Colin Lernell

How to Answer Salary Questions (Without Losing Leverage)

Microsoft

Amazon

Patreon

Noom

Udacity

Annie Murray

Head of Negotiation Coaching, Valued (previously at Microsoft, Amazon)

14-year Product Leader (Patreon, Noom, Udacity) with VP/CPO Offers

Master responding to salary expectation questions live with prompts and feedback—don’t leave money on the table!

Handling Compensation Conversations with Confidence

Gain insights on leveraging companies against each other and boosting internal buy-in at your target company.

How to Create The Ideal Leverage

Analyze your negotiation tactics, their impact, and get feedback with actionable tips to improve for next time.

Get Feedback On Your Negotiations

You want to present your ideas and opinions with unshakable confidence. You want to feel powerful in every room or zoom, but sometimes, when the moment is at hand, you start second-guessing yourself. You want to be both assertive yet kind. But you also don’t want to come across as pushy or a pushover. Maybe you’ve even spent the night counting the opportunities you missed instead of counting sheep. Or worse, you spent the night spiraling about that thing you regret saying.&nbsp;&nbsp;In this course, you'll learn how to step up without stepping on toes, inspire your employees to take meaningful action and captivate your boss with your words so your ideas are heard and valued. Whether you are delivering a presentation, leading a meeting, or having a difficult 1:1 feedback conversation, I’ll give you frameworks to help you with what to say and how to say it so you’re not just part of the conversation but leading it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Every lesson is live and is packed with opportunities to practice and refine your communication skills. You’ll learn how to take up space in the “right way.” And how to get your employees to be thanking YOU when you ask them to take on another project.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You will develop the communication skills that will help you drive your team’s success and earn that next promotion or raise!&nbsp; Next Cohort: February Cohort is Tuesdays at 2pm EST

The Ultimate Leadership Edge

Before you speak it starts with how you think. We are going to train your brain to&nbsp;think like a great leader.

Manager Mindset

Learn how to give feedback that sparks change. We'll learn how to get buy-in and how to give super specific, realistic, and kind feedback. Yes, I'll show you how honesty can be kind and powerful.

Fruitful Feedback & 1:1s

Clarify your strategy and make it so compelling your employees are thanking you for the opportunity to work on it

Spellbinding Strategy

Set the tone and structure of meetings to optimize productivity and collaboration. Learn what to say to help you navigate tricky challenges and how to stay confident and calm throughout.

Confident Collaboration

Course Syllabus

Four 1-hour-long workshopsTuesday Dec 3: Manager MindsetThursday Dec 5: Fruitful FeedbackTuesday Dec 10: Spellbinding Strategy &amp; Defining DecisionsTuesday Dec 12: Confident Collaboration

December Cohort: Tuesday & Thursday 

Compact learning format for busy professionals

No required homework

Every session is recorded, so you can watch it on your own if you can't make the live session.

Can't make a session?

Course schedule

First-time managers (Congrats!) Develop the critical skills that differentiate a follower from a leader

Startup founders &amp; business ownersBuild a culture that will empower your employees to create their best work

Experienced leaders with a new team Quickly ﻿establish trust, improve productivity and amplify your influence

Who is this course for

You'll learn how to ...

Discover the most costly communication mistake most managers make in giving feedback and the seven-step formula to spark change.

Give feedback that actually results in change

Understand the psychology underneath great storytelling. Learn the technique politicians like Barack Obama use to make your message stick with limited time.

Develop spellbinding presentations & pep talks

The 5 key questions that will transform your relationship with your direct reports. Plus, the simple communication checklist that will help you optimize every meeting.

Run effective 1:1s & efficient meetings

Why trying only to control your employees is a waste of time and what you need to say instead that actually increases accountability and improves trust.

Improve employee engagement and productivity

The secret the best conflict negotiators know to surface issues before they become problems.

Breakdown unproductive conflicts and avoid misunderstandings

The simple tip for converting any task or project into a hero’s mission that employees want to take on.

Inspire employees with a clear & compelling mission

The 5-part formula to take your boss from questioning your ideas to following them.

Manage up with grace & power

Many people think charisma is only for extroverts, but I’ll give you two simple tools to increase your likability instantly. In the course you’ll get scripts and formulas to help you get started. And don’t worry, we’ll practice so you can sound natural when you use them.

Level up your confidence and charisma

🚀 Learn the 8 critical skills to make you a confident and compelling leader. 

Jess Goldberg

Teaches communication skills  @ Columbia University, Executive Coach & former VP in AI Robotics 

December 2024

Feb 2025 

Managers and leaders are not taught how to deliver feedback that changes behavior and drives performance. The result? Managers gets frustrated when people don't implement feedback and performance and business results suffer. It doesn't need to be this way. You can transform the way you manage and become the manager who shares direct feedback and drives results. You can get there in this course. You will become more confident and competent sharing feedback fearlessly. WHAT TO EXPECT: Tactics you can implement immediately. Sessions are loaded with lively discussion, breakout exercises, and a 27-page learning guide to both personalize and customize your learning experience. In just 3 sessions, you will have more tools in your tool belt to more effectively drive performance on your team. COURSE CONTENT: • How to speak candidly, and with care, using the Fearless Feedback Model• How to structure feedback using Headline, Observation, Ask• How to navigate reactions using HEAR• How to identify the core behavior needing to be addressed using Name It To Tame It• How to shift to a High Cadence, Low Stakes mental model• How to lay a foundation for feedback with the Relationship Kickoff Conversation• How to view feedback as information to be shared to help someone be their best• How to lead as a human with standards of excellence You can also expect: - A 27-page learning guide loaded with sample language, exercises, and reference materials to leverage well beyond the course- Videos modeling the Headline, Observation, Ask model- Video modeling how to navigate reactions to feedback- Video illustrating how to effectively kick off a feedback relationship with a new team member- Drafting feedback for real time situations you're facing How you view delivering feedback as a manager and leader will fundamentally change. You will have greater confidence and competence opening a feedback conversation, delivering direct and caring feedback, and navigating emotional reactions to your message. Invest in the skills that will truly elevate you and your team's business impact.

Drive stronger performance with actionable feedback.

Your fears and assumptions significantly impact the way you show up in a feedback conversation. When you don't feel confident, you beat around the bush. When you're worried about the reaction, you walk on egg shells. That's not conducive to impacting behavior change, nor is it kind to our team member. Let's set you up for success!

Mastering Your Feedback Mindset

Develop your ability to deliver valuable feedback leveraging the Headline, Observation, Ask model. Explore how feedback can and should escalate. Observe then practice real feedback situations. Walk away equipped to have the feedback conversations you've been putting off.

Delivering Effective Feedback Fearlessly

Even with best laid plans and intentions, feedback can still spark a reaction, let's get you ready! Simplify your approach by learning the HEAR model and then put it to work with real time practice.

Navigating Feedback Reactions

Course syllabus

Before our first session, you will have pre-session videos to view that will set us up for a strong discussion.

Pre-Work Videos & Materials

We kick off our course by exploring the impact Mindset and Relationship have on feedback delivery. Learn 1 core perspective shift, 3 mindset tactics, and then how to lead the Relationship Kickoff Conversation.

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

This will be the meatiest session with feedback model exploration and you'll walk away with new language and tools to immediately have more impactful conversations.

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Bring it all together with tools to handle reactions and even more practice and discussion to enable you to graduate as a Fearless Deliverer of Feedback.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

You are a manager within a start-up &amp; pace of business can feel impossible to give real time feedback to both direct &amp; indirect reports.

You're a leader who finds yourself putting off feedback conversations out of dread, fear, or lack of confidence.

You are a manager wanting to elevate your career by distinguishing yourself as a developer of great talent.

Who will thrive in this courses:

What you can expect from this course:

You will practice addressing the hardest feedback conversations: giving feedback on defensiveness, lack of strategic thinking, a need for greater flexibility, and more. We're not practicing the easy conversations, we're focusing on the conversations we avoid most.

Practice the most difficult types of feedback conversations

Beyond the live sessions, you will walk away with an invaluable resource, the Deliver Fearless Feedback learning guide. Filled with the HOA framework, HEAR model for handling reactions, and 6 examples of sample feedback.

27-page learning guide packed with frameworks and sample langauge

You will adopt the Fearless Feedback Model and learn to operate at the intersection of Mindset, Relationship, and Delivery. These combined enable a manager and leader to say what needs to be said to help someone achieve their highest impact.

Begin delivering difficult feedback fearlessly

You'll learn to streamline your feedback using the Headline, Observation, Ask model. Each step will empower you to strategically engineer a more positive and productive reception, and perception, of your feedback.

Deconstruct the core elements of successful feedback conversations

When someone provides excuses, cries, or gets defensive, you will be equipped with the HEAR model. You will learn to stay true to your north star and not get sucked into tennis match type conversations.

Develop your ability to successfully handle reactions to feedback

You will create a new internal narrative on what it means to deliver tough feedback. You will feel empowered to engage, discuss, and share feedback that will help your people be their best, and help you drive a culture you're proud of.

Increase your confidence & competence

You will elevate to your next level of management and leadership by distinguishing yourself as someone who fearlessly develops your people to reach their best version of themselves.

Distinguish yourself as a developer of people

Transform your management by driving stronger performance through direct and actionable feedback.

Katie Ceccarini

October 2024

January 2025

If you saw me on Lenny's Podcast, you know that my work is based on science, not theory. Selling yourself and your ideas, being understood, gaining trust, and being more fully appreciated doesn't have to be a mystery, and you don't have to trust someone's personal theories and experience. Science holds the answers, and they are crystal clear, extremely effective, and work fast. You actually need to learn how to position yourself (and your team, if you lead one), at two levels to succeed: The Macro LevelWhen you're explaining what you're all about, giving your elevator speech, sharing a presentation about your team's capabilities and value, meeting people for the first time, or interviewing, these are examples of selling yourself and your ideas at the macro level. Success at the macro level gets you opportunities, jobs, customers, and establishes a clearer understanding of what you can really do. If you've ever felt misunderstood, that your job or team is under-appreciated, or that you've been unable to stand out in interviews or sales, it's because of your macro positioning. It's something you can learn to do masterfully, using simple and comfortable ideas to get through to people. The Micro LevelWhen you're in meetings, debates, pitching ideas, trying to warn people of flaws, sending project updates, and more, you're selling yourself and your ideas at the micro level. Success at the micro level is how you get yesses to ideas, approval to move ahead with plans, it's how you influence decisions, and it's how you effectively warn people so we avoid mistakes. Success at the micro level gets you influence, impact, trust, a voice, gravitas, and confidence. If you've ever felt like your ideas, warnings, or points aren't getting through, that you aren't taken seriously as a presence in the room, and that you were unable to influence decisions and help the team avoid mistakes, it's because of this micro influence. These are skills you can master. Why is selling yourself so hard? This stuff is hard for two reasons. First, the human brain requires very specific approaches to communication, influence, and building a real understanding. By default, brains don't ship from the factory making any of these things easy or intuitive. Second, people's brains work really differently. You are going to work with a range of different types of people, and you must understand how they think and what makes their mind unique before you can be successful with them. What works for one type of person doesn't work for another. One thing that is going to set this course apart, making it different than anything else out there about influence, is we are going to explore what is actually happening in the human mind. The human mind is the critical factor in all influence and positioning, and if you don't understand how people's minds work, you're at a huge disadvantage when it comes to selling yourself and your ideas. You'll be surprised to find out what science knows about influence and what is happening in the mind. We aren't just going to explore what "works" for people, in the sense of tactics and recipes. You're also going to have a dynamic understanding of why and when it works, too. This makes you flexible and versatile, tapping into deeper principles you actually understand instead of surface level recipes and tactics.

Learn what science knows about selling yourself and your ideas


Provide a brief description for each module as a way to sell the value of what students will be learning throughout the course.

First Module

Second Module

Third Module

Feel free to type out dates as your title as a way to communicate information about specific live sessions or other events.

Friday, November 8th


Schedule items can also be used to convey commitments outside of specific time slots (like weekly projects or daily office hours).

Weekly projects

People whose jobs and careers depend on influence and being understood: - Founders, Leaders &amp; Managers- Product- Analytics- UX, etc.

People who feel imposter syndrome, struggle with assertiveness, feel too blunt, or just want to radically uplevel their effectiveness.

People who are actively interviewing or who want to stand out the next time they do. ﻿Stand out from the crowd.

What you’ll get out of this course

You'll have this content forever, and it's structured to be a resource you can reference in the future. While it's great if you can come to some or all of the live session, this resource is what's most valuable.

A resource you can keep revisiting


You will understand other people's minds, find the best paths to connect with them, and become more strategic.

Say goodbye to frustration and confusion


Many professionals are not appreciated because other people don't understand what they do and why it matters. Learn how to position yourself properly in people's minds so they value you and what you have to contribute.

Be understood, and valued


If you are in product, engineering, design, analytics, customer success, or a number of other fields that are influence-based, it's hard for your team to thrive if the broader business misunderstands you and the value you produce. We will clear that up with powerful branding.

Position your craft, your team, and its brand properly


Once you are properly positioned and understood, you'll have a platform to make your ideas more compelling, your warnings more convincing, and your everyday interactions create a reputation that works as an asset instead of a liability.

Find success in ideas, warnings, and everyday interactions


I coach many people who are better than they realize, but their humility comes across as uncertainty, causing a number of issues downstream with their influence. We'll explore how to have a more powerful and comfortable form of confidence and presence in the course.

Gain confidence and presence in front of executives (or anyone)


Master positioning yourself, your team, and your ideas. Be understood, trusted, believed, and appreciated.


Evan LaPointe

I founded several companies. Sold the last one to Adobe. Now, I help people win.

Cohort 3

January 2025-2

Don't wake up wondering what to do every day. Know that you've got an engine of job search working for you. The problem:Tech hiring has changed dramatically. Mass layoffs, shrinking headcounts, and decreasing venture capital has changed the math. There are more candidates than ever competing for a small number of roles. The competition is intense. The solution:Since 2019, our strategies have helped tech professionals secure over $400,000,000 in job offers. These clear, actionable systems get people more interviews, help candidates pass those interviews with flying colors, and land people top-of-market offers, even in this rough market. 80% of our clients choose between multiple offers. Your instructor:Sherveen Mashayekhi, Founder &amp; CEO of Free Agency• Backed by Maveron, Resolute, Bloomberg Beta, &amp; more• Product leader and technologist with a decade in hiring tech• Advisor and coach to tech executives across NYC and SF Proven results:• Hundreds of placements every year in product, engineering, design, marketing, and more• $400M+ in total offers since 2019, with &gt;80% of clients picking between multiple offers• $15.35M raised from industry-leading investors, executives, and 30+ of our own clients Frustrated by low response rates? Learn how to triple replies and uncover opportunities before anyone else. No gimmicks and no referrals necessary. Struggling to tell your story? Master storytelling about your career at a fundamental level, preparing you for any question or context. Worried about the competition? Implement frameworks to do better research, understand employers, and intentionally stand out at every stage. Course content: Day 1: Lay the foundations (docs + systems)﻿• Templates for resumes, cover letters, cold emails, LinkedIn, + so much more• Systems and tools to use to make the job search painless and efficient• Behind-the-scenes of ATS, LinkedIn Recruiter, &amp; other employer systems Day 2: Flood your calendar with interviews﻿• Advanced job finding techniques, including Boolean &amp; semantic search﻿• Actionable steps to take after submitting an app to 3x your response rate﻿• Strategies and templates to get to know someone at any company (but for real) Day 3: Win over recruiters &amp; hiring managers﻿• Masterclass: Personal pitch and career storytelling (prev. client: "game-changing!")﻿• Repeatable methods for identifying and leveraging recruiter and HM incentives﻿• Win outside the room: templates and nuances for pre- and post-interview comms Day 4: Beat the competition in the interview cycle﻿• Advanced coaching to become stellar at panel rounds, exec chats, case studies, interview homework, etc.﻿• First-of-its-kind framework for interview debriefs + analysis, enabling in-cycle adjustments and "hero stories"﻿• Deep dives on behavioral questions, leadership, end-of-interview moments - be the unforgettable candidate Day 5: Negotiate like a pro and secure the role﻿• Framework: how to seal the deal - to be the #1 pick instead of #2 - and take discrete actions toward winning the job • Behind-the-scenes of compensation systems, databases, and formulas used by companies to calculate offers﻿• Systems and templates for understanding, evaluating, and negotiating an offer (incl. scripts) Plus...﻿• What's the deal with 'hidden jobs,' ATS keyword matching, referrals... get the truth!﻿• Methods of analogy and loop-storytelling, incl. ways to enhance recall + fit through thank you notes, emails, and phone calls • Analysis of all stakeholders and incentives inside an interview process • &amp; so much more Job search has fundamentally shifted. In 2021, a senior PM or an engineering VP was so scarce and hot in the market that it took just weeks for them to find a compelling job with a top-of-market salary. In 2024, a senior PM job receives hundreds of qualified applicants, and dozens who are specifically qualified within the particular sub-industry of the company in question. And so you&nbsp;need&nbsp;to stand out. You need to look different on LinkedIn and in an email inbox. You need to tell your story in a way that goes beyond the "academic right answer," and instead differentiates you from your next peer over. Because how else is a hiring panel supposed to decide to pick you instead of that next person? And where do former clients now work?Companies like Snapdocs, Airbnb, Mozilla, Spotify, Fastly, TikTok, theScore, Zoox, Zola, Cruise, HBO, Kajabi, Lyft, Meta, mParticle, GitHub, Roblox, Peloton, Verizon, Tesla, Notion, Asana, Drift, Instacraft, Reddit, Yelp, Google, American Express, Clover Health, Upwork, Sonder, Oura, Pepsi, Dropbox, SoFi, the NYT, Amazon, Square, Check, Addepar, Electronic Arts, Disney, MLB, Angi, Shortcut, Coinbase, Lob, Roku, Rho, Cash App, Zoom, Motion, Matterport, Twitch, Gong, Chargebee, Wonderschool, The Athletic, January, Newfront, DraftKings, Expedia, Zillow, Shopify, just to name a few.&nbsp;Seriously, this is just a quick few. We're everywhere.

Redesign your job search process and interview strategy to compete and win.

If you can't make it, you will receive a recording of any particular session after it happens.

Every weekday for a week.

Do the homework during the course schedule and you'll receive specific and in-depth feedback. Take it with you afterward to use for future practice and refinement.

Async projects.

Ambitious individual contributors, managers and directors, and VPs already in tech. Minimum 3+ years of experience.

We're technologists who understand the nuances of product management, engineering, design, marketing, operations, &amp; everything in between.

You're actively job searching in tech or are planning a move in the next 6 months.

You'll get systems and structures for every step of the job search process, built by people who know how hiring really happens, enabling you to take intentional actions at every step.

An entire job search engine, from your resume to your final offer

You'll see what an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) actually looks like, how recruiters use it, what LinkedIn Recruiter looks like, a live preview of a compensation database, alongside all the insights + nuances of how these systems are used (for + against) you. Get the intel!

Behind-the-scenes previews of what it all looks and feels like for employers

You don't have to start from scratch. Our templates, frameworks, and worksheets are proven in the tech job market. Start from strength!

Templates, frameworks, worksheets for your entire job search journey

We'll take your interview skills to the top 1%. Past students have put it best: "The interview and storytelling coaching was unbelievable. I'm going to be a better storyteller and negotiator for the rest of my life."

Advanced coaching to make you a STELLAR storyteller and interviewee

And even in 2024 and 2025, there's room to ensure you win not just a great job, but one that pays you well. Our negotiation framework will ensure you're politely but firmly capable of moving up any given offer, set up a competitive offer scenario, and avoid settling.

Data and frameworks to ensure you win & negotiate a top-of-market offer

Take control of your job search. Implement a proven system to get you interviews, win you the next round, and land you a high-paying offer.

Lightning Lessons

How to Answer Salary Questions (Without Losing Leverage)