CASE STUDY
People Manager Academy
Giving busy managers control over their development while keeping the focus on demonstrated performance.
Leadership Development • Personalized Learning • Microlearning • AI-Enabled Assessment
TOOLS
Articulate Rise •
Mindtickle
DELIVERABLES
Scripts • Videos •
Asynchronous Microlearning
COLLABORATORS
Learning Architect & Internal Reviewers
ROLE
Instructional Designer
AUDIENCE
Sales, Customer Success & Marketing Managers
Project Snapshot
The Challenge
Surveys of senior leadership and people managers identified several capabilities managers needed to strengthen to lead their teams effectively and support company goals. At the same time, managers were navigating significant organizational change while balancing demanding workloads. Any development solution needed to be practical, flexible, and immediately applicable on the job.
Practical development. Limited time. Immediate application.
Analysis & Insights
The survey findings pointed to three development priorities: Business Acumen, Influence, and Adaptability. They also shaped an important design decision: rather than requiring every manager to complete the same curriculum, the Academy needed to allow managers to focus their limited time on the capabilities most relevant to their individual needs.
KEY INSIGHTS
Three Development Areas
Business Acumen, Influence, and Adaptability organized the Academy.
Individual Needs
Not every manager needed the same development.
Limited Bandwidth
Learning needed to be brief, practical, and easy to apply.
The Solution
Rather than requiring every manager to complete the same curriculum, the Academy was built around learner choice. Managers began each development area with a pre-assessment, then used their results to choose the microlearning most relevant to their individual needs.
I designed and developed approximately 15 optional microlearning courses and videos for immediate workplace application. Each was five minutes or less and typically introduced one or two memorable strategies, followed by brief scenario-based practice.
HOW THE ACADEMY WORKED
Assess
Identify development needs
→
Choose
Select relevant learning
→
→
Learn & Apply
Explore practical strategies
→
Practice
Try them in scenarios
Demonstrate
Complete AI role play
→
Use feedback and retry
Improve
→
Earn
Demonstrate competency
Application & Practice
Managers were encouraged to select a peer partner and meet regularly throughout the Academy. Discussion questions supported conversations about how they were applying the strategies on the job.
PRACTICE
Brief scenarios provided low-risk opportunities to apply new strategies, while optional peer discussions encouraged managers to connect what they were learning to challenges they were experiencing on the job.
Completing every course wasn't required to earn the badge; demonstrating the capability was.
DEMONSTRATE
At the end of each learning area, managers completed AI role plays based on authentic management tasks such as coaching an employee, communicating organizational change, or writing to leadership.
My role: Provided content input and reviewed the role-play scenarios during development. The AI role plays and scoring rubrics were developed collaboratively by the team.
IMPROVE
AI evaluated each submission against a rubric aligned to the learning objectives. Managers needed a score of 80% to demonstrate competency and could use the feedback to revise their approach and try again.
Results
3
managers completed the full Academy during the initial launch
I left the organization shortly after launch, so longer-term completion and performance data were not available to me.
Improving the Development Process
The Academy required a faster development process than our existing workflow allowed. I helped redesign the process around a more agile, iterative cycle with close collaboration among the Learning Architect, internal reviewers, and me.
PREVIOUS DEVELOPMENT CYCLE
6 - 8 WEEKS
REDESIGNED DEVELOPMENT CYCLE
~ 2 WEEKS
TEAM OUTPUT
1 - 4 ASSETS WEEKLY
Core Capabilities Demonstrated
Performance Analysis & Learning Strategy | Learning Experience & Curriculum Design | Applied Learning & Practice
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