“Together everyone achieves more.” -- Who knows, but it makes sense!

“Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to produce uncommon results.” -- Successories poster

“Effective teams are a necessary part of any high performance organization.” -- Kevin McManus, the Systems Guy

Are you ready for 21st Century leadership?

At the end of the 20th century, a lot of books had been published and read on the topic of leadership. Many people had invested considerable money attending training workshops in an attempt to learn how to become a better leader. Now, five years into this new century, many of us are still left wondering what it takes to really be an effective leader, especially in a workplace that is often quite different than those that the books were written about and the training sessions were built around only ten years ago.

Are your leaders effective?

We talk about leadership a lot, but we also waste a lot of time and money trying to develop more effective leaders only to have our managers and supervisors act the same way at work each day after the training as they did they before they went. I believe that we have a leadership crisis in our organizations today, and I also believe that I have the facts to support this claim. All is not lost however - the high performing organizations have found simple, but effective, ways to significantly improve the day-to-day performance of their leaders at all organizational levels.

How can this workbook help you?

This workbook, like those that have preceded it, is intended to help make its participants better leaders. To be successful in today's workplace however, supervisors and managers must be able to proactively lead what seems to be an ever changing workforce, quickly respond to rapidly shifting customer demands, and effectively learn to utilize change. This workbook covers the key tools that are needed to become a better leader in the climate of today's business. The exercises it contains will give the reader the chance to begin using these tools to help improve their own leadership abilities.

Does this have to be a system-wide initiative?

No - even a single workgroup can benefit from using these tools and discussing the concepts amongst themselves. Most groups need to gain clarity about what their key leadership expectations and measures are, and which of these areas are the most important to focus on. The tools in this workbook, like others that I have created, are designed to help organize your thoughts and to create dialogue between team members. To get the maximum benefit of course, a system-wide initiative is needed, but you can improve workgroup performance as well by using these tools.

How do you know this stuff really works?

I created this workbook to document the actual steps I had taken and the tools I had developed in two different organizations to help develop more effective leaders. I learned what works and what did not through experimentation -- what exists in the workbook today is not what I started out with. That's good, because my learning efforts helped me identify easier ways to accomplish the same goals and provided me with the insight necessary to explain how the process works in a much clearer manner. I have also presented full day, half day, and one hour workshops on this topic to a variety of groups. With each presentation I learned how to explain the process more clearly, how to improve the tools so that they are easier to use, and how streamline the process so that each step required is more value added then it had been. This process works, even if you modify my work and put your own version of the process in place.

Would you like to order a workbook or CD?

To order a workbook of either format, simply send me an e-mail that contains (1) your name, telephone number, and mailing address and (2) a clear statement of your intent to make the purchase itself.  After I receive your e-mail, I will send you the workbook along with an invoice for the cost of the workbook plus applicable sales taxes and shipping costs. Volume discounts are available.

NOTE: At this time, I am currently working to develop the capabilities for internet-based ordering. Until then, I will be requiring all customers outside of the United States to pre-pay for their order in US dollars prior to shipment.

Would you be interested in my one day onsite "21st Century Leadership Skills" workshop?

Would you like to see how this course is taught by the developer before you try to teach it yourself? Would you like to have a team of your people work together in a workshop facilitated by this product’s creator? If so, consider holding a “21st Century Leadership Skills ” workshop for your company. For a 25 person group, the total cost of this course is normally less than $100 per person!

Who created this workbook?

The “21st Century Leadership Skills” workbook and workshop was designed by Kevin McManus, who has served as an industrial engineer, Production Manager, Plant Manager, and Director of Quality during his 25 year business career. Kevin also played a key role in helping to create the ASQ Team Excellence Award process and judges training. He has also served as an Examiner, Senior Examiner, and Alumni Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for seven years. Kevin also writes the monthly Performance Improvement column for Industrial Engineer magazine.

Would you like to learn more about developing effective leaders?

Click on one of the following links to learn even more about how the different approaches you might use to develop more effective leaders in your organization:

	"Who Will I Be Today?" article
	Leadership Index measurement tool
	"The Future of Management" article
	Leadership Power System
	Great Systems! home page

“The only thing I know is that I do not know it all.” -- Socrates