindsets to define What Matters Most each day and week</li><li>You'll be using your emotions as signals for what needs to happen next</li><li>Your mind will be at ease</li></ul>

Clear Focus & Emotional Balance

Whether you're currently intimidated by AI, curious, or all-in, you will:<ul><li>know exactly how to leverage Claude and ChatGPT to improve your skills and help you prepare for key conversations</li><li>have your own CustomGPT to do a recurring management task FOR you</li></ul>

AI As Your Ally (including your own CustomGPT)

<ul><li>Next Actions template (simplest tool possible to stay organized)</li><li>Weekly Preview Checklist (define what matters most and who should do it)</li><li>Daily Defining Checklist</li></ul>

The Operating System (feel on top of your s***)

<ul><li>Know how to decide WHAT to delegate to increase your leverage</li><li>Know HOW to delegate (to a person or AI) in ways that build confidence and follow-through</li></ul>

The Leverage Framework

<ul><li>GAIN Template for how to structure feedback conversations that inspire response-ability, action, and growth</li><li>how to use AI to prepare and practice</li></ul>

GAIN Feedback Framework

<ul><li>GROW Template for coaching conversations</li><li>The key skill to coach effectively</li><li>Know the difference between a feedback and a coaching conversation</li><li>how to use AI to practice and get feedback on a coaching conversation</li></ul>

GROW Coaching Framework

What if you felt on top of everything and your team were aligning and growing through every conversation with you?

Lightning Lessons

How to Lead at Hypergrowth Companies