# How to Be a Better Manager > A one-day course that helps managers handle pressure without micromanaging or passing it down, with an optional five-day Tiny Habits follow-up. Run by Mark Channon. One-day course for managers · in person or online. Your managers know the theory. Then the pressure hits and it all goes out the window. One day to change what they do when it counts. Five days to make it stick. 30+ years training · 1,000+ people trained · 15 years coaching. Worked with leaders and teams at: J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, BBC, Home Office, NHS, National Crime Agency, Crown Prosecution Service, The Guardian, Department for Education, UK Finance, Defra, PA Media, Environment Agency, WeWork, Stobbs. Book a chat on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/447949653480?text=Hi%20Mark%2C%20I'd%20like%20to%20talk%20about%20How%20to%20Be%20a%20Better%20Manager%20for%20our%20team. (A quick chat about your team. No pitch.) ## Under pressure, managers grab control. ### 1. Micromanaging: They grab control and micromanage. Struggling to let go of the work is one of the 12 common challenges new managers face. (Source: Center for Creative Leadership, study of nearly 300 emerging leaders) ### 2. Buddy to boss: They're suddenly leading their old teammates. Most UK managers start the job with no formal management or leadership training. (Source: CMI and YouGov, Taking Responsibility, 2023) ### 3. Pushing back and managing up: They pass the pressure down, not up. When outside pressure lands on managers, their teams rate them worse. (Source: Cai, Mahlendorf and Wu, study of 243,754 employee ratings) The impact: The team stalls. The best people start looking elsewhere. ## What your managers will be able to do ### How to stop doing everyone's job. (Micromanaging) It comes from uncertainty and fear. Your managers learn to handle that, then empower people properly, so the team learns and grows. ### How to lead people who used to be your teammates. (Buddy to boss) The relationship shifts without losing the friendship: a different hat, clear boundaries, agreed with each person. ### How to take the pressure without passing it down. (Pushing back and managing up) Challenge up, across and down without breaking the relationship or bringing the pressure back on yourself. ## Underneath it all: the mindset - **Extreme Ownership.** Own the problem and you own the solution. It sounds counterintuitive, but that's what creates certainty, confidence and impact. - **Extreme Empathy.** It's not about you. Get out of your own head and into the other person's, and you create options. - **Extreme Agency.** Your ability to make the right choices and decisions, and to influence the people around you. ## Most managers have had the training. So why isn't it working? Training happens in a room. Managing happens on a Tuesday afternoon, with the inbox on fire and three people waiting for an answer. When your managers are drinking from the firehose, whatever they learned on a course goes out the window. ## Why this works Knowing the skills isn't the hard part. Using them, day to day, under pressure, is. That's what this day is built for. ## Built on three things most manager training leaves out ### Rehearsal, not role play. I spent 15 years as a professional actor in the West End and at the National Theatre. Your managers practise the real conversations they've been putting off, get directed, and run them again until they land. ### Coaching that holds up under pressure. 15 years coaching leaders, from J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley to fund managers and tech founders building their first teams. Every tool on the day has been tested with real leaders. ### How the brain behaves under pressure. When pressure hits, attention narrows and we grab for control. Psychologists call it threat rigidity. Your managers learn to catch it and choose a better move. ## What people say about my training Feedback from delegates on Mark's courses. > "Amazing course, instant results. Can be transformational. Can't wait to try this in my life. Mark is an amazing lead." (Detective Chief Inspector, South East Regional Organised Crime Unit) > "Absolutely wonderful. By far the best training course I have been on. Very engaging and informative and lots of things to put into practice and use." (Project Manager, The Children's Society) > "Fantastic course and trainer! I felt engaged and focused and am really impressed with how much I have learnt and can put into practice straight away." (Finance Business Partner, The National Lottery Community Fund) > "Mark is an exceptional trainer. He is a long standing, valued tutor who has delivered many brilliant masterclasses for the Guardian." (Brett Halsey, The Guardian) > "One of the best courses I've ever been on. Mark is a fantastic facilitator..." (Policy Adviser, Cabinet Office) > "Loved the course content which was expertly delivered by Mark." (Account Director, PTS Consulting Partnership) ## How we make it happen 1. **A quick chat.** Message me on WhatsApp. We talk about your managers, what's getting in the way, and what better looks like for you. 2. **The day.** One full day, at your offices, in London or across the UK, or live online, shaped around your team's real situations. 3. **Make it stick (optional).** Five days of official Tiny Habits. Each manager takes three behaviours from the day and builds them into their week, so they survive the firehose. I'm a certified Tiny Habits coach, one of the first in the UK. ### What you get back - Managers who handle the pressure instead of passing it on - Teams with room to own their work - Fewer problems landing on your desk - People who want to stay ## Who's running the day I'm Mark Channon. I coach leaders and founders to perform under pressure: leaders at J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, CEOs in fund management, and tech founders scaling their first teams. Before that, 15 years as a professional actor in the West End and at the National Theatre, then product leader at the BBC, Microsoft and the Telegraph, leading teams from 5 to 50+. Along the way I became a Grand Master of Memory (3rd in the world, yes really) and wrote three books for Hodder. Certified Tiny Habits Coach, one of the first in the UK. 30+ years training · 1,000+ people trained · 15 years coaching ## Questions ### We already train our managers. Why this? It doesn't replace your training. It's the part that makes it work under pressure: real conversations rehearsed on the day, and habits built in the week after. ### Who is it for? New managers, people promoted from the team, and experienced managers who feel squeezed. ### How many people? Up to 12 managers works best. Got more? Let's talk. ### In person or online? Either. At your offices, in London or across the UK, or live online. ### What happens on the call? We talk about your managers, what's getting in the way, and what better looks like for you. Then I shape the day around it and send a written proposal. ### Is the Tiny Habits part required? No, it's optional. It's where the change sticks. ### What does it cost? It depends on group size and format. Message me and I'll give you a straight answer. ## Get in touch WhatsApp: https://wa.me/447949653480?text=Hi%20Mark%2C%20I'd%20like%20to%20talk%20about%20How%20to%20Be%20a%20Better%20Manager%20for%20our%20team. Email: mark@achieve-with.me Channon Coaching Limited, registered in England and Wales, company number 13446848. Registered office: Channon Studios, The Limes, Cobden Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 3UB.