KONG LEADERSHIP CONVERSATIONS SERIES
Installing the Management Operating System 

In a fast-scaling environment, speed is our greatest asset—but it often comes at the cost of clarity. This six-module series moves beyond "words on a wall" to install a standardized management operating rhythm across Kong. Participants graduate as certified Kong Leaders: coaches, goal-setters, and talent magnets who lead with the consistency and predictability of an API.

This program is designed to help you:

1

Drive Performance
​& ​Accountability at Scale: 
Install the cadence of 1:1s, goals, and feedback that gives your team the clarity and ownership they need to execute against Kong's most critical priorities — consistently, not just when you're in the room.​

2

Strengthen Talent Engagement
​& Retention: 
Build the kind of leadership presence that makes your team a place people fight to get onto — and never want to leave. You will develop the skills to accelerate new-hire success and retain the industry's most sought-after talent.​

3

Build the Confidence to
Lead Through Conflict
Learn to deliver hard feedback, navigate resistance, and hold your ground in disagreement — without losing trust or team momentum. You will leave with the language and the confidence to have the conversations most leaders avoid.
PARTICIPANTS
newly promoted leaders or experienced managers seeking to align with the Kong "Gold Standard" of leadership
DURATION
five months
TIME
13 hours live
​COHORT SIZE 
12

Program Curriculum

THREE PRE-WORK FOUNDATIONS:
To ensure the journey is tailored to your unique challenges, participants complete the following prior to Kick-off:
Leadership Principles Self-Assessment
You will rate your agreement with specific behaviors associated with each of Kong's 9 Leadership Principles. This establishes your individual behavioral baseline — surfaced in Session 1 as cohort-level data and revisited at the close of Session 6 so you can see exactly how far you've come.
WorkPlace Big Five Profile (WPB5)
You will complete the WPB5 psychometric assessment, which maps your natural behavioral defaults across five supertraits. Your results are integrated directly into Module 1 and serve as a recurring lens throughout the series — connecting your personality data to your leadership behavior at Kong.
Performance Obstacle Identification
You will identify the one real team challenge you are already facing and carry it through all six modules. This is not a hypothetical. Every action plan in the series returns to your obstacle — so the work you do here has a direct line to what is happening on your team right now.
OLT Leader 360-Lite
Your direct leader will complete a brief observer survey — rating you on Kong's Leadership Principles and sharing their perspective on your current strengths and development opportunities. You will receive this data on Day 1, giving you an outside-in view of your leadership before the series begins. That loop closes again after Module 6.
SIX MODULES. ONE OPERATING SYSTEM
Each session opens with the session's Kong Leadership Principle and cohort survey data, works through one organizing framework, and closes by returning to both—so every skill is anchored to Kong's language and each participant's real numbers.
MODULE 1 (3  hours):  Leading & Managing at Kong
9:00am - 12:00pm PT
Focus: Balance Science & Art

You will define what the shift from tactical execution to strategic leadership looks like for you specifically. You will review your WPB5 profile, align on Kong's Management Operating Rhythm, and identify how your natural defaults either accelerate or get in the way of the high-performance behaviors Kong requires at scale.​

Framework: WorkPlace Big Five  · ​Kong Principles
MODULE 2 (2 hours):  The Coaching Conversation
9:00am - 11:00am PT
​Focus: Inspire, Coach, Inspect
​
You will practice moving from "Fixer" to "Coach." Using the GROW model, you will build the facilitation skills that create team resilience and organizational capacity — so your people can navigate complexity without running every decision up the chain.​

​Framework: GROW Coaching Model
MODULE 3 (2 hours):  The Goal Setting Conversation
9:00am - 11:00am PT
​Focus: Lead Like an API – Cascading GKSOs
​
You will master the Push vs. Pull continuum to generate genuine buy-in when setting goals — and learn to translate Kong's company GKSOs into team- and individual-level outcomes your people actually own.​

Framework: GKSO Cascade
MODULE 4 (2 hours):  The Feedback Conversation
9:00am - 11:00am PT
Focus: Results Matter
​
You will move beyond "nice" culture. Using the SBIQ framework, you will learn to deliver evidence-based feedback and recognize "performance debt" — what happens to your team's velocity and morale when hard conversations get avoided. Clear is kind.​

Framework: SBIQ (Situation–Behavior–Impact-Question)
MODULE 5 (2 hours):  The Resistance Conversation
9:00am - 11:00am PT
​Focus: Disagree and Support

You will learn to recognize your conflict style, navigate cross-functional resistance using the S.A.L.S.A. model, and commit fully once a decision is made — even when you personally disagree. This is the art of Creative Friction, and it is one of the most valuable skills you will leave with.​

Framework: Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Grid · S.A.L.S.A.
MODULE 6 (2 hours):  The Career Conversation
9:00am - 11:00am PT
​Focus: Talent Magnets

You will shift from "ladder" to "jungle gym." You will uncover what actually motivates each of your direct reports, map paths Upward, Sideways, or Expanded in role, and learn to have honest conversations about where people are headed — so you build a team people choose to stay on.​

Framework: Career Jungle Gym

Program
Outcomes
By the end of this six-month journey, you will be a Certified Kong Leader, equipped with a standardized toolkit to lead with confidence and speed. You will graduate with:

  • A "High-Frequency" Management Cadence: You will have installed a repeatable "Operating System" for your team, mastering the consistent rhythm of 1:1s, goal alignment, and real-time feedback that eliminates manual effort and prevents re-work.
 
  • The Ability to Drive Accountability Without Friction: You move from "policing" performance to "inspiring" ownership. Your team hits GKSOs with predictability because they co-created them.
 
  • The Confidence to Lead Through Resistance: You know your default conflict style and when it works against you. Using a structured framework, you stay in difficult conversations, acknowledge resistance without caving to it, and land on a shared path forward — even when full agreement isn't possible.
 
  • A "Coach-Like" Mastery of Development: Stop being the Fixer. Using the three behaviors of the leader-coach — trust, deep listening, and great questions — you unlock your team's own problem-solving and free your own time for the work only you can do.
​
  • A Reputation as a "Talent Magnet": You become the manager people want to work for. By learning to uncover what each person values, where they want to go, and how to keep them moving, you build a team that stays engaged and chooses to stay.
​
  • A Powerful Cross-Functional Network: You will build deep, lasting relationships with a cohort of your peers across Kong, breaking down silos and creating a supportive community of practice for the road ahead.

Meet Your Coach

INGRID WIESE
Founder & CEO, Axe & Arrow Solutions

You are not getting a trainer. You are getting a coach who has sat across the table from some of the most high-stakes conversations in the world — and learned how to navigate every one of them.

Ingrid began her career with the U.S. State Department in Eastern Europe, coaching political leaders through conflict resolution and peace negotiations. She went on to execute strategies that raised over $100 million for major NGOs before turning her expertise to the leadership challenges of the world's most iconic technology organizations. Her client list includes Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Oracle — and as senior faculty for the McKinsey LEAD program, she works alongside the leaders who are shaping the future of global business.

Her academic credentials match her real-world range: Advanced Certificates in Influence and Leadership from both Harvard Law School and M.I.T., and a Master's in International Relations from Syracuse University.

What makes Ingrid exceptional isn't just her résumé — it's what she does with it in the room. She brings fifteen years of experience helping thousands of leaders in fast-moving, high-growth tech environments transform the way they communicate, influence, and lead. She will challenge you, tell it like it is, and show up without pretense or ego. And she will make the six conversations you practice together feel less like a training program and more like a turning point.​

You will have direct access to one of the most sought-after leadership coaches in the world — with a program built specifically for Kong and specifically for you.

Why Axe & Arrow?

Kong chose Axe & Arrow not because they offer an off-the-shelf curriculum, but because they don't. Every element of the Kong Leadership Conversations Series — the frameworks, the pre-work, the coaching approach — has been co-created with Kong's People team to reflect the specific challenges, language, and leadership principles of this organization. Here is what you can expect from every session:
Real Connections, Real Presence
Axe & Arrow coaches show up without pretense or ego. From the moment you join the first session, you will be in an environment built on trust — one where honest conversation is not just encouraged, it's the whole point.
You Will Be Challenged
These sessions are not designed to confirm what you already know. Axe & Arrow coaches speak out, push back, and are not afraid to challenge you when it means a more successful outcome. You will be invited to think differently — and you will leave with deeper insight each time.
Practical Tools, Not Theory
Every framework you learn, you will practice immediately. Axe & Arrow's approach is built on the conviction that awareness alone doesn't change behavior — application does. You will leave each session with something concrete to try the next day.
An Experience You'll Actually Enjoy
Axe & Arrow believes great learning happens when people are genuinely engaged. Expect a fast-paced, energized environment that uses self-reflection, group discussion, simulation, and real-world practice — designed to be as enjoyable as it is impactful.
Proven at the Highest Level
With over a decade of virtual delivery, a 98% participant satisfaction rating, and a client roster spanning Google, Disney, Oracle, and McKinsey, Axe & Arrow brings world-class expertise to every session. You are in extraordinarily good hands.