Wake-Up Calls for Managers
For the hard parts no one prepares you for
When the path isn’t clear, the stakes are high, and the answers aren’t obvious—this is where managers struggle most.
Wake-Up Calls for Managers delivers practical, real-world guidance for navigating:
- Tough conversations
- Leading through uncertainty
- Building influence without authority
- Driving results through others
The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Hope Proved to Be a Bad Strategy for LUV—Lessons from the Southwest Airlines Debacle
Southwest Airlines, Long a B-School Favorite For a couple of decades, Southwest Airlines was the business school case study of excellent management and people-focused leadership backed by brand-loyal customers who regularly sang the praises of this low-cost carrier....
Hope Proved to Be a Bad Strategy for LUV—Lessons from the Southwest Airlines Debacle
There are some painful and painfully obvious leadership and management lessons from the recent Southwest Airlines debacle. Deming is spinning in his grave over this one.
The Curious Habits of Big Idea Hunters in the Workplace
The most successful professionals I’ve worked with all share at least one common attribute…they are all innately curious and in search of ideas to solve problems and exploit perceived opportunities. These people are Big Idea Hunters, and they view problems, challenges and even the status quo as giant invitations to change, emblazoned in neon lights. Here are some of the curious habits of these creative individuals and how you might apply the lessons yourself or with your own team:
New Leader Tuesday-The Key to Motivating Your Team and 4 Ideas to Avoid
Motivation is one of those squishy topics that leaders at all levels deal with and often struggle with in their pursuit of high performance. Here are 4 ways practically guaranteed to do the opposite of “motivate.” And read on for the not so secret key(s) to motivating others.
Leadership Caffeine™: 5 Ways Leaders Can Promote an Outside-In View
Overcoming the gravitational pull of the office requires extraordinary effort. Succumb to this powerful tractor beam and your life is an endless stream of internal meetings and activities that lack any context for the realities of customers and the marketplace. Spend too much time inside your own walls, and you create your own alternate reality…one that lacks proper connectivity to the issues that should define your team’s priorities. Here are 5 ideas to help you and your team members change the view and cultivate critical marketplace context:
4 Reasons Why Questions are a Leader’s Best Friend
The best leaders I know wield questions like a surgeon wields a scalpel…carefully, precisely, respectfully and always with an objective in mind.
4 Reasons Why Questions are a Leader’s Best Friend:
New Leader Tuesday: A Mistake is a Horrible Thing to Waste
Beyond the certainty of death and taxes, one other absolute in life is that as a leader, you will make mistakes. A great number of them. From misspeaking to making a decision that turns out wrong to a million other areas to show off your humanness, mistakes are part of the learning to lead process. How you choose to deal with your mistakes will help determine people’s perception of you and speak volumes about your leadership character. Here are 6 ideas to help you leverage those moments effectively:
Best of Leadership Caffeine™-How to Deal with Positive Praise
It’s easy to start believing the praise you hear in the hallways about your leadership approach. Easy and dangerous. I’ve always been leery of the unfounded and saccharine-sweet praise that is bestowed upon leaders. While you may call me cynical, I prefer to think of myself as pragmatic. Here are 5 ideas for delicately and appropriately coping with positive praise:
August Leadership Development Carnival and Reading List
This month’s excellent edition of the Leadership Development Carnival is being hosted by Sharlyn Lauby, aka the H.R. Bartender! In addition to a great variety of posts, Sharlyn asked each contributor to share what they are reading this summer, and the results make for a great reading list for the final weeks of pre-Labor Day book consumption.
Let’s Go Curiosity! The Olympics of Human Ingenuity
Against the backdrop of the world’s greatest athletes competing in London, there is an equally exciting and very other-worldly event occurring on a red planet somewhere near earth.
Management Excellence Recap for the Week Ending August 4, 2012
An extended weekend and then some productive business travel reduced the writing and posting time to a dull roar. Nonetheless, these two posts reflect my current reading…from Drucker to neuroscience. Your thoughts and ideas are always appreciated her