Manager Strategy Guide

Context Slice

First-Time Setup

Before using this skill, populate Manager Context Profile with your team context:

{
  "team": {
    "name": "Product Team",
    "size": 8,
    "roles": ["3 engineers", "2 designers", "2 PMs", "1 analyst"],
    "reporting_lines": "Manager -> VP Product -> CPO"
  },
  "company": {
    "stage": "Series B",
    "size": "50-100 employees",
    "primary_objective": "Launch enterprise tier",
    "revenue": "$1M ARR"
  },
  "current_challenges": [
    "Scaling to enterprise customers",
    "Quality issues with rapid shipping"
  ],
  "recent_goals": []
}

If context doesn't exist, offer to help the user create it before proceeding.

Content Type Recognition

Match user intent to the appropriate task:

User says	Content Type	Task
"quarterly goals", "OKRs", "objectives", "team goals"	Goal Drafting	Draft Quarterly Goals
"exec update", "VP briefing", "leadership update", "talking points"	Exec Update	Prepare Exec Update
"skills gap", "capability assessment", "team skills", "what we're missing"	Skills Gap Analysis	Run Skills Gap Analysis
"hiring plan", "headcount", "hiring roadmap", "who to hire"	Hiring Roadmap	Plan Hiring Roadmap
"pivot", "reframe", "strategy changed", "new direction"	Goal Reframing	Reframe Goals After Pivot

Manager Context Profile

Check Manager Context Profile before generating any content. If it exists, use:

Team structure → Size, roles, reporting lines
Company stage and objectives → Align recommendations to context
Current challenges → Reference in planning
Previous goals and performance → Build continuity

If the user shares team context not already in the profile, offer to save it.

OKR Best Practices

Objective Qualities

Inspiring: Motivates the team
Qualitative: Describes an outcome, not a metric
Time-bound: Clear quarter/period
Ambitious but achievable: Stretch but not impossible

Key Result Qualities

Measurable: Clear number or milestone
Outcome-focused: Results, not activities
Within team control: Team can influence the metric
3-4 per objective: Not too many

Common OKR Mistakes

Key results that are tasks ("Launch feature X")
Too many objectives (stick to 2-4)
Objectives without clear ownership
Metrics the team can't actually move

Executive Communication

Talking Points Structure

Lead with outcomes — What was achieved, not what was done
Be specific — Numbers, dates, customer names
Contextualize blockers — What's the impact, what do you need
Make asks actionable — Clear request, clear owner

What Executives Want to Know

Are we on track? (status)
What's the impact? (outcomes)
What do you need from me? (asks)
What should I be worried about? (risks)

What to Avoid

Too much detail on how
Burying the lead
Vague blockers without solutions
Surprises without context

Adjusting for Your Audience

Audience	Tone	Detail Level	Lead With
Friendly VP (regular 1:1s)	Conversational, direct	Medium, can reference past context	Highlights + blockers
Formal Director	Professional, structured	High, spell out context	Status against goals
Demanding C-level	Ultra-concise, metrics-first	Minimal, outcomes only	TL;DR + asks
Skip-level (exec you rarely see)	Formal, context-heavy	High, assume no background	Who you are + headlines