LEARNING DESIGN CASE STUDY
Lead First—Your First 30 Days as a Manager
A responsive leadership microlearning experience designed to help first-time and newly promoted managers navigate their first 30 days with confidence. Developed in Adobe Captivate, the course uses interactive guidance, realistic workplace decisions, and a practical four-priority framework to help managers listen, build trust, create clarity, and take thoughtful action.
Role
Learning Designer
& Developer
Tools
Adobe Captivate ·
Leadership Microlearning · Interactive Cards · Scenario-Based Decisions·
Responsive Design
Project Overview
Lead First: Your First 30 Days as a Manager is a responsive leadership microlearning experience developed in Adobe Captivate for first-time and newly promoted managers. The course simplifies the challenges of transitioning into management by focusing on four practical priorities: Listen Before You Lead, Build Trust Early, Create Clarity, and Make Your First Move Count. Interactive guidance, scenario-based decisions, and a concise 30-Day Playbook help learners translate these priorities into thoughtful early leadership actions.
Developed as a portfolio concept project, Lead First demonstrates how focused microlearning can provide practical performance support without overwhelming new managers with a comprehensive leadership curriculum.
The Goal
Create a concise, engaging learning experience that helps newly appointed managers approach their first 30 days with intention rather than pressure to prove themselves. The course was designed to encourage listening before acting, building trust through early interactions, clarifying expectations, and choosing a meaningful first action based on what the manager has learned.
My Approach
For this project, I followed a focused instructional design process aimed at helping first-time managers navigate their first 30 days without feeling overwhelmed. I organized the experience around four practical leadership priorities, developed interactive guidance and realistic workplace decisions, and validated the responsive microlearning experience in Adobe Captivate.
Understand
Identified the challenges new managers face during their first month, including pressure to act quickly, establish credibility, build relationships, and make decisions before fully understanding their teams and responsibilities.
Design
Structured the experience around four priorities: Listen Before You Lead, Build Trust Early, Create Clarity, and Make Your First Move Count. Used interactive cards and scenario-based decisions to connect each priority to practical leadership behaviors.
Develop
Built the responsive microlearning experience in Adobe Captivate using interactive priority cards, concise guidance, scenario-based decision points, immediate feedback, and a 30-Day Playbook to reinforce workplace application.
Validate
Reviewed content clarity, visual consistency, interaction behavior, and responsive layouts across common device sizes to support a clear, accessible, and consistent learner experience.
Results & Impact
Focused Leadership Priorities
Developed a concise microlearning experience organized around four practical priorities that help new managers focus on essential behaviors during their first 30 days.
Scenario-Based Decision Practice
Created realistic workplace scenarios with interactive choices and immediate feedback to help learners practice thoughtful leadership decisions rather than simply read advice.
Practical Performance Support
Designed a 30-Day Playbook that reinforces listening, building trust, creating clarity, and taking deliberate action—giving learners a simple framework to revisit on the job.
What’s Next
Future enhancements could include:
Downloadable 30-Day Playbook and manager reflection guide
Additional scenarios addressing team dynamics and early leadership decisions
Manager check-ins and follow-up reflection activities
A 30-day application and evaluation plan
Ready to Explore Lead First?
Experience a focused leadership microlearning course designed to help new managers navigate their first 30 days through practical guidance, realistic workplace decisions, and four essential leadership priorities.