The ABC's of Supervising Others
Signature Course No. 2 — A Signature AI Socratic Coaching Course.
No experience needed — your coach starts where you are.
A New Kind of Learning
Socratic coaching, delivered by an agentic AI coach.
Not a course you watch. An AI coach you work with.
The Lighthouse Coach begins by discovering how you think about the subject, teaches what is missing, and gives you realistic practice before asking you to prove that you can use it. You may test out of concepts you already understand, while capstones turn the learning into a practical plan, decision, conversation, or other real-world result.
The curriculum is deliberately authored; the AI delivers it through coaching. It is not an AI randomly generating lessons.
A coach that teaches by asking — not by lecturing
The Lighthouse Coach is an AI Socratic coach built on Cognosco Learning's The ABC's of Supervising Others course. It does not play videos at you. It holds a conversation: it asks you a question, listens to your answer, names the misconception it hears, affirms what you got right, and asks the next question — the way a great coach works in the room.
This course is built for new and first-time supervisors making the transition from individual contributor to supervisor — one of the hardest shifts in a career. The Coach works through that role shift with you first, then the working skills that follow from it: expectations, delegation, and performance.
Module 1, Becoming the Supervisor: The Role Shift (Concepts 1–9), comes first; Module 2, The Working Skills: Expectations, Delegation, and Performance (Concepts 10–18), builds on it. You can type your answers, or talk out loud: the Voice Coach speaks its questions and listens to your spoken replies, hands-free.
The course is self-paced and always on — roughly 30 minutes per concept, about 9 hours in full, taken in as many sittings as you like. Learners who already know the material can test out concept by concept.
This is the second course in The Lighthouse Signature Series — the online counterpart to the one-day, in-person learning Cognosco Learning has delivered since 2002.
Course Facts
One full concept, coached end to end — free: verify your email and we’ll send you a link to start.
Already enrolled? Enter the course →
Diagnose → Learn & Practice → Prove → Capstone
Every learner moves through the same discipline a Cognosco instructor would insist on in the room.
Diagnose
The Coach starts by finding out what you already know. Everyone begins with Module 1 — no skipping the foundations you only think you have.
Learn & Practice
Work each concept in conversation with the Coach — spoken or written — then practice it against realistic situations until it holds up.
Prove
Every concept ends in proof: answer the check cold and demonstrate the skill. Know it already? Test out and take credit immediately.
Capstone
Finish with two capstones — Taking the Chair for Module 1 and The Full Cycle for Module 2 — that pull the whole course together, and earn the certificate.
From first question to finished work
Start where you are
Your coach opens with questions, not a lecture, and finds what you already know. Anything you can already prove, you can test out of — you only study what you have not yet mastered.
Learn concept by concept
18 concepts, about 30 minutes each, in conversation — you speak or type, the coach responds to what you actually said, and you move on only when the learning holds.
Prove it on your own work
You finish with two capstones — Taking the Chair and The Full Cycle — completed as real work products drawn from your own workplace situation, not a made-up case study.
Capabilities you’ll gain
- Understand your new role and responsibilities as a supervisor
- Delegate tasks clearly and follow up effectively
- Handle performance issues early and constructively
- Build credibility and trust with your team from day one
Finish, and you earn a certificate of completion for this course — verifiable online by anyone, anywhere.
What You'll Learn
The transition from individual contributor to supervisor is one of the most difficult — and most important — career shifts anyone can make. What made you great at your previous role is not the same as what will make you great at managing others. This essential course is designed specifically for new and first-time supervisors who need to build foundational management skills fast.
You will learn how to delegate effectively, set clear expectations, have difficult performance conversations, and earn the trust and respect of a team that may have been your peers just yesterday. Through practical exercises and real-world scenarios, you will walk away with the confidence and competence to lead from day one.
What you will learn
- Understand your new role and responsibilities as a supervisor
- Delegate tasks clearly and follow up effectively
- Handle performance issues early and constructively
- Build credibility and trust with your team from day one
Everything in the course
- All 18 concepts of The ABC's of Supervising Others, in 2 modules
- A diagnosis first — the Coach finds where you actually stand before teaching
- Learn, Practice, Prove for every concept — no passive video watching
- A test-out on every concept: prove you know it and move on
- The Voice Coach: talk with the Coach out loud — it speaks, listens, and replies
- A personal Learner Record of your work across the course
- Two capstone exercises: Taking the Chair and The Full Cycle
- A printable session summary whenever you pause
- The Lighthouse Coach completion certificate (Signature Series)
- Your progress is saved as you go — stop anytime, resume where you left off
Built for new supervisors
The ABC's of Supervising Others is for new and first-time supervisors, team leads and shift leads stepping up for the first time, and experienced supervisors who were never actually prepared for the role. It is also for organizations building a bench — a ready supply of people prepared to lead a team well before the promotion lands on them.
No prior coursework is assumed. The diagnosis at the start meets you where you are, and the test-outs make sure experienced learners are never forced to sit through what they can already prove.
Prefer to learn live and in person? The same material anchors Cognosco's one-day programs — browse the in-person catalog.
Start with the diagnosis
$195 — introductory price. One payment. No subscription, no password to manage.
Here is exactly what happens when you enroll:
- Pay securely with Stripe — you are taken straight into the course
- Create your learner profile and begin the Module 1 diagnosis
- Save the access key you are given — it restores your enrollment on any device
- Learn at your pace; your progress is stored in your browser on your device
For the full voice experience, use Chrome and allow the microphone when asked. Typing your answers works everywhere, all the time. Questions before you enroll? Email hello@cognoscolearning.com.
Before you enroll
What is a Socratic coaching session?
A conversation, not a video. Your coach asks a question; you answer — out loud by voice, or by typing — and the coach responds to what you said: naming the misconception it hears, affirming what you got right, and asking the next question. You advance only when you have mastered each concept, so a finished course means the learning held.
How long does it take — and how long do I have?
About 30 minutes per concept, roughly 9 hours in full. Learn in sittings of any length; your progress is saved as you go. You have a full year from purchase to finish, and you can revisit and retake within that year.
What does the certificate verify?
That you completed every concept and both capstones of this course. Anyone can confirm a Cognosco certificate online — enter its certificate ID on our verification page.
What if it isn't for me — what are the refunds?
If you have not started, cancel for a full refund within seven days of purchase. Once you have started, there is no cash refund — stop before finishing and we credit the full amount you paid toward any other course in the library (credit valid one year from your original purchase). Once you complete the course, no refund or credit applies.
More Signature Courses are coming
The ABC's of Supervising Others is Signature Course No. 2. Leave your email and we'll send you news of future Signature Courses and Lighthouse updates as they are announced — nothing else.