Business Acumen for New Managers

---

Portfolio Note: This project was developed for an internal organizational audience. Proprietary course materials and internal business information are not displayed. Examples and descriptions have been generalized to demonstrate my instructional design approach while protecting client information.

Overview

Business Acumen for New Managers was designed to help newly promoted managers better understand the broader business environment in which they make decisions. Rather than focusing solely on supervisory skills, the course helps managers connect their day-to-day responsibilities with organizational priorities, business performance, and effective decision-making.

I served as the instructional designer and course developer, working closely with managers and stakeholders to identify the knowledge and perspectives that would be most valuable to employees transitioning into management roles.

The Challenge

New managers often enter leadership roles with strong technical or functional expertise but varying levels of exposure to the broader business considerations that influence organizational decisions.

The challenge was to create training that moved beyond presenting information and instead helped participants understand how business concepts relate to the decisions they make as managers. The course also needed to reflect the experience of leaders across different areas of the organization rather than relying on a single perspective.

My Process

I gathered input from managers and stakeholders to identify important business concepts, common challenges faced by new managers, and the knowledge leaders wished they had possessed earlier in their management careers

I organized that input into a cohesive instructional experience, identifying common themes and translating subject-matter expertise into learner-focused content.

Stakeholder Input → Content Analysis → Learning Objectives → Course Design → Development → Review → Revision → Final Delivery

Instructional Approach

Because the course was designed for instructor-led delivery, I focused on creating opportunities for discussion, reflection, and application rather than relying solely on presentation-based instruction.

The course was structured to help participants connect business concepts to realistic management decisions and consider how their choices affect employees, projects, customers, and the organization as a whole.

The design also provided facilitators with a consistent instructional framework while allowing enough flexibility to incorporate discussion, examples, and participant experiences during delivery.

Collaboration

A major component of the project was working with leaders across the organization. I collaborated with 12 managers and key stakeholders, gathering their perspectives, identifying common themes, and translating their expertise into instruction appropriate for new managers.

This collaborative process helped ensure that the course reflected real management experiences and practical business considerations rather than presenting business concepts only in theory.

Lesson Topics

The course covers a variety of Engineering Services-specific topics relevant to new managers. Examples include:

• The FAA Organizational Chart
• Communications
• Metrics
• Labor Relations
• Time Management
• Conflict Resolution

Results and Impact

The completed course provided a structured learning experience designed specifically for employees transitioning into management roles. By incorporating input from experienced leaders throughout the organization, the training connected foundational business concepts with the practical decisions new managers encounter in their roles.

The resulting course provided facilitators with a consistent framework for delivering management training while incorporating the experience and practical insights of leaders across the organization

What This Project Demonstrates

This project highlights my ability to:

• Instructor-led training design
• Leadership and management development
• Stakeholder and SME collaboration
• Needs and content analysis
• Translating multiple perspectives into a cohesive curriculum
• Facilitator-focused instructional design
• Designing learning around discussion, application, and decision-making

← Back to Portfolio