Advanced Leading Managers of Managers Training Course – Madrid, 7–18 Dec 2026

Leading Managers of Managers is a 2-week advanced training course for second-line leaders who direct other managers, built around a Management Layer Alignment Charter that sets span of control, decision rights and the supervisor bench for one function. As organisations flatten structures and widen spans, the leader in the middle decides whether strategy reaches the front line intact. Jupiter Prime Training delivers this course for leaders who now lead through other leaders.

Why Leading Managers of Managers Matters Now

Three forces shape the role today. Delayering and wider spans leave fewer second-line leaders carrying more first-line supervisors. Hybrid and distributed teams make it harder to see how priorities travel down the layers. A workforce that expects coaching rather than control raises the bar for every new supervisor. An organisation that handles this well keeps priorities intact, grows its own successors and settles conflicts between teams early; one that handles it badly sees diluted messages, stalled careers and duplicated effort. The course draws on the Leadership Pipeline model, Situational Leadership, Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and the nine-box talent grid.

Who Gains Most from Leading Managers of Managers

• Leaders responsible for several first-line supervisors and the results of their combined teams
• Heads of operating units who translate strategy into quarterly priorities across shifts or sites
• Function leaders accountable for talent reviews, promotion decisions and succession cover
• Leaders newly promoted from supervising staff to supervising supervisors
• Leaders who coordinate shared resources and hand-offs between neighbouring departments

A leadership team from one division gains most when several of its second-line leaders attend together and agree one set of spans, decision rights and calibration rules.

Leading Managers of Managers Capabilities

Participants learn to lead through a layer of supervisors rather than around it, shifting effort from doing the work to designing how others lead it.

• Assess span of control and layer design against workload and complexity — structure decisions for the function head
• Design a supervisor development path from first appointment to readiness for promotion — talent decisions
• Communicate priorities through cascades that keep intent while allowing local choice — frontline supervisors
• Calibrate performance and potential ratings across several supervisors fairly — promotion and reward panels
• Build succession cover for critical supervisory roles — workforce planning and risk owners
• Align cross-team hand-offs and shared resources through clear interfaces — peer leaders and internal customers

Key Leading Managers of Managers Terms

• Span of control — the number of direct reports one leader carries, set by task complexity, team maturity and coordination load.
• Leadership Pipeline — a model describing the turns from leading self to leading others to leading leaders, each needing new skills and values.
• Skip-level meeting — a structured conversation between a second-line leader and the staff of a supervisor who reports to them.
• Calibration session — a meeting where leaders compare ratings across teams to apply one standard for performance and potential.
• Succession bench — the named people ready now or soon to step into a critical role if it falls vacant.
• Decision rights — an agreed statement of which layer proposes, decides, approves or is informed on each recurring decision.

Leading Managers of Managers Day by Day

Day 1: The Shift to Leading Leaders

• Leadership Pipeline Turns — Which Habits to Stop When Leading Supervisors
• Role Contract for the Second Line — What Only This Layer Should Own
• Time Allocation Audit — Where Leader Hours Shift Between Doing and Enabling
• Stakeholder Map Above and Below — Whose Expectations Shape the Middle Layer
• Personal Leadership Values Statement — How Credibility With Supervisors Is Earned

Day 2: Span of Control and Layer Design

• Span Calculation Factors — How Many Supervisors One Leader Can Carry
• Layer Redundancy Check — Where Extra Levels Slow Decisions Down
• Workload and Complexity Grid — When to Split or Merge Teams
• Deputy and Team Lead Roles — Whether Informal Layers Help or Hinder
• Structure Options Comparison — Trade-Offs Between Wide and Narrow Spans

Day 3: Decision Rights Between Layers

• RACI Matrix for Recurring Decisions — Who Decides at Each Level
• Escalation Thresholds — When Supervisors Should Decide Without Approval
• Delegation Ladder — How Much Authority Each Supervisor Is Ready For
• Reverse Delegation Patterns — Why Problems Drift Back Up the Line
• Decision Log Practice — How Choices Stay Visible Across Layers

Day 4: Cascading Priorities Through Supervisors

• OKR Cascade Design — Linking Unit Objectives to Supervisor Goals
• Commander's Intent Briefing — Keeping Purpose While Allowing Local Choice
• Message Distortion Checks — Where Priorities Change Between Layers
• Quarterly Priority Reset — Which Commitments Supervisors Drop or Defer
• Team Huddle Rhythm — How Front-Line Feedback Travels Back Up

Day 5: Developing First-Line Supervisors

• Supervisor Readiness Profile — Gaps Between Technical Expert and Team Leader
• Situational Leadership Diagnosis — Matching Support to Each Supervisor's Maturity
• Coaching the Coach — Helping Supervisors Coach Their Own Staff
• Stretch Assignment Design — Which Experiences Accelerate Supervisor Growth
• First-Ninety-Day Plan for New Supervisors — Early Wins and Support

Day 6: Seeing Through the Layer

• Skip-Level Meeting Structure — What to Ask Without Undermining Supervisors
• Gemba and Site Walks — Observing Practice Rather Than Reports
• Supervisor Dashboard Selection — Lead Indicators Worth Watching Weekly
• Pulse Survey Reading — Spotting Teams Drifting Before Results Fall
• One-to-One Agenda for Supervisors — Balancing Results, Growth and Wellbeing

Day 7: Calibration and Fair Judgement

• Nine-Box Talent Grid — Separating Performance From Potential
• Calibration Session Facilitation — Applying One Standard Across Teams
• Rating Bias Patterns — Leniency, Recency and Similarity Effects
• Evidence Packs for Ratings — Which Examples Support a Judgement
• Difficult Rating Conversations — Explaining Outcomes to Supervisors

Day 8: Succession Pipelines for Supervisory Roles

• Critical Role Identification — Which Supervisory Posts Carry Most Risk
• Ready-Now and Ready-Later Bench — Naming Successors Honestly
• Individual Development Plans for Successors — Closing Readiness Gaps
• Internal Mobility Moves — When Rotation Builds Supervisory Breadth
• Succession Risk Heat Map — Where Cover Is Thin or Missing

Day 9: Cross-Team Coordination

• Interface Agreements Between Teams — Defining Hand-Offs and Service Levels
• Shared Resource Arbitration — Allocating People and Equipment Between Units
• Peer Leader Forum Design — Settling Conflicts Before Escalation
• Dependency Mapping Across Departments — Where Delays Start and Spread
• Joint Improvement Projects — Aligning Supervisors From Neighbouring Teams

Day 10: Practising the Management Layer Alignment Charter

• Span and Layer Proposal — Applying Day Two Design Factors
• Decision Rights and Cascade Map — Applying Days Three and Four
• Calibration and Succession Summary — Applying Days Seven and Eight
• Peer Challenge Panel — Testing the Charter With Fellow Leaders
• Management Layer Alignment Charter — Completing the Final Version

Applying Leading Managers of Managers After the Course

• Run one calibration session with direct-report supervisors using the nine-box grid and evidence packs, then agree the development moves it reveals.
• Hold skip-level meetings with two teams and compare what is heard with the OKR cascade already set, correcting any distorted priority.

Leading Managers of Managers Questions (FAQ)

What is leading managers of managers and why does it matter now?

Leading managers of managers is the practice of directing supervisors rather than staff. It matters now because wider spans, flatter structures and distributed teams mean priorities, talent decisions and coordination all depend on how well this middle layer is led.

Which roles gain most from leading managers of managers training?

Second-line leaders gain most. That includes heads of units with several supervisors, leaders newly promoted to oversee supervisors, and function leaders responsible for talent reviews, succession cover and coordination between neighbouring departments.

How does leading managers of managers differ from a first-line supervisor course?

A first-line supervisor course teaches how to lead individual staff. Leading managers of managers addresses the next turn: designing spans and decision rights, developing supervisors, calibrating ratings across teams and building succession benches for supervisory roles.

What do you bring back from leading managers of managers training?

You bring back a charter for your function. It sets span and layer choices, decision rights, the priority cascade, calibration rules and succession cover, ready to discuss with your own leader and supervisors.

Leading Managers of Managers: The Way Forward

The Management Layer Alignment Charter first informs how many supervisors each leader carries and which decisions they own. Second-line leaders use it with their supervisors and their own director to agree priorities and talent moves. After its first calibration cycle, the perspective worth revisiting is decision rights: whether authority has truly moved down a layer or quietly drifted back up.