Who it is for
For managers who dread the feedback, 1:1 prep, reviews, and tough conversations the job demands.
People & Hiring / Intermediate
The Manager's Assistant
Draft and rehearse feedback, 1:1 prep, reviews, and tough conversations with AI.
The problem
It starts with the situation you're actually in.
Most of what makes managing hard isn't the work — it's the words. You know someone is coasting but can't say it without blowing up the relationship. The 1:1 is in two days and you've got nothing.
Six weeks in, most people hit the same wall: reviews got easier, but the conversations they avoid stayed avoided. You close that gap.
Outcomes
What you'll be able to do.
Close the Gap Between What You Noticed and What You Said
You watched a direct report dominate last Tuesday's planning meeting. Three quieter teammates went silent after the second interruption. Now you can name it out loud.
Run the Meeting Nobody Defends
Ask managers what 1:1s are for and you get a shrug dressed as an answer: "staying connected," "checking in." Ask their reports and it's a status update that could've been an email. You make it worth showing up for.
Rehearse Instead of Script
Some conversations you replay on the drive home — not because they went badly, but because you never had them. The report who keeps missing deadlines while you keep absorbing it. You practice it before it's real.
Avoid the Four Ways This Goes Wrong
The convenience is the danger. To get a useful edit on a hard review, you paste in the name, the incident, the salary band, maybe the medical leave behind the dip. You learn where to draw the line.
Inside the book
A closer look at the work inside.
Set up your reusable workflow
Spend fifteen minutes building the foundation you'll use throughout. Pick your tool and one AI model — ideally one your employer approves. Find its data-retention setting, turn off training on your inputs if you can, and write down what you found.
Check a prompt before you save it
When a prompt works, don't lose it — but keep only the ones that earn their place. Run each through this: Does it name a role for the model? Does it carry specific context, not a category? Are length, tone, and format explicit? Is it anonymized — no names, no sensitive data?
Score yourself with the prompt checklist
- 24–30: You're ready to move fast through the task chapters; tune, don't rebuild.
- 15–23: Solid base. Pick the two lowest scores and fix those habits this week.
- 6–14: Start with context files and the behavior-vs-judgment conversion—everything downstream depends on them.
The five-second test that exposes a weak prompt
Type "Help me give feedback to an employee" into your AI tool right now. What comes back is generic — timely-and-specific tips you already know. Nothing is wrong and nothing is usable, because you gave the model nothing. It filled the vacuum with averages.
The five moves of a working prompt
Treat these as ingredients, not a script. You won't always use all five, but you'll know which one is missing when output disappoints. Role — who the model should act as: "an experienced people manager coaching me," which sets vocabulary and judgment. Context — the real situation, in specifics.
Set up your reusable workflowInside the book
Visual preview
A diagram you can keep open while you work.
Table of contents
8 chapters, built to be read in order.
01
Your AI Co-Pilot for the Hard Parts of Managing
02
Building Your Prompting Toolkit and Context Files
03
Feedback That Lands, Drafted Faster
04
One-on-Ones Worth Showing Up For
05
Performance Reviews Without the Dread
06
Rehearsing the Conversations You Want to Avoid
07
Guardrails, Fairness, and Judgment
08
From Tools to Habits
158
Pages
13,263
Words
38
Exercises, checklists & tools
8
Chapters
Formats
Three formats. One purchase.
EPUB, PDF, and HTML are included so the book can work on an e-reader, as a designed copy, or as a searchable desk reference.
EPUB
For e-readers and reading apps.
The designed edition with diagrams and layouts intact.
HTML
Searchable, copy-pasteable, and practical as a reference.
Complete guide
The Manager's Assistant
$9.99
Intermediate guide pricing
- ✓EPUB + PDF + HTML included in one purchase
- ✓8 chapters from the complete guide
- ✓DRM-free files for your own devices
- ✓7-day refund review for duplicate purchases, access issues, wrong files, or materially defective downloads
Secure checkout / instant download / tax handled at checkout
Before you buy
Questions, answered.
Does this include the full book?
Yes. You get the complete edition, including the chapter sequence and internal materials described on this page.
Which formats are included?
EPUB, PDF, and HTML are included so you can read on an e-reader, keep a designed copy, or use the searchable browser version.
What is the refund policy?
Because this is an instant digital download, broad change-of-mind refunds are not offered after the files have been accessed. Refund requests are reviewed within 7 days for duplicate purchases, accidental purchases before access, access failures we cannot fix, wrong files, corrupted files, or pages that materially misdescribe the book.