Leadership Development


Management Systems’ Management/Leadership Development tools help leaders/managers develop and use the skills and capabilities needed to build a sustainably successful organization.  Our tools are designed so that they can be used at any level within your organization – from CEO, to Senior Management, to Middle Management, to Front Line Supervisors, to those who are “managers in training.”  This is why we have carefully chosen to call what we do “Management and Leadership Development.”

All of our tools are designed to achieve one very important outcome:  behavioral change.  To achieve this end result, we approach management and leadership development in a holistic manner – focusing not just on skills (which is what most management and leadership development programs do), but also on behavior (e.g., how time is allocated), and mindset (what we call the Inner Game of Management). 

We can partner with you to enhance your organization’s Management/Leadership capabilities by:

  • Completing a “Needs Assessment” to identify your strengths and opportunities to improve with respect to management/leadership capabilities.  This assessment may be formal and comprehensive or more informal – depending upon your needs.
    • A comprehensive, formal needs assessment consists of interviews with and the administration of Management Systems’ Management Effectiveness Surveys to each manager/leader, his or her direct reports, and his or her supervisor.  Our interviews focus on collecting information about each factor in Management Systems’ three factor approach to effective management/leadership and the skills identified in our Pyramid of Management and Leadership Development™.  Interview and survey results are used to identify specific targets for leadership/management development.  Each individual manager/leader receives a report summarizing his or her own results that can then be used as the basis for their continued development.
    • A more informal, but still effective approach to completing the needs assessment involves discussing with you what you perceive as your most significant management/leadership development needs.
  • Designing a Management/Leadership Development “Program” to Meet Your Needs.  We do not offer a “one size fits all” Management/Leadership Development Program or Process.  Instead, we partner with you to develop a customized program that will best meet your needs and that is based upon our more than 30 years of designing and providing effective management/leadership development programs.  Programs can include:
    • Administration and processing of one or more Management Systems’ Management Effectiveness Surveys.  Surveys can be completed by each participant or each participant and his or her direct reports, peers, and/or supervisor.  Each participant receives his or her results, which are used as the basis for individual goal setting.  A discussion and analysis of survey results is most typically incorporated into a specific leadership/management development session, but results can also be used as input to more individualized “self-development.”
    • One or more of our Management/Leadership Development Modules.  Through our research and work with thousands of managers over the past three decades, Management Systems has developed leadership/management development “modules” (program sessions) on a variety of topics – ranging from “Overcoming the ‘Doer Trap’:  Making the Successful Transition to a Management/Leadership Role” (which is the foundation of our Pyramid of Management and Leadership Development) to “Leading Strategic Change.”  Each module is built upon sound theory that we have translated into easily understood concepts and practical tools that help managers/leaders use what they have learned on an on-going basis to enhance their effectiveness.  Many of the topics that we currently offer are included in the Pyramid of Management and Leadership Development™.
    • Customizing Management Systems’ Leadership/Management Development modules to best meet your needs.  This customization can include the development of specific application tools, the selection of published case studies, or the development of case studies that present issues being faced by managers/leaders within your company.  In some cases, we have worked with our clients to design a “capstone” project that participants need to complete before their program’s conclusion.
    • Developing “new” modules to address your needs.  We are sometimes asked by clients to work with them in the development of sessions on topics that we do not currently offer, which we will do if it is a topic that “fits” within our competencies.  
  • Delivering Your Company’s Leadership/Management Development Program.  Our leadership/management development program faculty members are highly skilled, experienced, and effective in helping managers/leaders understand how to apply what they are learning in their daily work.  We are able to deliver “programs” to large groups, small groups, or individuals (through our Coaching program).  We use a variety of materials – depending upon the management/leadership development program we design for you – to support learning.  For each module included in your program, we provide:
    • A user-friendly outline that contains all of the information presented in the session.
    • Application tools – some used during formal sessions and some given as take-away tools – that help participants apply what they are learning to their own experience. Depending upon the topic and what we (in partnership with you) believe will be most effective for your team, we may also include case studies and topic-specific readings.
  • Coaching.  Our coaching process is designed to help individuals with corporate level responsibility increase their effectiveness as leaders and managers (either in their existing or in new roles) and address specific organizational development issues.  A key feature of the program is that it is custom designed for each individual participant and his or her needs whether they are leaders of entrepreneurships or executives of Fortune 100 companies. 

Our role is to serve as a coach and an advisor, drawing upon our years of experience in working with other leaders and managers facing similar challenges and issues. Our knowledge of these issues allows us to prepare relevant materials that can assist in improving skills and overall performance in the management role.

The program consists of a series of one-on-one meetings with a member of Management Systems’ team as well as periodic conference calls in between meetings to monitor progress, discuss critical incidents, and make suggestions for further development.  It might also include having us collect data about the individual’s effectiveness – through interviews of direct reports, peers, and the individual’s supervisor and through the administration of one or more of Management Systems’ Management Effectiveness Surveys.  The output of this process is a written report that summarizes interview results and provides recommendations for next steps in the individual’s development.  The information contained in this report serves as valuable input to designing a program that will meet the specific manager’s needs. 

The duration of the leadership/management development “programs” we have delivered range from half-day seminars to six week comprehensive programs (covering topics related to enhancing management/leadership effectiveness, team effectiveness and overall organizational effectiveness) like those we designed and delivered in partnership with Navistar for their network of International Truck Dealer Senior Executives from throughout the US, Canada, and Latin America.