The Confident Manager Masterclass™
A Masterclass for Managers of
‘Brilliant but Difficult’ People
In partnership with the Central New York Chapter of the Association for Talent Development
What Participants Say about this Award Winning Training
2026 Training Dates
Friday – March 27, 2026 – Syracuse, NY
Friday – June 12, 2026 – Syracuse, NY
Friday – September 25 – TBD, Upstate NY
Friday – December 4 – TBD, Upstate NY
Training Fee
$550 per person
($495 Early Bird through December 31, 2025)
CNY ATD Members: Less $30
Manager Feedback on Participant Growth
Are You Trapped Between High Performers and HR Complaints?
You’re getting complaints about one of your top performers. They deliver results but people don’t want to work with them. You’re hearing murmurs about “toxic work environment” but you’ve never witnessed “toxic” behavior yourself.
Sure they can be direct and forceful, but since when was that a crime? And it does seem to get results.
What are you supposed to do? Fire your best performer? Ignore the complaints?
You feel stuck between alienating top talent or alientating other staff.
Training That Changes How You Lead Immediately
(Tools you use the same day — at work, home, customers, everywhere)
You've tried everything...haven't you?
You’ve tried speaking with them. They got defensive and denied things, said people were making things up, over-reacting and couldn’t take feedback.
You’ve suggested trainings and coaching. Maybe they’ve gone to them. Maybe there were temporary improvements.
Then the complaints started back up.
Why 'training' and 'talking to them' doesn't work
Leaders like this don’t see themselves as the problem. Everyone else is the problem, not them.
You can’t talk or train someone out of abrasiveness when they think their approach is justified and necessary.
Without creating the necessary motivation to change, traditional interventions fail.
The Solution: Compassionate Intervention with 'Backbone'
To have any hope of transforming an “abrasive” leader, you need to know:
- Why they do what they do
- Dispel myths and preconceptions you might have about them and the people on the receiving end of their behaviour, and
- Learn abrasive-leader specific strategies that actually work
And then everyone wins.
The organization, the leader, and the people they work with.
This Masterclass builds both organizational and personal “vertebrae”—the skill-based confident “backbone” needed to address these challenging situations—through structured, interactive skill-building exercises and discussions.
You’ll experience a progressive learning journey that tackles both the abrasive behaviors themselves and the emotions they stir in you as a manager of the “abrasive leader”, so that you can stay calm and collected even when they are being defensive or reactive.
Not Always Comfortable — Always Worth It
(Aha moments, emotional insight, real self-reflection)
What You’ll Gain from The Confident Manager Masterclass
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Structured intervention framework that transforms difficult conversations into productive change opportunities
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Emotional regulation skills to manage your own triggers and respond with clarity rather than reactivity
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Myth-busting knowledge that empowers you to see through defensive tactics and victim-blaming
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Confidence and skills from repeated practice to address abrasive behavior and high defensiveness with compassion and firmness. And no “fact-battles”.
This is not about being punitive or harsh.
It’s about learning—and repeatedly practicing—the skills to intervene both clearly AND kindly.
You’ll learn intervention techniques, and practice difficult conversations, in a safe environment with ongoing peer support for real-world implementation.
Practical, Progressive, and “Sticky” Learning
(Scaffolded structure, tons of practice, immediate usefulness)
Your Trainers
Diana Wolgemuth
As a strategic leader with a 20+ year career focused on Learning and Development, Employee Engagement and Company Culture, Diana has developed a deep understanding of the impact skills development, business relationships, work environment and company culture have on employee experience, performance and company success.
She has served as Director of Professional Development with Dale Carnegie, and was the Training & Development manager at Hand Held Products.
Diana serves on the Program Committee for CNY ATD and sits on the Board for Erins Angels.
Sue Mann
From being the sole female head of a top-rated South African diplomatic mission in the Middle East, to being hired in as an “innovative change agent”, Sue partners with organizations to cultivate workplace civility where talent thrives and productivity flourishes.
In her own life journey, Sue has navigated from being perceived as abrasive, to being acknowledged for the depth of her compassion. She’s been on all sides workplace dysfunction.
Sue leverages her experiences and insights to guide others through similar transformations, helping technically brilliant, but interpersonally challenged, leaders discover their capacity to shift from disempowering to empowering.
Experience It, Don’t Just Hear About It
(People enjoy them, get into character, and learn deeply)
All The Details
Day, Time, Location
March 27, June 12, September 25 or December 4, 2026
Location: Syracuse, New York
Duration: 8am to 5pm. (Please plan to arrive by 7:45am.)
Lunch and snacks will be provided.
Training Fee
$550 per person
($495 Early Bird through December 31, 2025)
CNY ATD Member: Less $30
Format/ What to Expect
One intensive day of experiential learning with structured scenarios, case studies, and group discussions.
Class size is limited to 15 participants.
Expect a highly interactive workshop, with extensive opportunities to practice and get feedback, so that by the end of the day participants will have developed the confidence and practical skills to address abrasive workplace behaviors with both compassion and firmness, using a proven intervention framework.
Pre-Training Preparation
Orientation Sessions: Prior to the training day there will be two required virtual sessions.
- A participant orientation so that you arrive at the training already knowing people and prepared for how the day will unfold. We will also use this session to get to know you and your goals so that we can make final adjustments to the training day.
- A check-in with managers of participants to review objectives and build support. Your manager plays a critical role in your ability to intervene effectively. This makes sure you get that support. Not comfortable with that? Drop us a line and we’re happy to talk and support you here.
Post-Training Debrief
Without follow-up and support, trainings are typically quickly forgotten and not applied.
There will be two post-training debriefs.
Participant debrief
60 minutes, 1 month post training
For training “stickyness” and application/integration
Manager debrief
30 minutes, 1 month post training
Share your learnings with your manager, so that they can bring any questions they have to us and we can further support your manager to support you.
Materials Provided
- Comprehensive Intervention Framework
- “Take and Tweak” scripts
- Workbook/handouts
- Memory Aid & Manager Review Guide
Wraparound Support That Actually Makes a Difference
(Pre- and post-assessments, manager involvement, real accountability)
Ready to Lead with Courage and Compassion?
Stop walking on eggshells around high-performing but abrasive leaders.
Transform workplace dysfunction into a culture of respectful excellence.
Register for the Confident Manager Master Class Today.
This framework teaches you how to make the motivation to change compelling—by connecting their behavior to consequences they actually care about, all while providing genuine care and support for their success.
They may or may not be capable of change. But in our experience most people are written off as being “incapable of change” far too early, and long before people have cared enough to try approaches that have been proven to work most of the time with ‘difficult’ people.
Especially with high performers. The approach recognizes their value while helping them see that interpersonal incompetence undermines their technical excellence.
The training teaches you how to have the conversation in way that reduces you and your organization’s liability while increasing your effectiveness.
You will not be asked to share the organization you are from…nor the names of anyone you work with.
No. This training is about supporting managers to help their people with conduct and interpersonal challenges.
If you have a direct report who is struggling to meet the technical requirements of their job, this is not the training for that.
August 31, 2025. As the class size is limited to 12 participants, however, we encourage you not to wait until the deadline.
We will be reviewing each application as it comes it. You will know within a week of applying if you application is accepted. We will be clear with anyone who is not initially accepted as to why. And work with you to fill any gaps.
Yes! Please indicate that on your application form. We welcome and encourage HR practioners who support managers who have “brilliant but difficult” people under them to attend.
Join Us