The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Leaders: How Hard are You Thinking About These Two BIG Issues?
Lessons from Session Four of the Experienced Manager Program The first and last sessions of my leadership development programs are my favorites! I love the excitement that comes from discovering great new professionals and tuning in to who they are and where their...
Leaders: How Hard are You Thinking About These Two BIG Issues?
There are two issues every person in a leadership role must constantly focus on and work on: (1) who they aspire to be as leaders and (2) how hard they are working at developing their skills as strategists. Anything less than daily work on these issues is a problem.
New Leader Tuesday-Know the Power of a Well-Placed “Thank You”
I don’t hear the phrase “Thank You” in the workplace nearly enough. It’s two simple words wrapped in one heartfelt comment of appreciation that offers up a whole heaping helping of genuine respect. All of this from one of the first phrases that Mom ever taught us.
Leadership Caffeine™-Beware the People Versus Performance Trap
Too many leaders get caught in a people versus performance trap that neither helps the people nor the team’s performance. These leaders give themselves too much credit for being able to change others, and they over-invest in the wrong people at the expense of the rest of the individuals in an organization. This pitfall of what most would describe as a thoughtful, creative and people-focused leader is all too common and left unchecked, can debilitate teams, destroy a performance culture and derail an otherwise promising leadership career.
The Destructive Power of the Words You’ve Left Unsaid
It’s the feedback that’s never given and the coaching that never occurs that keeps individuals and organizations from improving, learning and growing.
New Leader Tuesday-3 Key Skill Sets for New Leaders
Contrary to what you might believe, the promotion to a role responsible for others is the starting point of your professional education, not the end point reached because of a job well done. For new leaders, that first step into a leadership role can be like stepping off a cliff. Here are 3 key skill sets that you should actively cultivate to help keep you from taking a fall:
Leadership Caffeine™-Finding Right is Different than Having to Be Right
I want to know what you know.” One of my early career managers used this line regularly when engaging with her team members. She was genuine in her interest in our take on problems and opportunities, and you could almost hear her mind working as she processed the information and compared and contrasted it with her own views. Her employees genuinely appreciated her effort to see a situation from multiple vantage points. Here are 6 approaches that effective leaders use to guide their teams towards right, without having to dictate direction:
14 Ideas to Strengthen Workplace Group Discussion Quality Today
We spend a great deal of our working lives engaging with others in pursuit of ideas and solutions. Unfortunately, most of our workplace discussions tend to resemble a swirl of emotions, ideas and opinions, with little structure to help navigate these very human issues. To help strengthen discussion quality today, and to set the stage for continuous improvement with your discussions, consider applying these 14 suggestions:
Leadership Caffeine™-The Unpopular Decisions are Yours
There will be many days in your leadership life, when you will be challenged to make decisions that carry painful implications for teams, departments and individuals. Your ability to stare straight at the unpopular and difficult issues and make a decision that is contrary to popular opinion, is core to your evolution as a leader.
Leadership Caffeine™:When Playing Office Politics Leave the Playground Tactics Behind
There’s no hiding from, denying or deftly side-stepping the reality that the political game…the pursuit of resources, budgets and yes, even power, is in full swing just about all of the time in most organizations. It’s too bad that most people are playing it wrong. Here are 4 ideas to help you move beyond playground tactics in your pursuit of strengthening the organization:
Just One Thing-A Lousy Boss is No Excuse to Let the Fires Burn
Some organizations seem to perpetuate a culture that generates talk and hand wringing and teeth gnashing on issues, but little constructive action. Instead of letting the heat from 1,000 smoldering fires melt away your spirit and initiative, take action, grab a hose and form a bucket brigade. Do something…just don’t stand around and watch things burn.