The Visibility Challenge
People managers face a unique challenge: leading people you don't see daily, supporting work across multiple teams, and making critical decisions with limited visibility. Research shows managers are aware of less than 10% of the problems their teams face—and that's in traditional hierarchies. Add distributed teams, matrix structures, and competing priorities? The windshield gets even foggier. Leading at Scale teaches you to see systemic patterns instead of blaming individuals, prevent problems instead of firefighting them, and lead effectively when you can't be everywhere at once.
Grounded in Research. Proven in Practice.
This isn't generic management training. Every framework is based on:
- Yoshida's Iceberg of Ignorance showing managers see only 4-9% of frontline problems
- Deming's systems thinking proving 94% of problems are systemic, not individual
- Research on firefighting traps (MIT) revealing how organizations get stuck treating symptoms
- McKinsey on matrix organizations documenting the role clarity challenges at scale
Translated into delegation frameworks, systemic diagnostics, and leadership practices that work across distance.
What You'll Learn to Do:
See What's Really Happening
- Know what's happening with workloads—not just the 9% that makes it to your desk
- Recognize systemic patterns instead of blaming individuals for system failures
- Identify where bottlenecks and competing priorities are blocking progress
Delegate Across Distance
- Delegate with clarity and confidence when you're not there daily
- Assess whether people have the credibility, reliability, and communication skills to succeed
- Support development while managing organizational priorities
Prevent Instead of Firefight
- Spend 1 hour preventing problems instead of 8 hours fighting fires
- Address root causes in systems instead of repeatedly coaching individuals
- Break the firefighting cycle that traps most organizations
Navigate Power's Blind Spots
- Understand how positional authority changes what you can see and hear
- Help people prioritize effectively when they're pulled in multiple directions
- Lead across locations and competing priorities without being everywhere at once
The Aware-Able-Accountable Framework
Leading at Scale uses the same three dimensions as Leading Across, but adds complexity: you're not seeing people daily, you're supporting work you don't directly oversee, and you're navigating organizational patterns across multiple teams. This framework helps you lead systemically when you can't be everywhere at once.
What Makes This Different?
What works + when you need it
Built on systems thinking, organizational research, and leadership science that addresses the unique challenges of leading at scale. Every framework is grounded in validated research—Yoshida's Iceberg of Ignorance (visibility problem), Deming's systems thinking (94% of problems are systemic), MIT research on firefighting traps, and McKinsey's work on matrix organizations.
The Professor AI delivers 24/7 personalized coaching for the challenges you face—delegating across distance, seeing systemic patterns, preventing firefighting, navigating power's blind spots. Get guidance on leading multiple teams and managing organizational complexity whenever you need it.
Leading at Scale gives you practical tools for systemic leadership:
10-15 minutes per day, not another all-day workshop people forget by Friday. Daily practice builds habits. Scaffolded content reduces cognitive load. This is learning at the speed of business, designed for how people actually retain and apply new skills.
Ready to Lead Systemically?
Leading Across turns collaboration into acceleration
Three weeks. Daily micro-learning. Cohort support. AI coaching. The relational capacity that transforms how teams work together.
For people managers who:
- Lead people they don't see daily (distributed, hybrid, remote, or multiple locations)
- Support work across multiple teams or projects
- Make decisions with incomplete information and limited visibility
- Need to prevent problems instead of constantly firefighting
- Navigate the blind spots that come with positional authority
Whether you're a working manager leading both people and projects, or a senior leader managing multiple teams—this builds the systemic capacity to lead at scale.
What Happens Next
The Leading Across experience:
- 3 weeks of daily 10-15 minute videos
- Kickoff workshop to launch your cohort
- 2 milestone workshops to deepen learning and build accountability
- Cohort learning with peer support throughout
- 24/7 access to The Professor AI for team challenges
- Practical tools for real cross-functional situations
Prerequisite: Leading Self & Leading Across (or equivalent emotional intelligence foundation)
Leading at Scale completes the Capacity system—building individual, relational, and systemic capacity across your organization.
Ready to explore what's possible?
Explore Leading Self | Explore Leading Across | Back to Capacity Overview
