When he was a sales team leader at a Mercedes dealer, Tim Mann remembers his frustration with the young men he was supervising. They weren’t assertive enough.

“There’s a problem in society today: Men are acting like boys,” Mann said. He believes it’s because so many are raised by single mothers and lack male role models.

So when he left the job, Mann started teaching leadership skills at seminars for young men. He launched his business, Become an Uncommon Man, in 2007.

His coaching program is $180 per month, which includes one half-hour session per week and 10-minute sessions as needed. He now has 10 clients.

He emphasizes the need for his prot & #233;g & #233;s to take leadership roles in relationships, but his coaching isn’t restricted to manhood issues. A key point in his training is how to reject negative thought patterns.

“We’re surrounded by negative environments,” he said. “I focus on creating a positive environment through commitment, determination and certainty.”

He also takes part in a program at Camp Kilpatrick, a juvenile detention facility in Malibu, where he guides young men back into society.

Tom Barr, head of enrichment programs at Camp Kilpatrick, said Mann’s sessions have become popular there.

“He offers new techniques on how to make positive decisions,” Barr said. “The boys enjoy the program.”

Matthew T. Washington