People First Manager Program

Ready to Become an Effective and Inclusive People Manager?

A 4-week blended learning cohort for people management skills

70% of the decision to stay or go depends on an employee’s relationship with their manager.

Becoming a people manager is usually an exciting moment in people’s careers—the hard work has paid off and is being recognized. And it’s such an important role! Yet, most managers don’t receive the support, resources, and guidance to effectively transition. 

The result? Overwhelm, confusion, and a fast track to burnout at all levels of the organization.

😔

It’s time managers get the support they need.

People First: How to Become an Effective and Inclusive People Manager

  • 4-week cohort-based course

  • Blended learning combining online self-paced learning, live virtual workshops and 1:1 coaching

  • Ideal for new and mid-level People Managers

  • The course breaksdown management fundamentals, informed by an understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion

Meet your instructors

Rachel
Marcuse

Chief Operating Officer

Rachel (she/her) is passionate about helping people do their work even better. She is former Vice President of People Operations (HR) of Tom Steyer entities including NextGen America, which ran the largest democratic SuperPac in the U.S. In that role, Rachel scaled the organization from 20 to nearly 1000 employees. Prior to her work at NextGen America, Rachel worked at Outbrain, where she led organizational development and grew the company from 90 to 500 staff and 2 to 14 cities globally.

Rachel has trained hundreds of people and organizations in leadership and employee development skills on topics ranging from management workshops for new leaders to active listening and effective interviewing. Previous to her people ops work, Rachel was the Executive Director of a Vancouver municipal political party and was the youngest person in Canadian history to run a major city election campaign. She holds an MS in Organizational Change from the New School for Public Engagement and an honors BA from McGill University. On weekends, Rachel spends time with her partner and two small kids and teaches full force self-defense and personal boundary setting for Impact Bay Area.

Meghna Majmudar

Head of Executive & Leadership Engagement

Meghna (she/her) believes a world run by a “rainbow nation” of leaders is one in which most people would want to live. Her expertise is in helping leaders of all types, especially firsts and onlys - the first from their family or community of the only one like them in the room, to do the inner work to build an authentic sense of power, authority, and leadership and navigate the outer structures of their workplace. Meghna brings close to 20 years of experience as a strategy consultant and executive coach across diverse industries: healthcare, technology, financial services, consumer goods and automotive, as well as several non-profit organizations.

Using her training as an anthropologist, strategist, and transformational Neuro-Linguistic Programming practitioner, she listens to what is being said between the lines and reframes complex challenges for quick action. Meghna has a BA magna cum laude from Harvard University, an MPH from the University of Cape Town, and an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Outside of work, Meghna can be found plotting her next plant-based cooking endeavor, checking out different fitness apps and gyms, or looking for a great cup of coffee.

Course Structure

People First blends self-paced learning, live instructor-led workshops, and 1:1 coaching.

The experience starts with pre-work on DEI Foundations, a series of online microlearning courses to build a shared language and a baseline understanding of concepts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Each week will include video tutorials, a homework exercise, and a live workshop to capstone that week’s learning objectives in community with your peers. A personalized coaching session will follow completion of the 4-week journey.

Good People Management 101

Week 1

We’ll focus on the role of the manager as a leader and culture custodian and dive deeper into social identity and social location.

Inclusive Management Practices

Week 2

How do you create a successful 1:1 structure? What does inclusive feedback look like? We’ll explore models and focus on skill-building to set you and your teams up for success.

Navigating Difficult Dynamics

Week 3

Whether managing through major social events, hybrid work environments, or burnout, we’ll focus on how to move through these difficult dynamics with intentionality.

The Power and Privilege of Being a Manager

Week 4

We’ll focus on understanding power and leadership as a manager, clarify privilege and meritocracy in context, and develop a personal action plan to carry forward.

Coaching Session

Upon completion of the curriculum, you’ll have a focused 1:1 coaching session with a ReadySet coach focused on supporting your growth as you integrate the knowledge and skills gained through the program into your practice as a manager.

JOIN OUR NEXT COHORT

Interested in joining a cohort of your peers on the People First journey?
Get in touch to be considered!