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Book Jeff McManus for Your Next Event.

Inspire your audience with the strategies, tools, and insight to grow great teams.

Great teams don't just happen.
Great teams are cultivated.

How much time is wasted from micromanagement? How many resources are lost through turnover and continuously reinforcing high standards?  How many opportunities are missed because your teams don’t have the capacity to say “Yes”?

Your teams were meant for greatness.

Grow Great Teams with Jeff McManus at your next event

Save Time

Say goodbye to micromanaging with Jeff’s structures and insight.

Save Money

Reduce waste and team member turnover through Jeff’s team cultivation resources.

Do More

Confidently accept new projects with high-functioning teams.

headshot of Jeff McManus

Jeff McManus

Jeff McManus grows things.  As the landscape leader at the University of Mississippi, he grows plants….he grows people….and he grows fresh ideas. In his side hustle, Jeff speaks and works with problem-solvers all across the country, who understand that doing more with less is a key to being productive and profitable. Taking his team, affectionately known as “weeders,”and cultivating them into “leaders” has reaped acres of rewards in the form of national recognition by the USA Today, Princeton Review, Newsweek and the New York Times.  Building on that momentum, Jeff has designed a professional development course that allows other organizations to duplicate the success of working smarter and not harder called Landscape University

Jeff graduated from Auburn University in Horticulture, he is a Professional Certified Grounds Manager, and a Certified Arborist.  Jeff knows that great leaders grow great leaders, and as a professional speaker and a member of the National Speaker Association, his message focuses on enriching, entertaining, and inspiring industry leaders looking to grow their team’s performance. 

Tune in to Jeff's latest podcast interview...

Jeff is a frequent guest on podcasts where he talks about his experience growing great teams.  Take a listen!

Looking for more podcasts featuring Jeff McManus?  Click here!

Watch a snippet from one of Jeff's talks...

Jeff gives many talks through keynote addresses and webinars where he talks about his experience growing great teams.  Take a look!

More Videos – Leadership Lessons from Jeff McManus

You can also register for Jeff’s next webinar!

Or schedule a call to book Jeff for your next event!

Read about Jeff...

Stu Heinecke is the inventor of the Weed Strategy™ model for explosive business growth. Jeff & Stu connected, and one of the results is a terrific article Stu posted on his LinkedIn profile.

Listen to testimonials from one of Jeff's recent events...

Jeff gives many talks through keynote addresses and webinars where he talks about his experience growing great teams.  Listen to what participants have to say about Jeff’s talks.

More Videos – Testimonials from Jeff McManus Group Events

You can also register for Jeff’s next webinar!

Or schedule a call to book Jeff for your next event!

Praise for Jeff McManus

Jeff has spoken to my real estate leaders 4 times in recent years. I continue to invite him back because he is an engaging and inspirational speaker. His real-world lessons on leadership are insightful and practical, and offer our attendees a road map to successful leadership.
Beth Hansen
Chief Executive Officer, Mississippi Association of Realtors
As a well-known and respected leader, Jeff’s presentation speaks from experience, is inspirational to a wide range of industry participants, and is strengthened from his proven record. His passion and sincerity is contagious, and we received very positive responses from all attendees. There is a unique genuineness about his presentation, and his message is one that all can benefit from. We will definitely invite Jeff back again!
Tom Ewing
Landscape Program Development
Proven Winners
During my years as Chancellor at Ole Miss, I had the privilege of working on many landscape projects with Jeff McManus. Jeff’s experience, insight and vision of growing and developing not only the campus, but also the people with whom he worked truly enriched the campus environment.
Robert Khayat
Chancellor of University of Mississippi (1995-2009)
Jeff is a tremendous speaker and motivator. His presentations are on point and really hit the mark. His work alone is impressive, but how he gets the most out of his staff is incredible. They take pride in what they do, and that starts at the top.
Kirk Purdom
Chief Executive Officer
Ole Miss Alumni Association
Jeff McManus was a profound addition to our event! He coupled his expertise with a genuine desire to serve the people in attendance. His authenticity and wisdom left a lasting, positive impact on the entire audience. We are truly grateful to have had him as a speaker at our TEDx event!
Joshua M. Evans
Director
Tedx Sugarland
Jeff’s lecture on the value of landscaping to young Architects in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (hosted by the Ministry of Peace) went beyond physical aesthetics and uncovered the undeniable relationship humans have with both their environment and nature. We all left inspired to gear up efforts in our respective professions to bring more intentional green spaces to Addis Ababa.
Rachel Daniel
External Communications Manager
F.D.R.E. Ministry of Peace, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
I have worked with many speakers over the years and Jeff stands out as a true professional. Our audience loved him, and we continue to invite him back. Jeff’s industry experience, packaged with his insight and vision for developing leaders, delivered a great performance. Jeff is a wealth of knowledge, but it is truly his love for teaching and how he engages his audience that makes it a pleasure to have him present at our events. He packs a house and brings them back again each year!
Linda Reindl
Director of Educaiton
Florida Nursery
Growers and Landscape Association
An area we can always develop is our leadership. Jeff was able to connect to our employees and talk about leadership of their own lives and leading others. He provided great insight into areas we’d like to grow. I’d love to have Jeff back to campus and offer that to other departments.
Scott Wallace
Dean of Student Life
Augusta University
It was our pleasure to have Jeff McManus as one of the featured speakers at our 2019 annual conference. Jeff did a great job. He was one of the highest-rated speakers that we had at our conference of over 80 speakers for the week. He also was really easy to deal with which is something that we really value in speakers. He was a pleasure to work with and our members really had a great time interacting with him throughout the week. We look forward to having Jeff back in Ohio, and we would highly recommend him if you're looking for a great speaker for any event that you are having.
Woody Woodward
Executive Director
Ohio Park and Recreation Association
Jeff McManus has an enviable way of getting the audience to see the big picture and value of his message, and his knack for connecting to the audience and their perspective leads to a high level of success and satisfaction. Jeff has an amazing ability to connect with his audience and keep them engaged for duration of the presentation.
Anne Cosgrove
Editor-in-chief
Facility Executive
It is can be difficult to find speakers for the Professional Development section of our state turfgrass conference, but this year we hit a home run with Jeff McManus. His message on empowering individuals to lead their teams resonated with our group. Jeff kept a group of 300+ people engaged for over three hours, which is not an easy task!
Jim Brosnan, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Tennessee
Director - UT Weed Diagnostics Center
We hired Jeff for our divisional annual meeting - a very diverse division including Finance, Facilities, IT, Public Safety, Student Accounts, and Executive guests from all divisions. Jeff received the best evaluation ratings we have ever recorded! Everyone loved him; he delivered an upbeat, exemplary keynote speaking to all levels in our division focusing on becoming leaders to succeed. Our Facilities department continues to benefit from using Growing Weeders Into Leaders.
Eileen Scorgie
Monroe Community College
Executive Assistant to the CFO and Vice President of Administrative Services
Jeff's message to over 1600 people was spot on for me and so relevant for today’s industry leaders. One corporation bought and distributed, to participants and members, hundreds of Jeff’s book, Growing Weeders Into Leaders. This book is an excellent resource for those who want creative ways to grow their people to the next level. Jeff has walked the walk and is now sharing how he and his team went from last place to 5-time Nationally Recognized Champions in campus beautification. When you add in his integrity, Jeff is a rare commodity. I highly recommend Jeff McManus for your next keynote event.
Joe Kovolyan, CGM, CSFM, ISA
richland School District
GIE Past President PGMS vice President & STMA Member
Jeff was the keynote speaker at my organization's annual conference. His topic was on point, his delivery was very engaging, and the content of his presentation was very timely. His staff was great to work with, too. If you need a keynote speaker, definitely reach out to Jeff!
Christine Wilks
Professional Continuing Education Specialist
North Carolina Nursery & Landscape Association
In my role, I look for three attributes in a speaker: (1) a great message, (2) someone who is easy to work with, and (3) someone the audience can relate to. JEFF IS ALL THREE! He is a very genuine speaker and did an awesome job connecting with our Nutrition Staff members and providing an outstanding motivational message that set the tone for our entire day of training.
Jennifer L. McNeil, RD, SNS
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, NUTRITION SERVICES HEMET UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Jeff’s talk was engaging and entertaining! Having a speaker with knowledge of the real world challenges our industry members deal with, and creative solutions to those challenges was refreshing and enlightening.
Andrew Muntz
Green Velvet
President
Ohio turfgrass Foundation President
Jeff McManus is not only a great leader, but a great speaker and teacher. Our group was engaged from the start. Jeff took the interest of the audience and ran with it. Groups looking for ways to improve leadership and morale in their businesses will benefit from Jeff's presentations.
Rhett Murphy
CONVENTION COORDINATOR
ALABAMA URBAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION
Jeff’s recent campus visit fostered an influential vision geared towards growth, direction and development in future recruitment goals. His insightful perspective in classroom discussions , campus walks and attention to detail throughout the facility connected our staff to improved potential, purpose and direction in our mission at Impact 360 Institute. We immediately employed his masterful insight towards making Impact 360 Institute the community at its best
Eric Turner
Director of Operations Impact 360 Institute
Jeff's message resonates with all levels of our workforce. His humble attitude and passion for leadership and learning was the highlight of our educational program.
Dr. Jay McCurdy
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
TURFGRASS EXTENSION SPECIALIST
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
Jeff is funny, entertaining and informative. He keeps the audience engaged. After he presents, everyone walks away feeling positive.
Brett Barefoot
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI

Jeff can help you cultivate your teams.

Jeff understands how frustrating it is to have teams fall short of their potential. When presented with big goals, a small budget, and underperforming teams, Jeff was able to cultivate teams that shaped the campus at the University of Mississippi into one that is routinely recognized as “Most Beautiful”

Cultivate your Teams

Don't wait for Human Resources or anyone else to invest in your team.
You will miss a tremendous opportunity to do something really great.
Jeff McManus
Growing Weeders into Leaders: Leadership Lessons from the Ground Level

Create your Grow Great Teams event

2. Design Your Event

3. Watch your Teams thrive

Contact The Jeff McManus Group for more information.