Your Managers Were Promoted for Their Performance–Not Their People Skills
Collaboration breaks down, teams stall, and good employees leave.
Enroll Now and Learn the 75+ Interpersonal Skills That Make Great Managers
Turn your technically brilliant managers into confident, communicative leaders who know how to motivate, coach, and connect.
Level
Open
Duration
6.5 Hours
Type
The $438 Billion Manager Engagement Crisis
Here’s what companies get wrong: They promote their best technicians and assume they’ll automatically excel at leading people. But technical mastery and interpersonal competency are completely different skill sets.”
The Real Cost of This Assumption:
- Employee disengagement cost the global economy $438 billion in 20241
- Only 27% of managers globally are engaged at work—down from 30% in 20232
- 70% of team3 engagement is directly attributable to the manager
- Top performers in critical roles deliver 800% more productivity4 than average performers (Gallup)
Even the best companies fail to provide formal training that bridges the gap between individual contributor and people manager. Without intentional development of social and communication skills, new managers default to micromanagement, creating frustrated teams and high turnover. Fear and disengagement evoked by poor managers costs billions.
1 Source: “Poor Workforce Engagement Cost World Economy $438 Billion In 2024”, published on April 25, 2025
2 Source: The Gallup 2025 Workplace Report
3 Source: “How to Engage Frontline Managers” and “Employee engagement: How to improve it after a record low”
4 Source: “The Benefits of Employee Engagement” Gallup
Master the 75+ Interpersonal Skills of Great People Leaders
Build Your Management Foundation
Define your leadership brand, master flexible communication styles, and create systems for effective delegation, feedback, and performance management
Develop Psychological Safety & Trust
Explore the core tenets that make collaboration possible and learn to build manager/report relationships that drive engagement rather than compliance
Navigate Difficult Conversations with Confidence
Practice trauma-informed communication frameworks for addressing bias, performance issues, and workplace conflicts while maintaining dignity for all parties
Master Inclusive Leadership Beyond Legal Compliance
Identify your biases, understand the 4 pillars of inclusive leadership, and distinguish between your roles as manager, mentor, and sponsor
Implement Equity-Driven Decision-Making
Use a 5-step process for everyday business decisions that builds transparency, advances inclusion goals, and creates systemic change rather than surface-level fixes
Become a Skilled Ally & Change Agent
Develop your allyship using the SPEARS™ framework to distinguish between tokenism and representation, while learning to interrupt ostracism and bias in real-time
Design Your Forever-Learning Leadership Plan
Create personalized development strategies that help you continuously refine your interpersonal competencies and expand your influence through authentic collaboration
Ask More Powerful Questions
Learn coaching techniques that unlock team potential, surface innovative solutions, and create the kind of dialogue that makes community and meaningful teamwork possible
What You Will Learn
Three dynamic courses
Self-paced online training
Define your leadership ethos
Alignment with personal and professional goals
Build relationships to collaborate
Leadership skills through microlearning modules
Professional development planning
Practice exercises
Interpersonal strategies
Increase engagement
Maximize performance
About the Instructor
Master the 75+ Interpersonal Skills with a Proven Expert
Marie Deveaux is a Professional Certified Coach (ICF) and seasoned people leader with over 20 years of experience transforming workplace cultures through applied sociolinguistics. As the founder of High Tides Consulting, Marie has empowered mid-level managers and executives at prominent organizations including Facebook, Microsoft, Spotify, WPP, and the Ford Foundation to master the interpersonal competencies that make collaboration—not domination—possible.
Her expertise lies in teaching leaders how to “people better” by developing the 75+ interpersonal skills essential for psychological safety, inclusive leadership, and systemic change. Marie’s approach combines practical communication strategies with deep insights into team dynamics, helping managers transition from technical expertise to true people leadership.
Formally educated with a Master of Science in Management from the University of Maryland and executive coach training through ICF-accredited Accomplishment Coaching, Marie brings both academic rigor and real-world application to her teaching. Her previous role as Director of Training and Development at one of New York City’s largest charter school networks, combined with her AmeriCorps foundation serving underserved communities, grounds her work in authentic commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices and creating equitable workplace cultures.
Marie’s philosophy: Self-awareness, compassion, and intentional communication aren’t just leadership skills—they’re the business imperatives that drive organizational growth and human flourishing. Her courses give you the step-by-step frameworks and real-time practice opportunities that turn interpersonal competency into measurable results.
Ask Us Anything…
What's the difference between the preview course and enrolling in the full suite?
The preview course gives you a 7-day sampling of our video lectures, exercises, and knowledge checks so you can experience our teaching methodology. The full Management Suite includes all three complete courses with 75+ interpersonal skills frameworks, downloadable tools, assessments, and access to updates while you are enrolled.
How long does it take to complete?
The courses are self-paced. While you could watch all of the videos in a sitting of 2-3 hours per course, we recommend breaking your learning into sessions of 1-3 lessons at a time, including completion of the associated assignments. The first course, The Essential Guide for Effective Managers has an estimated completion time of 4 weeks. You may complete the course in less or more time depending on your learning appetite and needs.
Is there social learning like discussion forums?
Yes, each course does have a discussion forum where learners can engage with peers, share insights, ask questions, and learn from others’ experiences. This social learning component helps to reinforce the collaborative leadership principles you are developing throughout the coursework.
What's your refund policy?
Because our courses are accessible and competitively priced, and maintaining our learning platform requires ongoing investment, we focus on ensuring you’re confident before purchase rather than offering refunds. That’s why we provide a 7-day preview course so you can experience our teaching style and content quality risk-free before enrolling in the full suite. Read our expanded FAQ’s here.
What is microlearning?
Microlearning is an educational approach that uses short on-demand content pieces to enhance learning focusing on need-to-know content. In the Academy that means our lectures are between 90 seconds and 5 minutes in length and include tools like scenario learning, journaling, article reading and assessments to reinforce the acquisition of knowledge in short periods of time and attention. This style of instruction has been shown to reduce cognitive load and learner fatigue.
Do you offer coaching or instructor office hours?
Yes! Monthly office hours are included for all enrolled students, plus our certified coaches offer individual and team coaching services. Learn more about our coaching options here
Are these courses eligible for SHRM recertification units?
Yes, we do offer professional development units for SHRM and other certifying bodies. If a course is eligible for credit, you will see the eligible credit hours available when viewing courses on the course catalogue page.
Can we load these courses into our company LMS or white label this content?
Yes, our courses are available for white labeling and can be uploaded into your preferred LMS solution. Please schedule a consultation with a member of our team to discuss implementation.
I want to purchase this course for a large number of learners. Do you offer discounts?
If you desire to purchase 100 or more seats in any 3 or more High Tides courses, we do offer volume discounts. Please reach out to our support team to discuss your needs and receive a quote.
Ready to Be a Better Manager?
Join the leaders who understand that learning how to 'people' better isn't optional—it's the foundation of everything you'll accomplish through others.The best leaders start developing these interpersonal skills from day one—and they never stop learning. The Academy is for those forever-learning leaders who choose collaboration and know it’s a skill to be learned. Great managers aren’t born, they’re trained.