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
March 2023 Leadership Development Carnival
For many years, I've had the pleasure and honor of submitting my Leadership Caffeine articles to the monthly Leadership Development Carnival coordinated by the great team at Weaving Influence. This monthly collection of ideas, inspiration, and guidance for all of us...
March 2023 Leadership Development Carnival
For many years, I've had the pleasure and honor of submitting my Leadership Caffeine articles to the monthly Leadership Development Carnival coordinated by the great team at Weaving Influence. This monthly collection of ideas, inspiration, and guidance for all of us...
Management Excellence Recap for the Week Ending July 28, 2012
Here’s a quick recap of my Management Excellence blog and other writings during the past week. Enjoy the reading and enjoy your weekend!
Leadership Caffeine™ Podcast-Become the CEO of You, Inc. with Susan Butler
One of the many pleasures of this podcast project is the opportunity it affords to connect with remarkable people. While Susan Butler’s excellent book, Become the CEO of You, Inc., offers great insight, wisdom and guidance for all of us (with an emphasis on aspiring female executives), it is her fascinating, trailblazing biography that serves as true inspiration.
New Leader Tuesday-Your Responsibility for Leading the Tough Discussions
One of the biggest derailment factors for early career or first-time leaders is the issue of conducting tough performance discussions. Here are 4 critical mistakes of first-time or newer leaders when it comes to dealing with tough discussions, and 6 ideas to help strengthen performance.
New Online Program Release: Learning to Master Feedback
With this post, I’m announcing the availability of a new online program to help professionals at all levels develop and strengthen their feedback communication skills. This is a practical, powerful program based on a great deal of live-session and prior version(online) participant input. Best of all, there’s a low cost of entry to put this on-demand and guided self-development program it in easy reach of motivated professionals at all levels.
Leadership Caffeine™: Stop Feeding Your Leadership Dragons
Leadership Dragons are the outward behaviors driven by misguided underlying beliefs that keep many in leadership roles from truly meriting the label of leader. Here are 4 examples of common Leadership Dragons and some ideas for keeping them reined in:
Would You Run 100 Miles to Help Families Fighting Cancer?
It’s the rare individual that can even contemplate a 100-mile footrace. I get tired and sore thinking about doing that on a bicycle. However, ultra-marathoner, Ted Friedman not only completed 100 miles in just over 24 hours last year, he’s back at it at the end of July in his “100 Miles for Life” fundraiser to support The Gathering Place, a support center offering much needed help for patients and families coping with cancer. Check out this great organization and this fascinating race in the post and in the podcast interview with Ted Friedman. Any support you can offer is appreciated!
New Leader Tuesday-Ideas for Dealing with Messy People Problems
One of the less than pleasant surprises many first-time supervisors or managers encounter as they navigate their new roles, is a sudden immersion in the personal problems of their team members. Here are 7 ideas to help you navigate these sticky situations:
The Hard Work of Getting Better at What You Do
One of the most important “tells” of a person’s professional character comes from their answer to a simple question: “What are you doing to get better at what you do?” How would you answer this question?
What Lincoln Might Have Advised Before Sending that Angry e-mail
More than a few people I know (present company included) have created a problem for themselves by prematurely hitting the “send” button on an e-mail written out of anger or frustration. Once sent, the damage is done and these instantaneous communications have a long shelf life in the memories of the recipients. Here are 6 ideas the Rail-Splitter himself might have approved of for the toughest of communication situations: