More about that in a moment, but first I want you to think about some of the more practical aspects of your job.

Do any of these situations sound familiar?

.Well I've got good news for you—it's not just you! These are some of the MOST COMMON fears and frustrations of new managers! EVERYONE worries about these situations, and many more besides!

 I'm ready to be your guide through the difficult early stages of this exciting but scary new journey you're starting. It's for you that I've created my groundbreaking program, "The Manager's Journey". This is not the usual one-shot workshop. This is a journey---a grand adventure that will help you grow from rookie manager to confident professional over a stimulating, exciting, thought-provoking twelve-month period.

Want to come along? I'd love to have you aboard, so I want to tell you about just some of the results you can expect from traveling the journey with me:

• You'll really understand your role as a manager and how it differs from your previous function.
• You'll learn to get your department's work done through effective use of your staff (being a director of other people's work instead of the "doer" is one of the most challenging adjustments new managers have to make).
• You'll learn to manage your time, your resources and yourself---and that last one is more important than you might think!
• You'll become an effective manager much more quickly, easily and with much less stress than by taking the journey alone---and of course that's a huge benefit to your company too because its investment in you will pay off more quickly.
  
• You'll get the objectivity that can only come from an outside expert to help you put things in perspective. Sometimes you can be just too close to a problem to see it clearly for yourself, but talking it through with someone outside the company can help you find the answer.
• You'll "meet" fellow travelers with similar challenges to your own, and you'll learn from each other as well as from your guide. This is an exciting part of the journey, which I'll explain a little later.

By now you're probably wondering just how you'll travel this journey, right? Well I can tell you, it won't be like any workshops, seminars or retreats you might have taken before. You won't have to cram a million new ideas into your mind in a day, and then forget them all next day when you get back to your real world. And this journey won't interfere with your work schedule, and you'll have plenty of time to practice what you've learned.

• The vehicle for our journey is a monthly group telecoaching session. All you need to take part is a phone---perhaps not even that (I'll explain why in a moment).
• Every month there will be a 60-minute presentation on a new topic, including a chance to ask your own questions. I'll be conducting most of these sessions myself, but sometimes I'll invite a special guest expert to give you a different perspective on a topic---that could be a senior corporate manager, an author, a speaker, but it will always be someone who can add something special to our journey together.
• Telesessions take place at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (New York time zone) on the second Wednesday of every month.
  
• I'll have the sessions professionally recorded and posted in MP3 format next day on the special Travelers Only section of the website. So if you happen to miss a session you can listen next day, and the recordings will stay there for you to listen to as often as you like. If you live outside North America, or in a different time zone, you may prefer to wait for the recordings instead of dialing in to the live call, although I do recommend attending at least some of the sessions so that you can ask your questions.
• You'll get online access to a special handout before each session to make it easy for you to follow along. Remember to make your own notes too, because they'll be very valuable to you when you put the techniques to work.

Guidebooks make any journey a fuller, richer experience, and this journey is no exception. Your "guidebook" will consist of many elements that will enable you to build your own personalized map through the journey and for your future career:

• Every week I'll post articles to our private Travelers' blog, building on the topic for that month. It will contain further insights and ideas, as well as some review of the telesession points. There will also be e-mails on other, supplementary subjects that are all important in helping you develop your management skills.
• You'll get exercises that will ensure you have fully understood the subject, and help you understand how you can incorporate the new learning into actual situations at work.
• You'll receive self-assessment tools at the beginning and end of each month so that you can monitor your progress. Nobody will check up on you except yourself. You are a manager now, so you must be professional enough to manage yourself throughout the journey---and I know you are!
• When you begin the Journey, you'll be given access to the Travelers Only section of the website. This is the information place where you'll find all the materials you need for the Journey. Please don't give this information to anyone else, or let anyone else view the site---it's only for you and your fellow travelers.
• I want to encourage you to air your views about our various stages and engage in online discussions that can be helpful to everyone. You'll do this by posting your comments, ideas and experiences on our private travelers-only blog.
• Finally, you'll be able to e-mail me, at a special travelers-only e-mail address, when you have questions specific to your own situation that you'd like me to answer. If I think the subject would be useful to everyone, I will include it in our sessions. If not, or if you prefer it remain private, I will answer you directly and privately.

To help reinforce what I give people in my keynote speeches and training programs, I have created many learning tools including books, CDs, reports, booklets and more, and you can find them by following the appropriate links on this site. These items are all available for purchase online, but many will be available free in the Travelers Only section of the website for you to use as you need them.

Well that would be me, Helen Wilkie!

You'll want to know you are in good hands for the journey, so let me tell you a bit about myself. I'm a professional keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, consultant, coach and author. I was born and raised in Scotland, educated at the University of Strathclyde and Jordanhill College of Education in Glasgow, taught high school there for a couple of years and then emigrated to Canada.

Before starting my own business, MHW Communications, I had built corporate experience in human resources, international business, corporate development, marketing and sales. So you can be comfortable knowing I have many years of experience and observation of the world you live in.

Since 1993 my clients have included multi-national corporations, legal and other professional firms, government, and non-profit associations. I've helped thousands of people at all levels and many disciplines---and now I'm ready to help you too. Will you join me?

The Manager's Journey has twelve stages, each lasting a month, and you can join the Journey at any stage. Remember you will receive information in several different ways, so there will be in-depth work on each topic. Here's a very broad overview of what you'll learn in the various stages.

The Manager's mindset---why it's different and why it's essential that  you have it Organizing your time and space---and how they are connected Delegation and empowerment---the dynamic duo Meetings: a powerful tool or an expensive waste of time---how to make yours work Emotional intelligence for managers---the underlying competencies that can make you a great manager Presentation skills---a must for the successful manager Listening, criticizing, praising---and other 'people skills' Your language skills---how to develop them and how to use them to manage successfully Hiring and firing---getting and keeping the right people Setting and reaching goals for yourself and your team Team-making---the manager as coach Managing your career

You'll learn techniques for leading your people, driving your projects and managing yourself. Some of the specific management issues we'll cover include:

Conducting a performance review; changing your view of the workplace; relationships with former peers who now report to you; interviewing job candidates; difficult conversations; managing difficult employees; the multi-generational workplace; networking for career success; finding and developing your own management style; motivating your team; project management---and much more. And if I've missed anything that could help you on your management journey, just let me know and I'll incorporate it.

The information I send you by e-mail each week will help you "drill down" into the subject, understand how it applies to your own situation and know how to implement the ideas. Our private blog provides you and your fellow travelers with a forum for discussion of the ideas and techniques, and of course I encourage you to develop a supportive relationship with your designated traveling companion so that you both get the most you can out of The Manager's Journey. You'll also have special e-mail access to me for those times when you really need an answer to a specific issue and you can't get it through any of the other avenues.

At the end of each stage, you'll complete another self-assessment, which will show you where and how you have improved as a manager, and also areas that may need more work. And remember, each stage of our journey is an independent, standalone segment. That means you can join The Manager's Journey at any time and you won't miss a thing. It will take you twelve months to complete the journey no matter when you begin. Convenient, eh?

You're probably wondering how much all this will cost you or your company. Well, at this point I want to step away from the journey theme, because an airfare, or any other kind of travel fare, is an expense. You pay the money, you take the flight, it's gone. But this journey is different, because your money gets you not just the journey itself, but all the benefits to your management career both now and in the future. In other words, it's an investment---and one with returns that keep on building.

With that in mind, here are the financial details and your payment options. (Please note that all amounts are in U.S. dollars.)

This investment in your career is just $150 per month, for a twelve-month total of $1,800. Alternatively, if you pay for the whole journey in advance, your total is just $1,500---that's a discount of $300---like getting two free stages in the journey!

Now maybe you are paying for the journey yourself, or maybe your company will pay. But in either case, I want to make it as easy as possible for you, so I offer a number of payment options, one of which is sure to suit your needs. Here they are:

Option 1: Pay $1,500 online now by Visa or MasterCard. Option 2: Pay $150 online now by Visa or MasterCard, with $150 automatically charged to your credit card on each monthly anniversary of your joining date, for the remainder of The Journey. Option 3: Pay $450 online now by Visa or MasterCard, with $450 automatically charged to your credit card in months 3, 6 and 9 of your journey. Option 4: If you prefer to pay by cheque, here's what to do. Click on the link for Option 1, and when you come to the page where you provide your information, just print the form, complete it and send it, together with your cheque for $1,500, to MHW Communications, 90 Warren Road, Suite 202, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 2S2. Please note, payment by cheque is available only if you choose Option 1.

Now I'm sure you recognize value when you see it, so I don't think I need to go on and on about what a great deal this is. But just let me mention a couple of points for comparison---in case you have to persuade your employer to make this investment in you.

One well-known training company is charging $1,695 for a 3-day management program. For that, you need to travel to where the seminar is held, and you still have to pay to eat and sleep while you are there. Even worse, you need to take 3 days away from work---you can just imagine the work that will pile up while you are away!

And I ask you---how much can you realistically stuff into your brain in 3 days, and how will you possibly find the time to implement it when you get back?

By contrast, when you come with me on The Manager's Journey, here's the difference:

You don't need to go anywhere---all you need is a phone! So you can join in from your office, or at home in your pajamas if you like! You can listen to the "live" telesession or to the recording, so you fit it into your schedule however it suits YOU. There are no extra charges or expenses. Oh no, wait a moment---that's not quite true, because you may have to pay long distance telephone charges for the telesessions, depending on where you live. But that's all---and it doesn't come close to all the incidental expenses of a traditional out-of-town seminar. Of course if you want to avoid the phone costs, you can just wait for the recordings to be online next day on the website---this will be particularly valuable if you are outside North America. Best of all, you have lots of time not only to absorb each monthly topic, but to study it in as much depth as you like and put the techniques into practice gradually---without disrupting your daily work schedule.