| name | leadership-coach |
| description | Coaches on leadership, management, and team development.
Use when: discussing management challenges, giving feedback, developing teams,
deciding when to be hands-on, driving organizational change, or building
leadership skills. Includes: Radical Candor, Selective Micromanagement,
Managing Complex Change, Coaching Tree, Career Impact frameworks.
Sources: Kim Scott, Ravi Mehta, Bangaly Kaba, Brian Chesky, Claire Hughes Johnson.
|
Leadership Coach Skill
Help users become better leaders and managers using proven frameworks.
When This Skill Activates
- "How do I give feedback?"
- "Should I micromanage?"
- "My team isn't executing"
- "How do I develop my team?"
- "Driving organizational change"
- "Am I a good manager?"
- "Career advice"
- "Building leadership skills"
Framework Selection Guide
| Situation | Use This Framework |
|---|
| Giving difficult feedback | Radical Candor |
| Deciding how hands-on to be | Selective Micromanagement |
| Team not executing, need change | Managing Complex Change |
| Developing team members | Bloom's Taxonomy Coaching |
| Building leadership legacy | Coaching Tree |
| Personal career growth | Career Impact Framework |
Framework 1: Radical Candor
Source: Kim Scott - Lenny's Podcast
Key Insight: Good feedback requires both caring personally AND challenging directly.
The 2x2 Matrix
| Challenge Directly | Don't Challenge |
|---|
| Care Personally | Radical Candor ✓ | Ruinous Empathy |
| Don't Care | Obnoxious Aggression | Manipulative Insincerity |
Radical Candor (Goal)
- Care about the person
- Challenge their work/behavior
- Specific and actionable
- Delivered with respect
Ruinous Empathy (Common Trap)
- Care about person but avoid hard feedback
- "I don't want to hurt their feelings"
- Short-term kindness, long-term harm
- Person never improves
Obnoxious Aggression
- Challenge without caring
- Brutal honesty without empathy
- Creates fear, not growth
Manipulative Insincerity
- Neither care nor challenge
- Political, fake feedback
- Worst of all quadrants
Delivering Radical Candor
Step 1: Establish You Care
Build relationship first. Feedback lands better from someone who clearly cares.
Step 2: Be Specific
Not: "Your presentations need work"
Yes: "In yesterday's presentation, you lost the room when you went into technical details. The executives needed business impact first."
Step 3: Make It Actionable
Include what to do differently.
Step 4: Do It Quickly
Feedback decays rapidly. Give it within 48 hours.
Step 5: Do It Privately (Usually)
Praise publicly, critique privately.
Receiving Feedback
- Thank them for the feedback
- Clarify to understand
- Don't defend immediately
- Reflect, then respond
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Defaulting to Ruinous Empathy
- Feedback without relationship
- Being vague to soften it
- Waiting too long
Framework 2: Selective Micromanagement
Source: Ravi Mehta - Lenny's Podcast
Key Insight: Micromanagement isn't always bad—selective, temporary micromanagement is effective when your team is going in the wrong direction.
The Leadership 2x2
| Team Has Autonomy | Team Lacks Autonomy |
|---|
| You're Confident | Scalable Leadership ✓ | Selective Micromanagement ✓ |
| Not Confident | Hands-Off (Risky) ✗ | Micro-Mismanagement ✗ |
Scalable Leadership (Ideal State)
- You're confident in direction
- Team has autonomy
- You've established frameworks
- Team makes good decisions
Selective Micromanagement (When Needed)
- You're NOT confident in direction
- You temporarily reduce autonomy
- You guide to right path
- You pull back when aligned
Hands-Off (Failure Mode)
- You're NOT confident but let them continue
- "I don't want to micromanage"
- Team goes off the rails
Micro-Mismanagement (Failure Mode)
- Constant control
- No clear end in sight
- No autonomy ever
- Everyone frustrated
Assessing Confidence Level
High Confidence:
- Decisions align with strategy
- They anticipate your concerns
- Work product meets bar
- You'd make similar choices
Low Confidence:
- Decisions seem off-strategy
- Surprised by their direction
- Quality issues emerging
- You'd make different choices
Executing Selective Micromanagement
Step 1: Be Transparent
"I noticed [concern]. I'm going to be more hands-on for a few weeks to help us get aligned."
Step 2: Get Tactical
Get into specific decisions, not just strategy
Step 3: Teach Frameworks
Share how you think, not just what to do
Step 4: Plan the Exit
- Define what "aligned" looks like
- Typically 2-6 weeks, not quarters
- Move from directing to reviewing
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Avoiding micromanagement when needed
- Micromanaging without teaching
- Not having an exit plan
- Micromanaging when you're already confident
Framework 3: Managing Complex Change
Source: Bangaly Kaba - Lenny's Podcast
Key Insight: Missing any single component produces a predictable failure mode.
The Five Components
| Component | Purpose |
|---|
| Vision | Where we're going |
| Skills | Capabilities to execute |
| Incentives | Motivation to do it |
| Resources | People, budget, tools |
| Action Plan | Clear next steps |
Missing Component → Failure Mode
| Missing | Result |
|---|
| Vision | Confusion |
| Skills | Anxiety |
| Incentives | Resistance |
| Resources | Frustration |
| Action Plan | False starts |
Diagnostic Process
Step 1: Observe the Team
- Sit in meetings, listen
- Talk to people across functions
- Note repeated conversations
Step 2: Match Symptoms to Missing Component
Confusion (Missing Vision):
- "What are we trying to do?"
- People pulling different directions
Anxiety (Missing Skills):
- "I don't know how to do this"
- Quality issues, avoidance
Resistance (Missing Incentives):
- "Why should I care?"
- Passive agreement, no follow-through
Frustration (Missing Resources):
- "We don't have what we need"
- Constant firefighting
False Starts (Missing Action Plan):
- "We keep starting but not finishing"
- Same discussions repeated
Step 3: Address the Right Component
Ease of change (easier → harder):
- Action Plan (quick tactical wins)
- Resources (if you have authority)
- Incentives (needs org support)
- Skills (takes time)
- Vision (hardest but most fundamental)
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Jumping to solutions without diagnosis
- Addressing only easy components
- Trying to fix everything at once
- Ignoring resistance (incentives)
Framework 4: Bloom's Taxonomy for Coaching
Source: Bangaly Kaba - Lenny's Podcast
Key Insight: Identify where in the learning progression someone is stuck, then provide appropriate support.
The Six Levels (Basic → Advanced)
| Level | Description | Diagnostic |
|---|
| Knowledge | Can recall facts/concepts | "Tell me about X" |
| Comprehension | Can explain in own words | "Why does X work?" |
| Application | Can use in specific situation | "How have you used X?" |
| Analysis | Can apply across contexts | "When would you use X vs Y?" |
| Synthesis | Can create new approaches | "How would you adapt X?" |
| Evaluation | Can judge when to use what | "When should we NOT use X?" |
Matching Development to Level
Knowledge Gap → Reading, videos, definitions
Comprehension Gap → Discussion, teach-back exercises
Application Gap → Supervised practice, examples
Analysis Gap → Multiple contexts, case studies
Synthesis Gap → Novel problems, design exercises
Evaluation Gap → Critique exercises, judgment calls
Manager Requirements by Level
- ICs should reach Application for their scope
- Managers must reach Analysis across their teams
- Directors+ need Synthesis and Evaluation
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Teaching at wrong level
- Expecting immediate jumps
- Only developing to Application
- Not checking for progression
Framework 5: Coaching Tree Leadership
Source: Bangaly Kaba - Lenny's Podcast
Key Insight: Your legacy is measured by who you developed, not what you shipped.
What is a Coaching Tree?
In basketball, the coaches who learned under you and went on to success. Same applies to product/tech leadership.
Your Tree Includes
- Direct reports who became leaders
- PMs who grew into senior roles
- Engineers who became managers
- People who say you changed their career
PM as Team Sport
- You're the coach, not the star player
- Success comes from team performance
- Not everyone needs to be LeBron
- Role players matter
Building Your Tree
Step 1: Know People by Name and Story
- Professional background and aspirations
- Personal life and what matters
- Strengths and growth areas
- Motivations and fears
Step 2: Identify Role Types
| Role | Value |
|---|
| Star player | High-impact work |
| Reliable executor | Consistent delivery |
| Culture carrier | Maintains norms |
| Domain expert | Deep knowledge |
| Connector | Cross-team relationships |
Step 3: Coach Up, Not Out
- Diagnose where they're stuck
- Provide targeted development
- Give stretch opportunities
- Celebrate progress
Step 4: Delegate for Growth
- Delegation is a gift of growth
- Provide support proportional to stretch
- Expect mistakes, use for learning
Step 5: Stay Connected
- Keep relationships after people move
- Celebrate their wins
- Track where they went
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Being the hero (doing all hard work yourself)
- Only developing stars
- Not staying connected
- Measuring only your direct output
Framework 6: Career Impact Framework
Source: Bangaly Kaba - Lenny's Podcast
Key Insight: Impact = Environment × Skills. Both must be strong.
The Formula
Impact = Environment × Skills
Great skills in bad environment = limited impact
Great environment with skill gaps = limited impact
Environment Variables (Score 0-2)
- Manager (Most important) - Quality and support
- Resources - Team, budget, tools
- Scope - Size and importance of remit
- Team - Skills and dynamics
- Compensation - Fair and motivating
- Culture - Supportive environment
Skill Variables (Score 0-2)
- Communication (Most important) - Written, verbal, listening
- Influence - Building alignment without authority
- Strategic Thinking - Connecting to business outcomes
- Execution - Getting things done
Assessment Process
Step 1: Score Environment
Rate each variable, identify low scores
Step 2: Score Skills
Rate each, get manager/peer input
Step 3: Identify Limiting Factors
Which scores are below 1.0?
Step 4: Assess Changeability
Can you change it? How?
Step 5: Decide: Fix or Leave
- Stay if: Low scores changeable, manager supportive
- Leave if: Manager is the problem, multiple unfixable factors
Key Insight on Manager
"People don't leave jobs, they leave managers—because the manager has power to fix many variables."
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Blaming only environment (skills matter too)
- Blaming only yourself (environment matters)
- Not talking to manager
- Optimizing only for compensation
How to Apply This Skill
-
Identify the leadership challenge
- Feedback → Radical Candor
- Team off-track → Selective Micromanagement
- Change needed → Managing Complex Change
- Developing someone → Bloom's Taxonomy
- Leadership growth → Coaching Tree / Career Impact
-
Walk through the relevant framework
-
Help create specific action plan
-
Check in on progress
Related Skills
/pm-coach - For PM-specific development/decision-maker - For leadership decisions/hiring-guide - For building teams
Full SOPs (Deep Dives)
Core Leadership
Founder & Executive
Emotional Intelligence
Difficult Conversations
Culture Building
Engineering Leadership
Career Development
Personal Development
