Kenneth McGhee is the author of "Eleven Leadership Tips for Supervisors", a concise guidebook for refining leadership qualities in us all. His career in supervisory positions has helped him understand how important "leadership" is. The goal of his self-published work is to crystallize the elements that can help the reader distinguish what a "leader" is, and perhaps more importantly, is not.

Written for the August 2003 issue of Self Published Authors Newsletter

DS: Kenneth, what I think first stands out about your book is that it is so compact. In a marketplace deluged by verbose books on strategies for improving many aspects of one's professional and personal life, what is it you believe your book delivers in eleven tips that the others do not?

KM: A lot of management books offer helpful advice for supervisors to make their organization more successful. Other books offer inspirational information.

I attempt to strike a balance between helping the organization advance and also looking out for the supervisor's career.

Keeping in mind that your staff members may want to advance and their careers are also involved, is something I cover in this handbook.

Although my handbook is inspirational, it mainly deals with how to handle a supervisor's daily tasks and responsibilities. Understanding organizational history and politics is one of the things I think is important.

Striking a balance between your career and personal life is one of my themes.

Also, it deals a lot with the potential for a person to be an effective leader. Issues from preparing to enter a supervisory position to how to evaluate and make difficult decisions are discussed.

I learned how to be concise, from doing financial aid presentations for the families of high school juniors and seniors. In 1995, I watched as concerned parents collected a shopping bag full of financial aid pamphlets before my presentation. They really appeared to be overwhelmed.

I thought to myself, "they don't need a shopping bag full of pamphlets to understand the financial aid process. Maybe I can break the information down so they can relax and walk away with the information they need."

This was my first year I working as a college financial aid administrator. The presentation was held at a local high school. I was scheduled to speak for half an hour and allow fifteen minutes for questions.

This was the start of me learning how to explain a lot of information, which would answer most people's questions, in a compact manner.

DS: Did you find that the idea to write this book came immediately to fulfill a need, or were these tips that you noted on your own and later decided to collect together?

KM: These tips were noted and collected over a period of time. In 2000, I began to see how my various experiences could be placed together in a leadership handbook.

DS: Your career has gone in various directions, to not only include supervisory roles, but also to make presentations, work as a tutor, and as a trainer. Was this book meant to serve as a textbook of sorts, or is it just an accumulation of tips you believed would help others?

KM: I can see it used in both ways. The handbook would be good for a business management college course.

For a current supervisor, it's a resource for day-to-day job responsibilities. If a person is considering switching positions, a number of the questions I raise could be utilized.

DS: Certainly you consider yourself to be a strong and successful leader. You make the very important distinction between management and leadership. It seems that even good managers aren't always successful as leaders, and yet people under such managers need strong leaders to guide them. Why do you think this disconnect between management and leadership is so common?

KM: Part of it comes from the trends in management training. Teambuilding is a term that is sometimes misunderstood. I believe a lot of organizations have implemented a "family style" and think they have a "team style" in place.

I agree that a manager should not "rule over" their staff and make decisions without their input, but on a team everyone has a role to play. Everyone's role is of equal importance but not the same. A manager is responsible for making the final decision, hopefully an informed one, involving the workplace.

Management is task-focused and leadership is vision-oriented. Leadership is needed to look out for the short and long term goals of the organization. Management and leadership are both needed for an organization to be successful.

DS: How long have you worked in supervisory occupations?

KM: I have been a supervisor for ten years. In my first supervisory position, I had one part time secretary. Currently, I supervise twelve full time and thirty part time staff members.

DS: Can you point to any one position that really taught you the most about becoming a successful leader?

KM: It would have to be my second supervisory position. I had to supervise a person who applied for my position. This employee was also the most popular person in the office. During my first two years in this position, staff members would regularly remind me about this employee wanting my position. Earning the staff's respect and leading was not an overnight process. This experience helped me to develop and become a better person and supervisor.

DS: Is this your first self-published work, and are there other books in the works?

KM: Yes, this is my first self-published book. I have been writing a lot of career articles lately. A second book is also under consideration.

DS: Was BookSurge your first choice for a POD publisher, and what do you think of your publishing experience with them?

KM: Yes, they were my first choice. BookSurge has done a good job. I feel comfortable calling or e-mailing them when questions come up.

DS: Is there anything in particular, an author or mentor, that has influenced and inspired you?

KM: My father is my mentor. Although he was unable to attend college, he is a very knowledgeable self-taught man. My mother and father sacrificed so that my sister, brother and I could graduate from college.

DS: What would you say was the hardest part of writing and publishing this handbook?

KM: I didn't know anything about the publishing process. It took a lot of time to research the business.

DS: Your advice for becoming a successful leader is the focus of your book, but after writing and self-publishing it, do you have any advice for being successful as a self-published author?

KM: Don't be afraid to "cold e-mail or cold call" established authors, book marketing experts, book reviewers and publishers. I received two of my current four book endorsements this way. Everyone will not say yes, but you may be surprised by the assistance you receive.

DS: Thank you Kenneth, for your time with me. I wish you even more success in your career and especially in future writing pursuits.

Kenneth McGhee is the author of "Eleven Leadership Tips for Supervisors", a concise guidebook for refining leadership qualities in us all.