# Stop Doing Your First Manager’s Job

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/first-manager-release · Last updated 3 November 2026

You hired your first manager, and you still check every quote, schedule and client email before it goes out. Ivanka Menken uses the Release Dial inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to move one delivery area from founder-checked to manager-owned, so you hear about it afterwards. You leave with a written release commitment for that area and a 14-day review point.

## A manager on the payroll, and the work still waits for you

- Your first manager drafts the quote, and you rewrite it.
- Nothing goes to a client until you have read it.
- You can list what your manager does, and not one decision they own.

**THE MOMENT:** It is late on a Thursday. Your manager has sent you the week’s schedule, two quotes and a client email to check. Each one is fine, or nearly. You tweak a line here and a price there, and send them back. You hired this person so evenings like this would stop. Instead you now review the work before it goes out and do your own on top.

### THE AGENCY, AS IT STANDS

- People: 10
- Revenue: $1.1m
- First manager: hired
- Quotes, schedules, client emails: checked by the founder
- Decisions the manager owns: none written

## Hire the manager, keep the checking

In this case, the founder of a 10-person digital agency at $1.1m in revenue hired a first manager to take delivery off their plate. The obvious next step was to keep an eye on things while the manager settled in. Months later, the founder still reviewed every quote and job before it went out. The hire added cost without adding release.

## Tasks listed, decisions not

Ivanka noticed the founder could describe everything the manager did, and could not name one decision the manager was allowed to own. The manager had a role and a task list. Every judgement still came back to the founder for a check, so the manager had learned to send it.

## A release that never happened, not a talent gap

The real issue was not a lack of talent. The founder had not moved a single area from doing it, or checking it, to hearing about it afterwards.
The reframe: a first manager becomes a manager the day they own one decision outright. Pick one delivery area, move the dial from founder-checked to manager-owned, agree what you will hear about afterwards, and stay out of it for 14 days. Then review what came back.

> A first manager becomes a manager the day they own one decision outright.

**The cost of staying stuck:** Every fortnight the founder keeps checking, the manager learns that their judgement is a draft, the founder does two jobs, and the hire costs a salary without buying any time back.

## The tool: Release Dial

The Release Dial is how Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring moves work from the founder to a leader one notch at a time. For a first manager, the notch is the jump from the founder checking every piece of work before it goes out to the manager owning one area and the founder hearing about it afterwards.

It is a written release commitment for one area: what moves, the decisions the manager now owns, what the founder hears about afterwards and when, the one thing that brings the founder back in, and the 14-day review.

It replaces checking everything while the manager settles in, a job description with no decisions on it, and the vague promise to step back once things calm down.

### What goes on the page

1. The agency: 10 people, $1.1m in revenue
2. The founder checks: quotes, schedules and client emails
3. The area released: one delivery area
4. The manager owns: the decisions inside it, outright
5. The founder hears: a short note afterwards, on a set day
6. The review: day 14, at the next session

It sits inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, next to the monthly scorecard of release commitments kept. Each fortnight starts from the last release and what came back. Ivanka does not manage your manager or run performance reviews.

## One area, from checked to owned

In the session, Ivanka asked the founder to list everything that crossed their desk from the manager in the past fortnight. Then she asked which of those the manager could decide without a check if the founder simply heard about it on Friday. The founder chose one delivery area. Together they wrote what the manager now owned, what the Friday note would cover and the one situation that would bring the founder back in.

### The questions

- What crossed your desk from the manager last fortnight?
- Which area could they own if you heard about it afterwards?
- What will the note afterwards cover?
- What would bring you back in?
- What will you look at on day 14?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: A first manager who owns no decisions yet.
2. The numbers: 10 people, $1.1m, every piece of work checked.
3. The story: The manager needs more time before they can own anything.
4. The commitment: One delivery area released for 14 days.

Before the next session, the founder told the manager which area was now theirs, stopped checking it and read the Friday note instead, writing down anything that came back.

## A manager who owns something

By month 6, the founder has released one area each fortnight, the manager owns a growing list of decisions, and the monthly scorecard counts the release commitments kept.

**BEFORE**

- Every quote checked by the founder.
- Every schedule checked by the founder.
- Client emails waiting for a read.
- No decision written to the manager.

**BY MONTH 6**

- Areas owned by the manager, in writing.
- A Friday note instead of a check.
- One clear reason to step back in.
- Release commitments counted monthly.

The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, one release each fortnight, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.

## Give your manager one decision, in writing

Ivanka Menken built Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who build leaders but still do it all. A first manager is the clearest test of that: the hire only pays when something leaves your desk.
This fits if you have hired a first manager, team lead or operations person and still check their work before it goes out. It does not fit if you want someone to manage them for you. The decision in front of you is one area. Name it and stay out for 14 days.

> Helps founders lead with clarity and integrity by modelling vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and grounded decision-making. Creates an environment where leaders can openly explore challenges and grow without fear of judgement.
>
> R.W., founder

## Who fits, and who does not

### It fits

- You have hired a first manager or team lead.
- You still check their work before it goes out.
- You run a $500K to $3M business.
- You will release one area and stay out for 14 days.

### It does not fit

- You want someone to manage your manager.
- You want an HR or performance system.
- You have not hired anyone to release to yet.
- You want to keep a final check on everything.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** The Release Dial is part of Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.

Included:

- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- One release each fortnight
- A monthly scorecard with release commitments kept
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6

Three founding places in total, shared across all 1:1 mentoring, are available at AUD $1,000/month ex GST, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous.

- [Join Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](https://buy.stripe.com/3cI8wPay4gsV7tg6nSdQQ0z?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=first-manager-release)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=first-manager-release#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/building-leaders-not-doing-it-all)

## Questions about Release Dial

### Why do I still check everything after hiring a manager?

Usually because no decision was ever handed over, only tasks. If every judgement still needs your check, the manager learns to send it to you. Ivanka Menken works on this inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, by moving one area from checked by you to owned by them.

### Which area should my first manager own first?

Choose one delivery area where a mistake is recoverable and you already trust the manager’s judgement, such as the weekly schedule. Write what they own, what you hear about afterwards and the one thing that brings you back in. Ivanka Menken helps you pick it inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### What if the manager gets it wrong?

Some calls will differ from yours. That is the point of the 14-day review: look at what came back, what it cost and what to change. One wrong call is information, not a reason to take the area back. Ivanka Menken works through the review with you inside Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### How long is Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring?

Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring runs for 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST: twelve fortnightly 60-minute 1:1 sessions with Ivanka Menken, one release each fortnight, a monthly scorecard of release commitments kept and reviews at month 3 and month 6. The Release Dial is part of the programme and is not sold separately. A 20-minute intro call shows whether it fits.


## Release one area to your manager

If you hired a first manager and still check every piece of work, start with Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring. The Release Dial is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.

- [Join Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](https://buy.stripe.com/3cI8wPay4gsV7tg6nSdQQ0z?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=first-manager-release)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=first-manager-release#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Builder-of-Leaders Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/building-leaders-not-doing-it-all)
- [Release execution to an integrator](https://ivankamenken.com/release-execution-to-integrator)
- [Write the role charter before hiring](https://ivankamenken.com/role-charter-before-hiring)
- [Let a leader own retainer pricing](https://ivankamenken.com/retainer-pricing-release-dial)
- [The Builder-of-Leaders programme](https://ivankamenken.com/building-leaders-not-doing-it-all)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka