Manager Enablement Driving High-Performance Teams

This project reinforced that leadership capability is built through practice, not information. Designing for nuance and consequence required letting go of “perfect” answers in favor of realistic outcomes

My Role

Lead instructional designer
Owned business framing, learning strategy, and simulation design
Designed and developed the iSpring dialog simulation and microlearning assets

Project Context

This project was developed during an 8-week advanced instructional design practicum focused on performance-based learning and simulation design.

The course emphasized:

Business problem framing and stakeholder alignment.
Scenario-based learning and branching dialog design.
Rapid prototyping with iterative feedback.
Measurement strategies tied to on-the-job behavior.

All design decisions, scripting, and development work shown here are my own.

Problem Statement

High-performing individual contributors are frequently promoted into people management roles without sufficient preparation for leading others. This skills gap leads to inconsistent feedback practices, reduced psychological safety, and avoidable attrition.

Internal signals (engagement data, manager sentiment, and performance outcomes) indicated that first-time managers struggled to:

Deliver timely, actionable performance feedback
Navigate difficult conversations with confidence
Coach employees toward growth rather than compliance
Address performance issues early and consistently

The organization needed a scalable solution that drove measurable behavior change, not content consumption.

Audience & Operating Context

Audience: First-time people managers
Environment: Fast-paced, performance-driven, distributed workforce
Constraints:

Limited time for synchronous training
High expectation for immediate workplace application
Need for consistency across teams without over-standardization

The solution needed to integrate seamlessly into managers’ existing workflows.

Learning Strategy & System Design

Rather than delivering a single course, I designed a blended manager enablement system focused on application, reflection, and reinforcement.

Program Architecture

Duration: 8-week enablement journey
Delivery Model: Blended (asynchronous learning, live practice, performance support)
Design Principle: Enable observable leadership behaviors tied directly to team outcomes

Core Components

Scenario-based microlearning experiences
Live virtual practice sessions
Performance support tools embedded into real workflows
Guided on-the-job application
Reflection and coaching prompts

This architecture prioritized learning in the flow of work while maintaining consistency at scale.

Flagship Learning Experience

Delivering Feedback That Improves Performance

To anchor the program, I designed a scenario-based learning experience focused on one of the highest-leverage manager behaviors: performance feedback.

Experience Design Highlights

Learners enter a realistic management scenario involving a high-performing employee missing expectations
Branching decisions allow managers to choose how to respond, revealing downstream consequences related to trust, engagement, and results
A simple, repeatable feedback framework (SBI-G) is introduced and practiced in context
Learners complete a real-world application assignment within seven days, transferring learning directly to the job

The experience was intentionally designed to reduce cognitive load while increasing confidence in real conversations.

Performance Support & Manager Tools

To reinforce transfer beyond the learning experience, I designed lightweight performance support assets:

1:1 Conversation Planner – Structures difficult conversations without scripting
Feedback Language Guide – Examples of specific, growth-oriented feedback
Psychological Safety Checklist – Practical behaviors managers can apply immediately

These tools were designed for use during live conversations, not as reference-only materials.

Measurement & Business Impact

Measurement was embedded into the solution design to evaluate both learning effectiveness and business impact.

Evaluation Approach

Experience-Level Signals

Manager confidence in delivering feedback
Perceived relevance to day-to-day management

Behavior-Level Signals

Increased frequency and quality of 1:1 conversations
Adoption of structured feedback practices
Earlier intervention in performance issues

Business-Level Outcomes

Improved engagement scores
Reduced regretted attrition
Higher consistency in performance documentation and coaching quality

This positioned learning as a business accelerator, not a training initiative.

My Role & Design Leadership

I served as the lead designer responsible for:

Translating business needs into measurable performance outcomes
Designing a scalable enablement architecture
Building the flagship scenario-based experience
Creating performance support tools aligned to real workflows
Defining success metrics tied to engagement and retention

Design decisions intentionally prioritized behavior change, system scalability, and manager autonomy over content volume.

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