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
Challenging Conversation Sound Bite #3: The Fallacy of the Feedback (Praise) Sandwich
A Sandwich that Will Give Everyone Indigestion In every challenging conversations workshop I run, the topic of the feedback sandwich (aka the praise sandwich) jumps up, and we spend time sharing perspectives on the use/uselessness of this tactic. You know the...
Challenging Conversation Sound Bite #3: The Fallacy of the Feedback (Praise) Sandwich
In every challenging conversations workshop I run, the topic of the feedback sandwich (aka the praise sandwich) jumps up, and we spend time sharing perspectives on the use/uselessness of this tactic. Here are some reasons I believe you should say “No” to the praise sandwich in your feedback practices.
Learning to Collaborate at the Top
If you’ve spent any amount of time inside the walls of an organization, you understand the promise and perils of collaboration. Great things can happen when we reach across silos and boundaries and seek to work together in pursuit of shared interests. However, as team guru Prof. J. Richard Hackman offers when talking about the potential of teams, “just don’t count on it.” I’m going to set aside my usual focus on project teams and raise my sights just a bit to the rarefied air of the senior levels of organizations. In both my executive and consulting experience, I’ve observed or have been a part of situations where otherwise really smart people crash and burn on the shores of potential internal (strategic) collaboration. In many of these cases, there’s good money and important marketplace moves that were left on the table as a result of a failure to collaborate.
Leadership Caffeine™ Podcast: Dan McCarthy Interview
I’m excited to announce the launch of my new podcast series: The Leadership Caffeine Podcast, and I’m thrilled that Dan McCarthy, the proprietor of the Great Leadership blog, is here as my first guest. Join us as Dan shares his thoughts and expertise on topics ranging from writing and sustaining a great blog to developing as a new leader in this fast-moving world. While you may know Dan through his blog posts, hearing from Dan will only strengthen your perception of this great professional! This was a fun, easy-going conversation with someone I truly admire.
I hope that you enjoy this inaugural episode of The Leadership Caffeine podcast. And stay tuned…future programs include such noteworthy professionals as Kevin Oakes, John Baldoni, Kevin Eikenberry and Linda Finkle.
Guest Post: Success in Collaboration-From an Unlikely Source
Why is collaboration so difficult? Like that intersection, effective collaboration is governed by rules that may not be clear to the inexperienced. Players come and go, challenges and obstacles can appear from any direction, and no one seems to be in charge – or everyone is. It’s no wonder that many managers approach collaborative assignments with apprehension, fear and a white-knuckled grip on the wheel. Here are 5 ideas for improving your ability to collaborate.
Leadership Caffeine™: Respectfully Speaking, Let’s Cure Respect Deficit Disorder
Newsflash: The Center for Leadership Diseases (CLD) has just announced an addition to their growing list of maladies and afflictions running rampant through the leadership and customer service communities. Respect Deficit Disorder (RDD) has officially been added to a list of maladies that includes Two-Dimensional Leader Disease (2DLD) and Tired Leader Syndrome (TLS). In this era of runaway deficits, it seems that the need to treat others…especially those who work for and with us well..it has run away.
Marketing Hall of Shame-Bludgeoning Your Customers is a Bad Idea
Imagine my surprise when in a fit of insanity, I picked up the phone the other night….right after dinner (well, I answered because the caller i.d. indicated the Hotel Chain’s name, and because the troops had the dishes will in hand), and I ended up on the receiving end of an old-fashioned marketing bludgeoning. Seriously, Hotel Chain! You think so highly of the relationships with your clients that you’re engaging in tactics like this to reward them for years of business.
Leadership Caffeine™: Frame Carefully to Improve Discussion Quality
Decisions propel people, teams and organizations forward. Get more right than wrong…especially the big ones, and the only thing standing in the way of success is the critical issue of execution. And of course, most decisions start with a discussion. One of your...
Leadership, Unrealized Potential and the Sad Passing of Amy Winehouse
As a leader, you have a choice to search for greatness in your people. Your actions, your word….your efforts to nudge or push or help people develop, is what you are supposed to be about. In your own small or big way, you’re supposed to be a contributor to greatness.
Have Space Ship Will Travel-In Celebration and In Memoriam
The last Space Shuttle of this era has returned and the program is officially grounded for good. There are a remarkable number of leadership and management lessons as well as a fierce debate about importance and economics that all swirl around the space program. Just for today, let’s put those aside and remember and wonder and give thanks to those who served and to remember those who perished. The debates can continue another day.
The Votes Have Been Counted-July Leadership Challenge
Although the case lives on and discussion is always “in-session,” the voting for the July Leadership Development Round Table Challenge is now closed. Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership, was the leading vote earner, in a closely contested and well debated case. Congratulations to Dan!