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
Leadership Caffeine™—Leadership Lessons from a Move to the Lake
My wife and I made a big move last week. We left our 30-year suburban home where we raised our sons and moved to the lake. The process took almost a year from the decision to make the move and about a day to sell. In-between, we focused on lightening our load of...
Leadership Caffeine™—Leadership Lessons from a Move to the Lake
While an incredible number of people move every year, and everyone knows what a miserable project it is, there are a surprising number of leadership lessons in these situations. Here are a few I gleaned from our recent move efforts.
The Millennial View: Why Job Hunting is Like Dating
Job searching is like dating and I can relate to these feelings because for the past couple of months I have been trying to transition into a new career. It hasn’t been easy and sometimes it feels like I stand a better chance of scoring a date with Katy Perry than I would to land a new job – ok I’m exaggerating. Here are four thoughts on why job searching is similar to dating:
Leadership Caffeine™: Motivate with Context
We waste fortunes inside our organizations on misguided programs and oddball incentives, seeking ways to motivate and inspire people to work hard, innovate, create, care and to live up to their potential, when the real solution is literally on the tip of our tongues. Here are 5 ideas for curing Context Deficit Disorder:
Trying Not to Fail Is Not the Same As Striving for Success
There’s a definite difference between focusing on not failing versus striving for success. Somewhere buried beneath the baggage and stress of the past few years, you had a sense of purpose that fueled your efforts. Whether it was providing for others or an intense desire to change the world, it’s important to scrape off the muck and recall that sense of greater mission.
Leadership Caffeine™: Is it Time for a Leadership Break?
If you’ve been in a formal leadership role for awhile, it’s healthy to assess whether the stress fractures you are feeling or showing, might just be in need of some healing time. Here are 5 questions and answers that might suggest you need a leadership break:
Leadership Caffeine™: Making Time to Glimpse the Future and Re-Think
As technology finally begins to catch up to our long-standing vision for how it can positively change our work lives and our businesses, it may just be time for us to rethink our stone-age approaches on how we work. If you’ve not pushed yourself to explore the new tools, and if you are responsible in some form or fashion for pushing the envelope on how your firm competes in the market, engages clients and arms its people to win, it might just be time to spend a few minutes focusing on the future.
#FollowFriday The Blog Version: Two Pros Worth Following
I most enjoy connecting with individuals who motivate, inspire, encourage, challenge and generally push us to think and act in ways that make us better as professionals and as human beings. Mom’s old advice of, picking the right crowd to hang around with, was spot on.
I thought it might be nice to share a few thoughts beyond 140 characters from time to time on some remarkable individuals worth following. I look forward to continuing this process and helping us all live Mom’s advice!
Leadership Caffeine™: Coping with Workplace Critics
I’ve yet to accomplish anything worth a damn when I didn’t have a fair number of critics lined up and all too happy to tell me why I was out of my mind. It’s a fair bet you’ve seen this before as well. In my experience, the more audacious and creative the idea, program or strategy, the more vocal the critics become. Here are five ideas to help you cope with the worst of your workplace critics.
April, 2011 Leadership Development Carnival
One of the highlights of every month for me is wandering through the great content at the latest Leadership Development Carnival. Many of my favorite leadership and management writers and thinkers are represented, and it is truly fun to find so many ideas and insights under one roof. Thanks to Sharlyn Lauby, author of the excellent blog, HR Bartender, for hosting this month’s edition.
Management Week in Review for April 2, 2011
Every week, I share three thought-provoking management posts for the week. This week’s selections feature content on: moving forward, taking steps to ensure that your company will appeal to the best and brightest of the Facebook Generation and some thoughts on Enchantment with Guy Kawasaki along with some new productivity tools. Enjoy!